The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-20
CHOICE MADE ID SHOW THAT ND LINE DIVIDES
 NORTH FROM THE SOUTH
Gen. Luke Wright, as Governor of the Philippines, Made Record That Pleased the President and
 Which Induced the
 Present Decision.

Washington, June 19.-Secretary Taft to- day presented to the President his resg- nation, to take effect June 30, and it was announced at the White House that Luke E. Wright of Tennessee will be appointed secretary of war to succeed MT. Taft. In making this appointment the President was influenced somewhat by the desire to recognize in an emphatic way that there is no longer a dividing line between the north and the south, and that all good Americans are in thought and in deed one and the President was influenced still more by the fact that Governor Wright's personal attributes and experience pe- eminently fit him for this particular posi- tion.
 The correspondence between the Pres ident and Secretary Taft, relating to the latter's resignation, is very brief. Secre- tary Taft simply said in his resignation:
 .I hereby tender my resignation as Sec retary of War, to take effect June 30 next"
 The President in his reply said:
 Your resignation is hereby accepted to take effect June S0."
 The resignation was dated yesterday and the acceptance today. It was said at the White House that as the Pres ident so recently as yesterday had given out a formal statement concerning his hlgh esteem for Secretary Taft, is was not deemed necessary to repeat what was then said
 The statement given out at the White House concerning MT. Wrights appoint ment says:
 "As Philippine commissioner and later as vice governor and governor he won the affection and regard of the army to a high degree and many of the most ais tingushed of the men who served in the army at the time he was Tn the Philip pines have urged his appointment, because they felt in a peculiar way that he was their champion and in a peculiar way un- derstood them and their needs. This is especially true as regards the men who were union veterans of the civil war, for these grew to feel that he was always specially interested in their welfare.
 Moreover his great administration and legal ability, both peculiarly fit him to deal with the problems in the Philippines, Panama and Cuba for the work of the war department is now such that only u man with special fitness and useful train ing is able to do justice to it. Of all the men in the country, the president feels that Luke Wright Is the man best equlp- ped to take up the work of the depart ment which for the past seven years las been under the control, first of Root and then of Taft
 ''As a young man, he was a captain in the Confederate army he is one of the leading lawyers, not only of his State, but of the entire south. He has always been foremost in advocating and insisting upon fair treatment for the colored peo-
 t41Irr rta1el ,AI 1.tg reputation in the terrible days of the vel low fever epidemic at Memphis when he practically made himself mayor of the town and took charge of all the relief measures, showing what may justly be called heroic devotion to duty and indie- ference to his own life together with the masterful qualities of a successful ad- ministrator in a great crisis. He was himself struck down by the plague lie was fighting, but lived to see 1t stamp ed out and himself to take part in intro ducng into Memphis the hygienic meas ures which have since made it one of the model health cities of the world.
 He was appointed by President Me Kinley as one of the Philippine commis- sioners and enjoyed President McKin- ley,s heartiest confidence, being selected as one of the Southerners who were m sympathy with his administration. By President Roosevelt he was promoted first to be vice governor and then governor or the Philippines, and was afterwards made first ambassador to Japan. In all posi- tions he served with signal fidelity and ability and has been in hearty and out spoken agreement with the administration in all its main policies.