The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-05-10


say the attorney general does not
see the newspaper men; my memoran-
dunn shows that he talked with some
of them last Thursday, and this is
only Saturday"
The story was afterward told at
cabinet meeting, where is was very
much enjoyed by the President and
Mr.. Wickersham's colleagues. If the
attorney general saw the point he did
not let on.
The members of the cabinet seem
really to have taken seriously Presl'
den Taft's admonition against talking
too freely to newspaper reporters, es-
pecially in regard to matters that are
discussed at Cabinet meetings, and the
result is tina tvery little is known
about what the various departments
are doing on important public ques-
lions. Each member of the cabinet
is very hard at work; there is no
doubt of that. Nevertheless, there
seems to be very little going on and
the newspaper men remember with
sigh the golden days of the Roosevelt
administration.
Secretary of State Knox is one OF
the hardest workers of the cabinet,
but he moves about so quietly and
conducts his office so Systematically
game of golf almost every fine after
game of gilf almost every fine after
noon and to receive newspaper men
whenever they call. He is a very
matter-of-fact man; he gets to his
desk at an early hour every morning
and manages to do a great deal OF
work without appearing to do so. He
has a very straightforward way OF
talking to his visitors, and that he can
make a speech quite up to the stan
dard of those of his predecessors was
demonstrated at the recent dinner Civ
en- by John Barrett, director of the In
ternational Bureau of American Re
publics.
1t was a unique and interesting oc-
casion and Secretary Knox and his
predecessor Secretary Root, made the
speeches of the evening. Mr. KnoXs
speech was written out. but delivered
with very little reference to the man
uscript. It was in his usually clear,
logical, easy style, and received most
generous applause. Secretary Root
spoke extemporaneously. He has not
the clear, musical voice of Mr.. Knox
| but as the subject of our trade rela-
tons with South America is his pet
hobby, he made himself very enter
tanning.
1t is as quiet as the grave these
days in the War and Navy Depart
ments. The Secretary of War is in
Panama, inspecting the work on the
canal. which will be the most import
ant duty, undoubtedly, of his admins
tration, and the silence at the Navy
Department is, according to the re-
| )OIL Vi SOlllt VI lllC OlLlNSAS -
" ominous. Secretary Meyer is, by
many people, said to lack force and
| initiative, and that he is content 10
let things go along in their own way
in order to keep peace in the family.
But this is not what they say of him
in the Navy Department.
Succeeding, as he did, a man of
force and brains and business meth
DDS. and taking up the administration
of the Navy after it had been subject
ed to several years of Theodore
Roosevelts varied activities, Mr..
Meyer was a subject of pity because
of the fear of his friends that he would
| become the storm center of the con-
| troversies between the line and staff
of the navy, and of the service quar-
rel over the question of naval con-
struction and naval policies generally.
But somehow, Secretary Meyer
seems to have hypnotized everybody
into acquiescence and harmony. So
far as the newspapers know there is
no friction whatever among any of the
bureaus or among any of the officers
of the navy, and it is generally admit
ted that to have accomplished this
change demonstrates that Secretary
Meyer is a man of ma mean admins
trative ability.
The new Secretary of the Treasury,
Franklin McVeagh, is an interestins
combination of aristocratic swell and
old-fashioned Democrat. From any
thing he has done in a public way, no
body would know that he is the head
of the treasury department, but, never
theless, he very busy and, in the slang
of the day, ION the job" all the time.
He is a polite, mild-mannered old