The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-07-24
MANY ACTING
SECRETARIES"
Heads of Departments Have
Lett Washington for
the Summer.
Mail Special to the Advertiser.)

merOus very rainy days, are red letter
periods for the acting secretary" The
doors to practically every big cabinet
room in Washington are closed. Broad
linen covers are on the wide and capa-
cious desks to keep the dust out of
precious official papers. The entrance
to those in authority is by unaccus-
toned ways. Sometimes it is by one
route and sometimes it is by another.
For if there is any tickle office in
Washington during July and August,
it is the office of acting secretary
The law, in nearly every instance,
fixes who shall be the nominal head
of a department, although in some
cases designation by the President is
necessary, especially when the secre-
tary and assistant secretaries of a de-
business. And there is great rivalry
for the honor of being acting secre-
tary, particularly among the younger
men in official life, for it is something
to say that one has held the helm even
for only a few days and that the
thousands of employees in a great de-
partment have looked to him as chief.
As Secretary Taft goes away in a
few days, Postmaster General Meyer
promises to be about the only member
of the cabinet in Washington during
the most of July. So through nearly
all the departments the acting secreta-
ries have full swing. 1t amounts to
less than one might suppose, for while
the acting secretaries have full author
ity, they are always careful to dispose
of little except routine business. They
sign the official mail and keep run of
the routine Misunderstanding else. II
anything big comes up, they defer ac-
ton till the secretary or the President
can be consulted. Be it matter or
pressing Importance. the telegraph or
the long distance telephone is resorted
to. the secretary of the department is
advised and his judgment taken.
| The headquarters of the State De-
partment this summer are in reality
| In in New York, where Secretary Root
| has a cottage. He is said to have tax
| en- many official papers with him to
be considered during his absence from
! the CITY. Practically all cabinet OFF,
| GERS. who take a vacation of two or
three months nowadays, say they are
| going to do a lot of work while away,
| but the question arises whether 1t will
not be with them as it is with other
mortals who go away to play and plan
/ to work some of the time. The state
Department is more nEmerously sup
piled with assistants to the cabinet OF
| fcer than any other department, ex-
cept the Department of Justice, the
| Postoffice Department and the Treas
| urv Department. There are three as
sistant secretaries of state-Bacon,
Adee and Wilson-who rank in the
order named. At least one OF them Is
always there, when the secretary IS
away Bacon and Wilson will want
long vacations this summer as they
are fashionable folk with plenty of
coin to sojourn at cool resorts. Assist
ant Secretary Adee is the only one of
the trio who stays through all admin
istrations He has become fixture
because of his intimate knowledge of
State Department matters. Every
year he takes a bicycle trip through
Europe. He has just returned from
this years trip and is therefore IN
trim to stay at his desk for the re-
| mainder of the summer.
| The Treasury Department has a
| bachelor assistant secretary" Jimmie
| REYNOLDS. of Observation-Disclosures is
~ ~at a
/ ries there that gets a long, hard de-
tail as acting secretary during the
summer months. 1t is no soft snap
70 be acting secretary of the treasury
as Mr.. Reynolds knows we'll, for he
has often been drafted for that duty
The volume of routine mail requiring
the secretary's signature is enormous
II becomes very wearisome spreading
Ink as acting secretary of the treas
Jury. especially when the assistant sec
lretary's own mail is heavy. 1t is No
exaggeration that last summer Mr.
REYNOLDS often remained at the Treas
lury Department late into the nigh
simply signing letters. Probably the
Treasury Department sends out fit!
lofHcial letters where the state Depart
ment has but one. Then, too, as TIT
weather grows hotter and hotter 1t Il
not unusual for the other two assistan
secretaries to find excuses for gettin:
out of town and Mr.. Reynolds, who i
entirely willing to take his vacation il
the cooler months, finds himself no
only. assistant secretary and acting sec
retarv of the Treasury, but also act
ing assistant secretary for one or bot
= of his two colleagues.
, The Postoffce Department has t0u
] assistant postmasters general-mor
: assistants than there are in any othe
department except the Department 0
Justice. Fist Assistant Frank Il
Hitchcock has often been acting post
master general there for weeks at
fine. but Postmaster General Meye
: proposes to keep an eye on.the depart
. mont for himself most of the time thi
n summer. He will go away for fe'
4 weeks and hopes to be able to writ
u r,ucb of his annual report while ah
Il cant The volume of daily mail u 3
i signed in the Postoffice Department
4 onita as large as in the Treasury De
II nartrnent. so that the task of actin
= postmaster general is not a light on
= There is but one assistant secretar
var hut one assistant secretary
q siCf9n+ SPPrpf9 ar