Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-26
MEN OF PRECOC|TY
High Officials at the Ace of
Twenty and Thirty.
SENATORS-ELECT OF THIRTY
Eight Representatives Still in Their
Early Twenties.
ROOSEVELT KIND OF MEN"
Delicate Diplomatic Missions Intrust-
ed Now as in Early Days to
Young Americans.
ROOSEVELT KIND OF MEN"

Copyright, 1907, by John Elfreth Watkins.)
Recent events have developed in our pub
lie life some striking examples Of precocity
One of the most notable Of these is W.
Morgan Shuster, recently appointed by
President Roosevelt a member of the Phil
ippine commission. Although only twenty
nine years old today, Mr.. Shuster draws
a salary of $4,000 per annum, which Is
greater than that of the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States,
three times that of national senator and
nearly twice that of the Vice President or
member of the cabinet. In addition to
being one of the four American commits
sioners shaping the destinies of our great
oriental archipelago, he sits in the cabinet
of the governor general as secretary of
public instruction, and his $4,000 is the
sum of the salaries for these two Offices
Young Shuster appears to be born
leader" When in his teens he was colonel
of Washington's crack regiment of High
School cadets, and his record in the Cen
trail High School of the capital shows that
it was as easy a matter for him to make
los in his studies as to attain perfection
in military instruction. After attending
college and law school he saw an opening
In the lnsular service when but twenty and
went with the evacuation commission to
Cuba, where he remained as deputy collec-
tor of customs. Secretary Root then hold
ing the war portfolio, heard of the young
mans high executive ability and soon
elevated him to the responsible post of col
lector of customs for the Philippine Islands,
He was then only twentyfour. News came
back to Washington that young Shuster
was making himself unpopular by his strict
enforcement of the letter of the law, and
it was predicted that some army officers
and other functionaries, who had been
halted in attempts to avoid duty on goods
bought in the orient would use their in
huence to have him ousted. The young COL
lector had every opportunity to safely en-
rich himself through graft, for numerous
oriental merchants made it plain that they
would enable him to profit handsomely If
he would but be lenient with their goods
But all who approached Mr.. Shuster with
either threats or brides found him equally
tnf1exfble and as a result Manila was one
OF the best conducted ports under our flag
The complaints against the young collector
reaching President Mckinley, and later
President Roosevelt, but strengthened him
in their estimation, as did reports of active
efforts which he was making to improve
ter proved to be 1.-The Roosevelt kind of
man. and his high promotion above the
heads or men twice and even thrice his
age was a direct reward for merit and
sterling honesty.
Senators in Their Thirties.
Three young men in their thirties have
recently been elected to the United States
Senate, one Of these having already taken
| his seat The latter is Elmer Jacob Burkett
OF Nebraska, while the senators-elect are
Simon Guggenheim of Colorado and Repre-
sentative Joseph M. Dixon of Montana.
OF these Mr.. Guggenheim is the youngest.
After becoming member of the Senate on
March he will still have nearly ten months
before he turns forty, on December 80,
| 1907. Senator Burkett will reach that age
December 1, while Representative Dixon.
the eldest Of the trio, will pass out of the
thirties on July 81 next Senator Burkett,
however, holds this trio's record for pre-
cocity having become a senator at only
thirty-seven.
Senator Burl1ett, popularity known as the
baby Of the Senate" is prodigy when
| Is considered the rough row which he has
had to hoe since he came into being in a
lonely farmhouse in Iowa. He was a
plough boy at ten and entered the county
schools so late In life that he could not
work his way through college until in his
twenty-third year. He was country school
| teacher in Nebraska until twenty-five and
did not pass from the preparatory stage of
| his career until thirty-one, when he took
his final degree at law school in Nebraska,
where he had remained since teaching. In
spite of this loss of ten years, due entirely
to lack of means he went to the Nebraska
] legislature one year after hanging out his
single and was elected to the national
House of Representatives in two years
more, while 1t needed an additional period
only to four to enable him to beat William
Jennings Bryan for the Senate.
New "Baby Of the Senate.n
be Simon Guggenheim the multimil-
| lionaire prodigy Of Colorado. whose
father half century ago. was poor