The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-14
DICKINSON BUSY
 CLOSING UP OFFICE
Official Correspondence Be tween Taft and Dickin- .
 son Made Public

| Nashville, May 13.-The news of the retirement of J. M. Dickinson as Sec retary of War came as surprise to | the Nashville public However. close | relatives quote Judge Dickinson as say | ing that he has intended quitting pub | lie life altogether when he reached GO years of age. He was 60 last Janu- ary and his relations express the be- lief that he is simply carrying out his
 wish to be at home with his family | in retirement. The Dickinsons are planning to build new country home here. | Washington, May 13.-Secretary Dickinson was engaged today in clos | ing out his administration of the war department, preparatory to his relin- quishing the office to Henry L. Stim- I son, defeated candidate for governor of | New York in the recent campaign. Following is the correspondence be- tween President Taft and Secretary Dickinson.
 | Secretary Dickinson's letter:
 Washington, D. C., April 2s. 1911. Dear MT. President-As my affairs have recently so changed as to require | my personal attention in Tennessee, herewith tender my resignation as Secretary of War, to take effect as soon | as may be comp4ible with the public | interest I cannot express to you how much 1 appreciate the honor and con | fidence which you have bestowed upon me and the uniform kindness with which you have always treated me. The
 memory of having enjoyed the privilege | of being associated with you and my colleagues of the cabinet in the discus- | sion of so many great questions aHect- | ing the welfare of our country will always be cherished by me as inesti- | mable.
 With all good wishes for you and with the hope that one so able, pa | triotic and devoted may long be spared l for the services of his country, l am, very sincerely,
 "J M. DICKINSON" The President replied:
 The White House, Washington, D. c. May 8, 191t- My Dear Secretary Dickinson-I
 have your letter of resignation and am very sorry that the personal consider ations. as you have explained them at | length to me, leave me no alternative and require me to accept 1t. Since you wrote you have signified to me that | if I thought your leaving the war de- partment would embarass me in view of conditions in Mexico you would re- quest to be allowed to sacrifice your personal interests and continue in of | flee. While I fully appreciate the high | sense of duty that prompts your offer, | am glad to say that recent develop
 ments indicate that no crisis is likely | to arise, making your withdrawal now any more of an embarrassment than at l a later date or justifying my asking from you such a sacrifice.
 l "In consenting to a severance of our | official relations, I wish to tell you | how satisfactory your administration of l orc hpen | complished. It has involved the care and control of the army, the govern 1nent of the Philippines and Porto Rico, the construction of the Panama canal
 and incidentally the government of the canal zone. In every way your work | has been admirable and entities you to | the gratitude of your countrymen
 | Personally I wish to thank you for | what you have done and for your in- variable sense of loyalty to the admnis- ltration and to express my deep regret lthat our delightful intimacy growing out l of our official family relation Is to end. | l sincerely hope that you may be able | to achieve success in the personal bus mess that now claims your earnest eff | forts. Believe me that you carry with you into private life my high respect and
 affectionate regard Sincerely yours.
 WILLIAM H. TAFT.
 a. M Dickinson, Secretary of War" |.
 effect at the time of the qualification of
 your successor, which, at your request,
 I hope to secure May 15, 1911'
 | Secretary Dickinson on May wrote:
 Dear MT President: When l offered l my resignation it seemed that peace would | be restored in Mexico. The situation is
 now so alarming that it might be unwise to make a change in the office l hold. | While have no right to withdraw my resignation, and if I could, would not take a step that would embarrass you. I want | to say that in considering it, please ig-
 nore all personal reasons advanced by l me to support it, and be guided alone
 to considerations of public interet. This is not to further embarrass you, but in l view of the gravity of the situation to put myself entirely at the public service, | regardless of personal considerations. Re- | spectfully, J. M. DlChlNSON. 1 MT. Stimson was born in New York | September 21, 1867. He graduated from
 Yale in 1887 and from Harvard Jaw school in 1890. He was associated with Senator | Root of New York in the practice Of law l in 1906 and was appointed United States attorney for the southern district Of New York. He returned that position after | three years service, but became special counsel for the government in the prose- l cution of the sugar trust. AS counsei Tn | that case he won the admiration or At | tornev General Wickersham and MT. Taft. seoretar, Dickinson was born in Missis- sinpi. spent most of his life in Tennessee
 and was appointedato the cabinet from l Chicago. He is 60 years old. In the civil | war he served with the Mississippi vol unteers. He was educated in the Uni versity of Nashville, the University of Leipsiz, Saxony, and the Sobornne, Paris. l He was sworn in as Secretary or War I l,axr rtaer haA