The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-07-08
CHARLES DYER NORTON
THE PRESIDENTS SEC'Y.

lt1F It(FSIlIEN > DEL Il.
Washington, July 5.---As Mckin-
ley had his Cortelyou and Roosevelt
his Loeb, so Taft now has his Nor
ton.
After Mrs. Taft left for Beverly,
Charles Dyer Norton, Secretary to
the president, lived at the White
House. Now that the nations busi.
1.ess is being transacted from Bever-
ly, Norton is on the job there.
When Norton recently took his Of
flee he called the newspaper men at
the White House into conference.
I'm green to the job" he explain
ed, land l want your assistance.
believe that the public is entitled &C
know how the wheels go round up
here. and I want to help you get
them real news"
1t is the secretary to the president
who explains to the newspaper G
(and. through them, to the public n
large), what the president thinks.
He bears the presidential brain cogl-
tating, and translates--wjth dis
cretion---those thoughts to the CORE
s%pondents. 1t takes a good deal Of
knowledge and tact and a big lump
OF discretion to translate the preS;-
Dental brain.
The secretary is the buffer against
which smash all the vexatious liltie
day. He makes and keeps track @:
the presidents engagements. He re-
lieyes his chief so far as possible, by
a judicious wedding Out process and
sidetracks the troublesome and bore
some callers. He gets all the blame
for everything and none OF the cred
il.
Twenty years ago Norton started
out in life as a book agent, the sou
.! a poor clergyman. Later he went
iulo the life insurance business.
Leaf ming how to think quick and talk
without tircumlocution. He advanced
from solicitor to head Of a division
for a big life insurance company.
He had worked his way through
college. He learned to study mel
ln1ough selling them books and LIE
insurance. Secretary Of the treasury
MacVeagh brought Norton to WASH
lngton as assistant secretary of the
treasury.
1t is said that President Taft first
formed an admiration for Norton
when he called at the White House
n day on a routine matter. Con-
v%ersation turned into another chat
mel and the executive casually ex-
pressed an opinion on a certain sub
ject. Norton very quietly took tne
opposite view. And he told the pres
ident why; he advanced further facts
to support his position: and, finally,
got the executive to admit that his
was the right way. It was all dole
taotfully, and yet with a display OF
backbone, that won TAFT ,:ght away.
SO it happened that when Fred W..
Carpenters health failed, and the
president found himself in need OF
IN individual with backbone ana
plenty of tact, he turnel to Norton.
Norton is full of nervous energy.
He is tall and spare, with dark hair
tEat he brushes back to show a very
broad forehead. He talks in crisp.
short sentences---direct, to the point
He smiles pleasantly and his blue
eyes twinkle. He is exceeding well
gloomed, and, all in all, is the o.,
Of man people look at twice.
Norton has been on all the tclrS
with his chief since he became Sec
rotary. He is a close student of poll
tics. Coming to his present job with
out a working knowledge of tina:
most mysterious of all subjects, he
has managed to grasp the situation
thoroughly.
Norton has made a hit with the
newspaper men because he is one of
the few officials of the government
who seem to have moses for news"
He reads the papers closely. II he
tells the correspondents a bit of news
one day on the next he looks to see
how they played it up"