Evening star., 1912-07-17
REPLY TO ANDREW
Charges Of Friction in Treas
ury Department Denied.
LETTERS FROM OFFICIALS
President Taft and Secretary Mac.
Veagh Assured That Accusations
Are Without Foundation.

Several letters directed to President
Taft and Secretary Macveagh. repudiat
ing the charges of A. Piatt Andrew, for
mer Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
that Mr.. MacVeagh had had disagree
ments with nearly all of his principal
subordinates. have been made public. The
letters not only deny what Mr. Andrew
stated, but also reply to his criticisms of
general conditions in the department.
Among those writing the letters are
Charles D. Hilles and Charles D. Nor
ton, former assistant secretaries Of the
Treasury; James Knox Taylor. former
supervising architect: Charles P. Mont
gomery, former chief of the customs
divisions: r. F.. Cabell, commissioner of
internal revenue; Charles A. kram, audi
tor for the Post Office Department, and
j. E. Ralph. director of the bureau of
engraving and printing.
Two Officials Silent.
Two of the prominent officials who
were mentioned by Mr.. Andrew as hav-
ing encountered great difficulties in the
transaction of business with Mr.. Mac
Veagh were Lawrence o. Murray, con-
troller of the currency. and Lee Nc
Chung, United States treasurer. Neither
Ol THESE HIS written TO fTcSlucilL dit
OF to Secretary MacVeagh, so far as is
known, and persistent reports are in
circulation of their purpose to resign.
Mr.. Murray has had under consideration
fur months his retirement to enter the
banking business. He has had number
o. offers 10 become the head of banking
institutions, and has declined these to
emain where he is, almost wholly be-
cause Mr.. MacVeagh wished his services.
Mr.. McClung says there is nothing in
the talk of his resignation.
AS was Herbert Knox Smith. who has
just resigned to enter the campaign for
Roosevelt, Mr.. Murray was brought into
the service by Secretary Cortelyou and
Presiden. Roosevelt, and often played
tennis with Mr.. Roosevelt.
Text or Hilles Letter.
Mr.. Hilles' letter is similar to that of
the others. In it he says to Mr. Mac
Veagh:
Il have not earlier had an opportunity
of writing you with respect to recent
public statements which made it appear
that you 'snubbed me on one occasion
or were discourteous to me when l was
one of your assistant secretaries. ! think
this was based on report that was
without foundation and grew out of my
exhaustive inquiry respecting the organi-
zation and efficiency of the public health
service.
Il wrote yoI on the day of my retire
ment from the Treasury, thanking you
for having given me a splendid oppor-
tunity to assist you for two years in the
study administration and Improvement
of the bureaus and divisions assigned to
the miscellaneous desk, and said at that
time that you have given me free hand
in making improvements involving i'm
portant structural changes in the depart
ment. / find from an examination of my
letter that l acknowledged gratefully
your sympathetic and constant support
THAT letter, taken with your very de-
lightful and gratifying note of April g.
1911, seems to me to make the fact per-
fectly clear that our relations were mu-
tually satisfactory-to me they were emf
nently satisfactory"