Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-17
. No Tennis CABINET
WILL Do FOR TAF|
President-Elect Will Select His
Heads OF Departments With
Great Care
PREMIERSHIP is BoTHERsoME
Difficult to Find a Man to Measure Up
to Judge Taft's Requirements-None
Of Roosevelt's Young Men Will Be
Retained in Official Household-Taft
Doing His Own Selecting.

Doing His Own Selecting.
Special to Times Republican.
washington, Dec. 17.-The business
of making q cabinet for President Taft
Is hopelessly in the air.
The amateur cabinet makers have
demonstrated marvellous capacity. They
have presented Mr.. Taft with a fine
array Of cabinet material, and have
even taken the trouble to arrange it
Der Of orders-for his convenience.
Mr.. Taft however has not decided
anything about the cabinet. This can
be said with the utmost assurance of
Its accuracy. A few points are determ-
ined; but they do not reach to the point
of settling any Of the personal phases.
For instance:
The secretary Of state In the new
cabinet must be a tried, skilled and
well known lawyer.
EOEs ScCl0Qany VI tlAO SASSAouAS - ~
desired to have man who will have a
general and intimate knowledge OF
what may be called academic finance,
as distinguished from banking. The
knowledge of practical banking will
also be wanted.
The secretary Of the treasury must
be a man free from any record or af-
filiations which would associate him
with Wall street or any other special
interests.
Every member Of the new cabinet
will have to be q man who has grown
to cabinet size and established cab
met size reputation independent of as
sociation with administration in recent
years.
Material Is Scarce.
Material from which to select the
secretaries of state and the treasury is
found to be especially scarce; Lyman
J. Gage came from the presidency Of
great Chicago bank to be head of the
treasury. He would not meet Mr. Taft s
requirements, and no other man of the
interests and affiliations Of Mr.. Gage
would.
Likewise, Postmaster Meyer has been
mentioned prominently in all the cab
met gossip as serious possibility for
the state portfolio. But he does not
measure up to the requirement OF be-
ing great lawyer.
James r. Garfield has been discussed
as the probable successor of himself
at the interior department; and 1T Is
not to be assumed that he is out of
consideration for the post. But Mr..
Garfield hardly measures up to- the de-
mand that members of the new cabinet
must have earned reputation aside
from their relations to latter-day ad-
ministration. The same applies to
William Loeb, Jr., who has been put
in all the cabinet prospectuses.
In short, it can be said with entire
assurance that Mr.. Taft has laid down
for himself a few general rules, which,
If they shall be rigidly adhered to,
will make impossible a considerable
number Of the men who have been re-
garded as likely material.
Premiership Difficult to Fill.
The secretaryship Of state is a
difficult place for Mr.. Taft to fill be-
cause he would like to have great
premier. He would be pleased beyond
measure to retain Mr.. Root at the
state department. This is now out Of
the question because Root is to be q
senator. The men quite qualified to
fill the position, and at the same time
to fill the public eye in that position,
are few. Senator Knox is one, and For
mer Senator Spooner another. Mr.
Spooner resigned from the senate be-
cause he wanted to earn money; and
he has been earning it, according to
all accounts, at a most gratifying rate.
He refused two or three cabinet posts
while he was in the senate. 1t is re-
garded as almost impossible that he
would now become premier, at a time
when the position entails greater social
duties and expenses than ever be-
fore.
Knox Would Do.
Senator Knox is another man who
would fill the bill for the premiership;
and the impression gains ground day
by day that he may be the choice. 1t
will surprise outsiders more than his
close friends, if he takes the posi-
ton. It is in line with his ambitions
and tastes, and moreover the political
situation in Pennsylvania is said not
to have been most agreeable to him.
He Is compelled to be the junior SEN
ator. with a senior who is the political
head Of a great machine; and While
relations between Knox and Penrose
have always been excellent, yet the
situation naturally is not entirely to
the liking of Senator Knox.
No Call for Young 'Men.
Gossip has had to do with a num-
ber Of the young men of the Roose-
welt administration, as possible of
probable cabinet members. 1t may be
doubted whether any one man Will be
placed in the Taft cabinet whose first
claim to distinction and recognition
had dated from his relations with the
Roosevelt administratio Mr.. Taft
wants a cabinet of his own; of men
with ready made regulations: OF men
tried and tested, and recognized As
first-class men aside from any asso-
ciation they may have had with the
recent conduct of public affairs.
The cabinet, when 1t Is made up, Is