The Washington herald., 1913-03-21

OF the three secretaries who served
President Taft. Mr.. Hilles was the most
gifted in the rare art of handling men
without stirring anybody's wrath. 1t is
doubtful II he made an enemy Of any
caller at the White House during his
, two years stay there. His predecessor.
| wonderful knack at invariably hitting on
just the thing best adapted to send a
caller away. sore not only at the Sec
retary. but at the President himself. the
whole administration, and the Republi-
can party. And the list Of people Norton
made mad took in many of his co-work-
ers about the Executive Offices. One day
he had a run-in with young man acting
then as confidential stenographer to the
President. Norton made up his mind to
have the young man fired. And he pur-
posed TO notify him in a way marked by
quaint originality and grim humor. He
sent for the stenographer and dictated u
letter to him. There was nothing I'M
usual about that, in itself. but when the
stenosrapher had the letter all down, he
noted that II was his own letter of resig
nation. Norton bade him typewrite il
neatly. paying close attention to the mar
gins and punctuation. and sign il. The
sleHOSTdpner refused 10 tNpeWrlte the
letter and held his job. IL he had been
standing about in the corridor outside the
Presidents room a few days ago. he
would have seen something that might
have amused him.
Norton. on a visit to Washington, had
stopped in to pay his respects to the new
President and the new Secretary. He
greeted Pat McKenna, the doorkeeper.
effusively.
We'll. well. Pat. old fellow. how are
you. anyhow" he inquired. extending his
hand with much cordiality.
Pat gave him a look of austerity such
as one might bestow on an Objectionable
aspirant for son-in-law or a fake mining
stock agent, put his hands in his pock-
cts. and said:
How do YOU do. sir. Just sit down
jerking his head in the direction of
the row of chairs where visitors wait.
And there Norton had to sit just like
the humblcst stranger, while Pat leaned
back in his chair and started at him
with much hauteur.
Although he did not know II at the
time. Chairman McCombs, of the Demo-
cratic National Committee. was building
up his organization to elect Woodrow
Wilson President away back in his col
lege days.
McCombs when at Princeton Univer-
sity some twenty years ago, started an
employment bureau to help students
work their way through college and to
get them jobs i'm the vacation season
and after they got out of college He
got in touch with Princeton alumni in
all parts of the country and they helped
him place men when they could. Young
men who got jobs in this way took their
turn at placing younger men. and grad
ually McCombs had an effective employ
ment bureau that was nationwide in its
scope. There was something fascinating
about the system as it grew and ex-
panded and McCombs had his first
glimpse Of the possibilities of organiza-
ton.
After he had finished college. McCombs
still kept track of hundreds of alumni
for whom he had obtained jobs. and as
they made good and became important
factors in their communities. they FORM
ed the nucleus for an effective organiza-
ton for starting almost anything one
might wish to start.
When the time was ripe for launching
the Wilson boom. McCombs was able.
through his alumni acquaintance. to
learn who could do things in any given
locality and how to get them to do
things that would accrue to the advan-
tage of one Woodrow Wilson.
And thus did he get his project under
way.
Key Pittman, the man of many ad-
ventures. who il now Junior Senator from
Nevada. always has to stop and think
when anybody asks him his age. All his
life he has been .oficially year too old.
When he was about to enter college, he
found that he was a year too young to
get In, and for that reason ''sweetened"
II II
came to believe he had lived all the years
he said he had. And he has never been
able to eradicate the 'officiar' birthdate
from his mind. He Is now forty years
old-either that or forty-one.
"well. do you hate to leave. now that
your job has expired?" Martin Little
ton was asked. as he stepped out Of the
House chamber on the last day Of the
old Congress.
No. said Martin. Il feel exactly like
the butler who came In to his master