Evening journal., 1910-01-14
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Why John Sherman Was an
Iceberg In DemeanOr
BY HOLLAND"
BY Holland" !"

""o A'oihSil hayes hetItldIy Ol lle i
treasury do not need to be told that It
was as head of the treasury depart. /
ment that Sherman received the popu. |
lar reputation for personal frigidity |
which clung to him to the day of his !
death. Iceberg John"-that was the |
favorite nickname for him when he |
was secretary Of the treasury, Just as
recently a certain distinguished son
of Indiana was hailed as Cocktail
Charley"
I confess that my first sightrof Sec.
retary Sherman, as he strobe one day
into the Office of the then fiscal agent
of the government, only served to
strengthen in my mind the reports u
had received of his superlstive brand
of taciturnity. In all my life, u
thought, / had never beheld another
man so cold. Therefore, one may i'm
agine with what inward feelings u
knocked at the door OF Mr.. Sherman's
house in Washington some years later
and just after he had given up the
treasury portfolio to return to the sen
ate, where he had first taken a seat
nearly twenty years earlier.
Mr.. Sherman received me in what
appeared to be his library. IL was
evening; a comfortable fire glowed in
the CRATE books lay upon the table
and some of them we're well thumbed
AS entered he put aside the evening
paper he was reading, and ! was &C
tually thrilled by the oordiality with
which he received me. His handshake
was that of a friend, his smile was
! fascinating.
AS we chatted about the matter
which had called me to him, l found
myself wondering how It was posi-
BILE that this great statesman had gain.
ed the sobriquet of Iceberg john
how it had come to be said of him that
he rivaled Gen. Grant as a man Of
silence. Finally, the idea seeming to
obsess me, as it we're, ventured to
say to him;
Senator Sherman. you do not
appear to me like the man saw three
years ago. Then you were distant, OF
frigid manner, and / believed that
those who spoke of you as the iciesi
man in public life were correct. Now
find that they were wrong-that ]
was wrong. / can't understand the
difference"
shall never forget the manner in
which the senator threw back his head
and laughed heartily--laughter which
gradually subsidized into a sort OF
chuckle. Then, when he had gained
~ !, l. ..
me, with a twinkle still lingering in
his eyes:
Yes, know they called me Iceberg
John. said spoke in whispers OF not
at all, and never said anything when
did speak. Really, I was very glad
that that impression prevailed. But il
was all put on. II was a mask, exact
ly as Gen. Grants taciturnity, when
he was commanding the union armies
was a forced silence, for he was really
very loquacious man.
You see, it happened this way:
had been appointed by President
Hayes secretary of the treasury. Very
important agitation had been in prog
ress. affecting the relation of silver tC
our money system. and. you remem
Der, there was a powerful party organ
ized with Peter Cooper at the head o
It to make the basis of our currency
system irredeemable paper money
Congress had authorized the resump
tion of specie payments on the first o
January. 1879. Il was necessary fo
the secretary Of the treasury TO pre-
pare for that important event. Fur
thermore, several other treasury oper
ations Of very great consequence, SOM
Of which depended upon my dlscre
tionary direction, were then in con
temptation.
"Once at the head of the treasur,
department l discovered that ther
we're hundreds Of men hanging upol
ny very words. watching my looks
prepared to interpret in one way o
another anything that I said OF ar
peared to think. realized that my onl,
protection against spectators AM
others who were trying to take pei
sonal advantage in advance Of treas
ury department operations. was in put
ting on a mask. Therefore, I trainei
myself TO make my face expression
less. I accustomed myself to trea
all men precisely alike. And / had b
be especially careful about whateve
I said. It was the most difficult ez
perience Of my political life. But 1
served the purpose. / do not thinl
that anybody obtained the slightes
hint from anything l said or did or an.
expression OF my face as to the puT
poses Of the treasury department
After we redeemed specie pay
ments there came the question of re
funding one portion Of the public debt
and ! found It necessary to maintain
this mask during all that agitation
also. So the idea that was an ice
berg took even deeper hold on tn,
popular imagination. But the momen
/ entered the senate chamber, on III,
day Of the Inauguration Of Presiden
Garfield. I was myself again. / fel
like a boy Just out of school"
Copyright. 1909. by E. ]. Edwards)
Mr.. Edwards, to-rorrow. will tel
r