Evening star., 1909-03-06
NEW CABINET SWORN
All But Two Members Take
Oath of Office.
DONE AT WHITE HOUSE
President Witnesses Ceremony Per.
formed by Chief Justice Fuller.
GET BUSY AT DEPARTMENTS
New Officials introduced to- Subor-
dinates and Take Up Their
Duties Without Delay.

Six members of the new Taft cabinet
took the oath of office at the White House
today and, after getting acquainted with
each other, departed for thir respective
departments to begin their work.
The six men were:
Philander Knox. Secretary of State
Frank III. Hitchcock, Postmaster Gen
George Won l.. Meyer. Secretary of the
Navy.
r. A. Ballinger. Secretary of the In
terror.
James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.
Charles NageI, Secretary of Commerce
and Labor.
George w. Wickersham. Attorney Cen
eral. took the oath of office at the De-
terday afternoon, called in the officers of
the department met them and got down
to business.
Franklin MacVeagh of Chicago, who is
to be Secretary of the Treasury, cannot
get to Washington until about the 18th
of March, and Secretary Cortelyou has
agreed to continue in the Treasury until
that time.
JACOB NJ. blChlIISOIls WHO 10 " Dc ScC-
retary of War, is also delayed in getting
to Washington and Secretary Wright will
remain at the War Department until he
is relieved.
Chief Justice Administers Oath.
The oath of office was administered to
each individual by Chief Justice Fuller
of the United States Supreme Court. The
scene was impressive. although informal.
President Taft and Secretary Carpenter
were present and others who witnessed
the ceremony were Senator Burton OF
Ohio, John Barrett, director of the bu-
reau of American republics, and Richard
Harlan. who had called on President
Taft earlier in the morning to pay his re-
spects.
Precedent fixes the swearing in of
new cabinet in the presence of the chief
at the White House but it is not neces-
sary that a cabinet officer shall do so.
He may take the oath of Office anywhere.
but it is generally done in the department
over which he is to preside.
The fact that Attorney General Wicker
sham was not present today did not es-
cape observation. but he is being COM
mended for his desire to get to work in
his department at the earliest possible
moment. Beyond doubt the greatest
problems of the new administration are
now centered in that department, the
multitude of important trust actions in
the courts being sufficient to keep every
man in the legal branch of the govern
ment hard at work for many years.
The new ca binet officers did not remain
long with their chief. Some of them
We're unacquainted with each other and
there was a mutual getting together un-
der the skillful direction of the President.
New Secretaries Take Charge.
After subscribing to the oath of office al
| the White House this morning Secreta-
ries Knox and Meyer proceeded at once to
the respective departments over which
they will preside for the future. and as
sumed active charge of the direction OF
affairs.
Mr.. Bacon, who is now eX-Secretary of
State was at the department as usual
| this morning, awaiting only the arrival of
! his successor to relinquish the admins
| tration of the foreign affairs OF the gov
| ernment. h. j. BabcOck, who has been
! private secretary to every Secretary OF
State since the administration of Secre-
tary Sherman. was assisting Mr.. Bacon
! in the dispatch OF routine business
Senators Cummings and Dolliyer of
| Iowa and Col. j. y. Schoonrnaker and
| George G. Oliver of Pennsylvania were
| early callers at the department, and were
| among the first to greet Secretary Knox
! on his arrival there about II o'clock. Soon
afterward Secretary Knox received the
/ assistant secretaries, the chief clerk and
! all the bureau officers of the department.
Each of these gentlemen took advanta ge
of the presence of Mr.. Bacon TO wish him
| farewell.
| During the day there were a large num-
| Der of other callers to pay their respects
| to the new Secretary, including many
! members of Congress and government Of
/ ficialS. With Mr.. Knox We're his son Mr.
| Reed Knox, and Mr.. &. +. Wilson, clerk
| to the Senate committee on rules.
! During the day Secretary Knox made a
tour of the building occupied by the State
| Department in order to get his bearings
He remarked at the time that todays visi,
was the third time he had ever been ir
the State Department building In an
swer TO an inquiry, he said that he found
the State Department SO well organized
that he saw no occasion for making any
| changes there
At Navy Department.
Al the Navy Department Mr.. Meyer
the new Secretary of the Navy
was received by Mi. Newberry, tn.
retired Secretary in his private office il
company with Assistant Secretary Satter
lee. The chiefs of all the bureaus anc
their assistants were then summoned t,
the Secretary's office.
Each took official leave of MI New
berry, and each by him was presented
to Secretary Meyer. For some time
afterward Secretary Meyer bus,
shaking hands with the clerks and othe
employees of the Navy Department wh'
were naturally desirous of meeting theil
new chief.
| Although Secretary Meyer said he wa
not yet prepared to announce the names
of his personal staff, il is understood
that he has selected Charles Taylor a
his private secretary; Roy III. Moses. for
merly private secretary to Mr.. Newberry
as his confidential clerk; f. r. Slanker a!
his chief stenographer and John VI. Lon
gan as d clerk.
Mr.. Taylor is "a we'll known newspape
man and was formerly attached to TIL
Evening Star. During the last cam
paign he was a member of the press bu
reau under Chairman Hitchcock. MI
Slanker and Mr.. LOngan served with MI
Meyer in the Post Office Department
r Mr.. Walter A. Dane, who was conffden
tal clerk TO Mr.. Newberry, resigned t
|, engage in private business.
; Secretary Ballenger went TO the In
terror Department soon after the swear
ing-in ceremony at the White House. al
irving a little before II O'Clock. He wa
met by former Secretary Garfield an
by him introduced TO the crowd of burea
chiefs who had come in to pay their re
: Spccts.
He wished them all we'll and said the