The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-07-07
PRESIDENT TAKES
PRESS INTO CONFIDENCE
New System Started When Secretary
Norton Took Up Duties Of "As-
sistant President at White
House

Z Z
! his Loeb. So Taft now has his Norton.
After Mrs. Taft lett for Beverly, Charles
4 Dyer Norton. secretary 70 the presl
dent, lived at the White House. NoY
that the nations business is being tran.
sacted from Beverly, Norton Is on the
job there.
When Norton recently took his Office
he called the newspapermen at the White
House into conference
Pm green to the job" he explained
"and / want your assistance. ! believe
that the public Is entitled 10 know how
the wheels 20 round up here, and /
want to help You get them real news
II "A the secretary 20 the president
who explains To the newspapermen land,
through them, to the public at lareel
what the president Thinks. He hears
/ the presidential brain comtating and
then translates-with discretion-those
thoughts TO the correspondents. Il takes
good deal Of knewledse and tact and
big lump Of discretion to translate the
presidential brain.
TIE secretary Il the buffer against
which smash All the eentious little
things that 20 % make a presidential
day. He makes and keeps track Of the
presidents engagements. He relieves
his chief 20 far as possible BY a iudicions
wedding OUT process and sideiracks
the troublesome and boresome callers.
He gets an the blame for everything
and none Of TIE credit
Twenty years ago Norton started out
in life as a book agent, the son Of :
poor clergyman. Later be went into
the life insurance business, learning how
TO think quickly and talk without cir.
cumlecutiou He advanced from solicitor
to bead 81 a division for big life in
sumHoe company.
He had worked his way through col.
lega He learned 70 study men through
selling them books and life insurance
Secretary Of the Treasury AaeNeaeh
brought Norton n Washington as as-
sistant secretary 81 the treasury.
1T Is said that President Taft first
formed an admiration for Norton, when
Ne called at the White House one day
on a routine matter. Conversation
turned into another channel and the exec
utiye casually expressed an opinion on
certain subiect Norton very quietly
took the opposite view And be told
the president why; he advanced further
facts 70 support BIS position, and. final.
w. got the executive 70 admit that bis
was the right way 1t was at done
tactfully, and yet with a display Of
backbone, that won Taft right away.
So il happened that when Fred w
Carpenters Health failed and the presi
d4nt found himself in need Of ain if4
dividual with backbone and plenty Of
tact. he turned to Norton
Norton Is full of nervous energy. He
4 tall and spare, with dark hair that
Re brushes back to show a broad fore
head. He talks in crisp. short sentences
direct to the point He smiles pleas
antly and his blue eyes twinkle. He
is exceedingly well oroomed. and, all
IN all Is the sort Of man people look
at twice
Norton has been on all the trips with
his chief since he became secretary. TIE
IA close student Of politics Coming
to His present job without working
knowledge Of that most mysterious Of
ii subjects. he has managed 10 grasp
he situation thoroughly
Norton has made hit with the news
papermen because be is one Of the few
officials OF the government who seem
to have moses for news" He reads
the papers closely. If he tells the cor
respondents a bit Of news one day IN the
next lie looks to see how they played
II up"
A bulletin iust issned By the bureau
Of the census on cotton production fog
that year was about one-halt that o.
the corn crop; was nearly Slo00O0O04
more than That of the wheat crop, and
was twice the value Of the oat crop.
1t is pointed out that the worlds pro
duetion Of gold in 1909 was the greatest
ever produced, $3.50. 100000 and this
amount is but slightly more than half
the value of the American cotton crop
for last year. and chat the total build
ipa expenditures for 1909 in los cities
of the United States, which amounted
toRs57 1916, $50, was only $40 500R00 mor
than the value Of the cotton production
for like period
Cotton growers are becoming annual
Nv more efficient and successful IN sua
DUNG and holding in cheek the ravages
of the boil weeHl through the follow
ing instructions through the national
and state departments of agriculture.
The bulletin says. Investigations by
the former have proved that, through
a more careful selection of seeds for
planting and better methods Of cultiya
ton. the maturing crop can be 50 has
tened By the use of commercial fertiliz-
ers and cultural methods az to deYei
op large percentage Of the crop be-
fore the weevil has so multiplied as to
materially damage it,
The most effective check for the pest
is dry weather The damage from It
is practically in proportion to the pre-
cipitation. The greatest advance IN
boll-weevil ravages IN 1900 was that Of
100 miles in southeastern Mississippi
but the insect failed materially TO exl
tend its range III to the Yazoo river
valley. In Oklahoma the greatest adj
vance was only 80 miles, while the
average was only 10 miles.
The bsnetn further says that the
United stases in 1909 contributed sec
per cent. Of the commercial eottani Brit
ish India 2l.s per cent; Egypt 5.5 per
cent. and Ru. sia, 43 per cent.
The worlds production in 1909
amounted to about s27ae0A000 pounds,
valued at about 0oo0o0oo0