The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-12
BY Ernest G.. Walker.

IDENTIFY there is to be great stress and
strain this year in getting out annual
reports at Washington, as soon as Pres
ident Taft returns from his long swing
around the circle. Bureau heads have
plenty of leisure for writing theirs, but
members of the cabinet have been trav
cling or playing so continuously that
hurry work will be necessary unless
the presentation of reports is to- go
over the holiday period. Such delays
invariably make congressman grumble.
Most of the cabinet, hurrying away
to the country because there is little
doing in Washington, talk about work
ing on their annual reports when they
are where people can not interrupt
them. But cabinet officials are as
human as other people and when off in
the country it is as difficult for them
to work as it is for clerks and other
folks. Secretary MaeVeagh, it is I'M
derstood, while remaining on his farm
in New Hampshire, is actually doing
things to his big annual report. He
does not intend to come to Washing
ton for ten days yet. His private sec
rotary, stenographer, is with him in
New Hampshire, and he is not only
= handling the daily mail from there, but
debating the more important features
of his report so that he may not have
to bother much with it when he gets
to Washington.
Thessecretary of war and the secre-
tary of the navy are both out of town.
Secretary Dickinson participated in the
international festivities at Ell Paso and
Juarez, where Presidents Taft and Diaz
met. Secretary Meyer has gone to his
home at Hamilton, Massachusetts, to
study the report of the Swift board re-
garding the management of navy yards.
That is an important document, with
recommendations that are expected to
improve upon the ideas which former
Secretary of the Navy Truman H.
Newberry put into execution in the
government of navy yards.
Secretary Meyer wants to have his
recommendations in shape for placing
before the President when the latter
gets here in November. 1t is open to
question whether the President viii
consider the recommendations further
than to give them his formal approval,
for ;ffes is leaving matters to members
of his cabinet, upon whom he places
responsibility.
Then there will be lot of business
for the President s attention when he
gets back into his office. He has been
dispC sing of urgent matters while en-
route, as far as this could be done by
correspondence and telegraph. But a
great volume of business has been put
aside against the day of his return.
As much, in a less degree, is true of
every member of the cabinet who is
not giving many matters consideration
because the President s 0. <. will be
essential.
There is an example to the point in
the postoffice department Vacancies
are occurring constantly in the several
thousand postoffices of the presidential
class. Only the President can make
appointments of such postmasters. He
alone can sign their commissions, even
though the commissions be for the re.
cess of congress. Postmaster General
Hitchcock has had no opportunity to
talk about such appointments with the
President since early last August. He
,z,4 a1 III
time was taken up with other errands,
such as the political aspects of various
census appointments. It has not been
feasible to determine appointments and
sign commissions while the President
has been on his western tour. Conse-
quently. there are scores of postmas-
ters holding on, - who know that Re-
publican congressman have endorsed
other men as their successors. Of
course, some are glad of the extra pc
Rod of service. On the whole, except
in very few instances. no particular
hardship has been worked.
Secretary of the Interior Ballinger.
who viii be back in Washington with
in a week, will bring a bagful of big
business. During the summer and au-
tumn he has been the greatest of cab
met travellers. He has been going up
and down and across the western eoun-
try on one Of the longest inspection
tours That a secretary of the interior
ever attempted. Since his hurry trip
to Washington in September he has
been visiting scores Of projects in
which the interior department IS in
terested. Almost every large irfiga
tion project, involving contracts Of
much magnitude, has been visited by
him. If the department was having
trouble settling any question of par
tieular Importance anywhere. the sec
rotary has found time to visit the
ground and look things over. For in
stance, there has been a tremendous
hullabaloo in California about con
tract affecting control Of the waters
of beautiful Lake Tahoe That lake
feeds the big Truekee-Carson irriga- +
ton works in Nevada. Private inter