The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-01-01
GETTING UP Q
A CABINET.
By Ernest G.. walker.

cHlculHtOHS regarding MS CABINET, ho
wants to distribute the prizes around
as much as possible. He is not dis
regarding location as much as Pres.
ident Roosevelt has The latter did not
hesitate for moment about taking
three of his cabinet of nine from New
York State, provided they were men
he wanted. SO it is that now Secre-
taries Root, Cortelyou and Straus are
all New York men and all from the
southern end of the state. He did not
hesitate to have two men at one time
in his cabinet from Iowa-Secretarie
Shaw and Wilson--nor two from Ohio
Secretaries Taft and Garfield.
In the same way Mr.. Roosevelt was
entirely willing to nominate two jus
tees of the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States from Massachusetts,, al
though he hesitated for a while aboul
that.
The President. elect not only wants
to distribute his cabinet appointments
so that all sections of the country win
be represented but he has decided to
proceed slowly about making his selec'
tons. 81 am open to suggestions he
has said time and again in recent weeks
| to those who were talking with him
about his prospective advisers. And as
he has invited suggestions, the names
of persons suggested to him have often
appeared in the newspapers rs prospec
| tive appointees when their cases had
never gotten that far in his estimation.
Knox as Secretary of State.
He wants first of all to find cap,
able Secretary of State and is stll
canvassing the field for one. He wants
the best man obtainable and means to
have him, if that one will consent to
serve. He has had the name of Senator
| Philander Chase Knox, of Pennsylva.
mia, under serious consideration and
some think Mr.. Knox may finally be-
the man. Mr.. Taft has high respect
! for Mr.. Knox s ability. The latter, 1t
is true, has had high cabinet honors
because of his distinguished incum-
bency as ATTORNEY General during por
tons of the Mckinley and Roosevelt
administrations. AS rule senators do
not care to resign their places to enter
the cabinet. They reason that sen.
ator is quite as high in the official scale
as cabinet officer. Then the Senate
has to confirm the nominations for cabi-
net offices and senators argue that as
they have hand in creating cabinet
officers they certainly must be quite
as important as the officials they make.
But Senator Knox had always been
busy man. All his mature life he
has had a prominent part in affairs.
In the Senate there is comparatively
little to do that interests him. The
Senate, as many busy man has found,
becomes irksome and at times Senator
Knox wishes he were put Of it for good
and engaged in practising law or at
some other active occupation. And
therefore some of Senator Knox's clos.
est friends would not be surprised If
he accept the premiership, should it be
offered him. There are numerous lead.
ers in the Senate, who are senio- to
him in service, which means he must
wait quite a while before he becomes
one of the foremost men of action in
that body.
1t has long been n custom for new
President to take one of his rivals for
the nomination into the cabinet and
make him Secretary of State, just as
it has been the custom for the sue
cessful candidate for Speaker Of tho
House to give his leading rival the
most important craftsmanship of
u
ton to which Mr.. Taft is giving weight
and is one of the reasons for his con.
sidering Mr. Knox, for Secretary OF
State. Mr.. Knox was not his leading
rival for the nomination but was very
close to it with the solid state of Penn.
sylvania behind him.
Reasons for Naming Fairbanks.
Vice President Fairbanks had more
votes from more States for the nomi.
nation, in which connection it should
be noted that Mr.. Taft has thought
of him for Secretary of State and has
said that it might come about that
Mr.. Fairbanks would be offered the
place. The Vice President is giving
little, if any, thought to such an out
come, but is making his plans to re-
turn to private life and take up the
practise of law at Indianapolis. How
ever, he likes Washington official life
and would be attracted by proffer
of the highest cabinet place under the
new President.
From the political standpoint it
might be good move for Mr.. Taft
to get Mr.. Fairbanks into the cabinet.
Indiana is torn with Republican fac
|
soon be in complete control of the
State. They will have the Governor,
most of the State officers and one
branch of the Legislature. 1t is rec.
ognized that there must be big read.
iustment in Indiana before the Repub-
leans can hope to win there again.
The Governor is elected for four years,
but two years from now members of
Congress and a Legislature will be
elected, and the Legislature will have
the choice of United States Senator
to succeed Mr.. Beverage. Unless a
peace can be arranged between the
Fairbanks and Beverage factions it is
thought the State will go Democratic
again. Should Mr.. Fairbanks become
identified with the Taft administration
as Secretary of State, it might help
speed Indiana back into line.
But the new President has his cab.
met problem with reference to Ohio.
There are two factions in his home
State, although only Senator Foraker
of tho hhfaatpd faction ia nressnp for