The Washington times., 1909-08-19
Capital Talks

THESE are the days in Washington
when the subordinate shines In
the absence of his chief who Is
busily summing himself at sum
mer resort. the subaltern sits on The
I'D. wrestles with great problems Of
state, and tries TO show that he could
ran the Government II he had II. About
the departments and independent bu-
reaus there is an Interesting lot or
these subordinates. Usually, they a-e
assistant secretaries. and while they
may not cut any large quantities of ice
through the most of the year, In the
good old summer time they are the
functionaries whom everybody must
consult if he expects anything at the
hands Of Uncle Sam.
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Foremost of the lot OF these subordi-
mates, as any of them would rheerfullS
admit. stands Alvey A. Adee. Second As
sistant Secretary Of State. Mr. Adee
is one of the Indispensable men in the
Government service. or course, the
wheels OF the Government machine
might jog along Il he should step down
and out. but they would creak ana
grOan perceptiblY. Always, about TINS
time OF wear. Mr.. Adee is the real head
of the State Department When the
head of the department and the lrst
Assistant Secretary betake themselves
away for a rest, hfr. Adee takes charge
of things. He makes il a practice carrier
in the summer 10 take trip aWneel IN
Europe, and then 10 return here aDoGt
the middle OF the summer and buckle
down 10 hard work. And. though II has
many times happened that large ana
vexing questions have arisen Whiie ne
has been in charge. Mr.. Adee has made
no mistakes. at least none Whlcn nave
come TO the surface.
He is saturated with knowledge OF the
workings of the State Department ana
he knows the whole field of diplomacy
as well As a pianist knows the keys OF
his instrument Il is no hattery 70
say that Mr. Adee Is the intellectual
peer Of any man who has been IN the
Government service in his time hts
capacity and versatility are the wonder
Of those who come into close contact
with him.
Just now Jimmie" Reynolds, Assist
ant Secretary of the Treasury in charge
of customs. is much in the public eye.
He will continue to he while the new
tariff measure is on trial.
In addition TO having charge OF the
administration Of the customs law, Mr..
Reynolds is acting head Of the Treasury
lust now, in the absence of Secretary
MacVeagh. Mr. Reynolds, through sew
eraI years, experience In the Treasury,
has acquired familiarity with the op-
erations of the intricate laws and regu-
lations pertaining to customs and is one
OF the most popular personages that
ever held the position he occupies.
Associated with him are two other
able young men, Assistant Secretary
Norton and Assistant Secretary niles.
MT Norton has been In charge Of the
Treasury much OF the time the past
week. when Mr.. Reynolds was absent.
Mr.. + HES is away just now, but Will
have d chance to show his mettie when
he returns and takes charge of the ad-
m!nistTation OF the corporation tax.
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In the Navy Department. with Mr..
Meyer away, Beekman winthrop is sad
died with the burdens of running this
end of he Government. That is no
easy task. as may be judged from the
fact that In one day Mr.. Winthrop had
TO piss on the Sutton case and on the
award ne Of contracts for two great
battteships. Mr.. Winthrop Is one of the
youngest men who has ever held an
assistant secretaryship.
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In the War Department, General Oil
yer takes charge Of the department as
a rule in the absence of Secretary Dick
inson. In the Department of Justice.
Wade Ellis is just now sitting on the
lid and seeing to il that the trusts do
not lift the Government on iackscrews
some dark night and take it down and
dump 1t in the Potomac.
In the Department of Commerce and
Labor, when Mr.. Nagel gets out of
town which is not often, the indefa-
tlgable Ormsby McHarg runs things and
las no trouble about IT,
In The Postofhce Department. when
Mr.. Hitchcock betakes himself to Bev-
eriy or some other place, First Assist
ant Postmaster General GranfieId takes
charge.
With Secretary Wilson away, Assist
ant Secretary Hays runs the farm ma
Chinery OF the nation. and while Secre-
tary Ballinger is in the West a gentle
man of the name of Franklin Pierce
FHFn ne IA