Omaha daily bee., 1911-05-22
Washington Life
Sens interesting Phases
ana Conditions Observed
~ the Nation's Capital

III ~ the NaSon's Capital
Reorganizins the finsnces Of broken
down republic proves as rich a BONANZA
as the promotion OF industrial and trans
portation combines IN this country. The
trouble with the former liz their scarcity.
They are few. but precious. as Or, Jacob
IL Hollander OF Baltimore has reason 10
know Appointed by President Roosevelt
TO treat the financial debility OF San
Domingo. the doctor was on the sob in
short order. wooed the patient back 70
| moderate breath and drew = fee Of $1,000.
A surgical operation on a rnulti-milllonaire
! recedes into the background with the re-
, Juvenation Of the black republic and the
F, subsequent holdup. Uncle Sans oontribu-
ton to the fee was $4,000. which lie re-
garded as a liberal handout for tipping
off the Job. San Domingo paid $4,000
So much was revealed ny Huntington
| Wilson, assistant secretary Of state. to
congressional investigators last week.
More is promised. Mr., wilson volunteered
this hilarious postscript. to-wit: The
United states expected to pay the bill;
San Domingo thought the same thing.
Both paid, but did not learn Of the double
rake-off until the doctor had the money
nailed down.
William G. Brown. ir., of West Virginia.
who is serving his first aerm in congress,
was a cousin Of the late Senator Jonathan
p. Dolliver Of Iowa. AS boys Representa-
| tive Brown and Senator Deliver were
roommstes at the University of West
Virginia thirty-five years ago Dollver
was a republican, while Brown was
democrat While in college the two cousins
| agreed that they would meet together in
the halls Of congress as members Of one
| body or the other. Mr. Dolliver was elected
member of the house OF representative
In the Fifty-first congress, which con-
Vened In 1889. In 1900 he was sent to the
senate to fill vacancy, and died last year
q member Of that body. 1t was not until
1896 that Mr.. Brown was nominated for
congress, and he was defeated that year,
the entire state going into the republican
/ column on the silver Issue Mr.. Brown
was not again nominated for congress until
last fall. Senator Dolliver having died in
! the meantime.
| Robert o. Bailey, the new assistant sec
rotary of the treasury-once star man of
the Associated Press and later private
secretary to Secretary Of the Treasury
Franklin MacVeagh-has ten times as
mqeh routine business come to his desk
as one of his two associates and five times
as much as the other. The detail work of
the office in other words. is enormous,
ana Mr. Bailey has devised system Of his
own to handle it.
He has official charge of the office of the
supervising architect. the bureau OF In
ternal revenue, the public health and
| marine hospital service. the life saving
service, the revenue cutter service, and
the division of appointments. To accom-
modate and classify the flood of documents
pouring in continually from these six
branches, he has designed standing ma
hogany desk with six boxes lying side by
| side on the top and six drawers under
each in which completed matters are filed
Much Of the business OF the office is done
by memorandum. so when a memorandum
is dictated a carbon copy is made and
thrown into the box OF the division to
| which II refers. 1t thus forms part of
| the current days papers and il not dis
placed until an answer has been received,
4 when 1t is filed with the answer in the
drawer below, thus giving the complete
record OF the case. All mail relating to
the divisions goes into these boxes, thus
| keeping the desk OF the assistant secretary
clear A photograph is used for dictation,
consequently R1I. 6an6y 10 aDle TO con-
duct the affairs OF his office without any
human impedimenta whatever. The sys-
tenn has been in operation for some weeks
and Mr.. Bailey has discovered that he can
| tell at a glance Just the status OF work In
| every division under his charge. keep his
own desk clean and II necessary run short
| handed on clerical assistance, except ste
nographers, without materially interfering
with the business Of the office.
Thanks to the cooperation OF Assistant
Secretary Bailey, acting on the sugges-
ton Of newspaper man, Secretary
MacVeagh ana a few personal friends
are now carrying canes which have
history. For thirty-two years a pile of
pine logs bound together with heavy
iron straps have constituted the plat
form on the east side of the treasury
building where countless billions OF dol
lars OF United States sold. silver ana
paper currency have been shipped In
and out. Probably more real money
has passed over this old platform than
over any similar structure in the world
The platform was removed recently,
along with the impressive but useless
stone staircase on the eastern side. and
Mr.. Bailey had one log turned into
canes. They take high polish, with the
light shades OF the grain showing pic
turesquely through the dark hue OF the
finish. The canes, Of course, their owners
hold priceless.
Senator Burton Of Ohio has a resolution
. In the upper house that will have the ef-
feet Of preventing the diversion Of one
, fourth OF the water that now flows over
Niagara Falls, Capitalists, with back
ing OF S4O, ,OO0 are interested In q plan
to use this tremendous amount OF water
for power purposes. j. Horace Mcfarland
OF the American Civic Federation Is work.
ing hard for the Burton resolutIon A fall