The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-26


Mr.. Taft as President was going through
the South urging southerners to hasten
the day when they would again take an
active and important partsin the conduct
of the central government at Washing
| ton. Mr.. Taft was sincere in his desire
to see the South attain the influential
place 1t occupied at the National Capital
before the Civil War. but 1t is hardly
likely that he anticipated the fulfillment
Of his wishes In just the way 1t has been
brought about.
The South and Southern influence are
today more strongly represented In the
government at Washington than at any
| other time since the Civil War. Politics
observers here are beginning to realize
this more and more as the lists OF appoint
ments to the Federal service come out
from the White House and the committee
assignments in Congress are studied.
In the first place, the Presidency itself
Is in the hands of a man Southern born
for the first time in almost half a CEN
tury Woodrow Wilson was born in
Virginia, was graduated from the Uni
versity Of Virginia. founded by Thomas
Jefferson, and has retained strong
Southern sentiments from his early train
ing and surroundings.
In choosing his Cabinet. Mr.. Wilson has
been very liberal with the South. Today
more Southerners are in charge Of the
great executive departments OF the gov
eminent than ever before since back In
the SOS.
Grover Cleveland. in his first admins
tration. gave only two OF his eight Cab
met posts to the South. He selected
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, of
Mississippi, for his Secretary of Interior
and Augustus H. Garland, of Arkansas,
for his Attorney General.
Cleveland Cabinet Southern.
Again, when Cleveland was elected in
1892. he gave only three Of the eight
cabinet places to the South. selecting
John G. Carlisle, OF Kentucky, for Sec
rotary of the Treasury; Hilary A. Her
bert OF Alabama, for Secretary of the
Navy, and Hoke Smith, OF Georgia. for
Secretary OF the Interior.
Three OF the ten men in President Will
sons Cabinet are credited directly to
Southern States: two others were born
and have lived most OF the time in the
South, and one OF these halls from a bor-
der State.
Josephus Daniels, Secretary OF the
Navy. comes from North Carolina:
James O. McReynolds the Attorney Gen
eral. halls from Tennessee. and Albert
S. Burleson. the Postmaster Gener3i. Is
a son of Texas The Secretary OF the
Treasury. William c. McAdoo. Is credited
to New York State, but II requires only
a slight stretch OF memory to recall the
time when he entered New York City
fresh from his Georgia home with moth
ing to build on save one big idea and
plenty OF pluck. David F. Houston. the
Secretary Of Agriculture. not only comes
from Missouri, a border State. but is by
birth and training a Southerner. He first
saw the light in North Carolina, was
graduated from the South Carolina Col
lege. and was president OF the University
OF Texas before he became chancellor Of
Washington University in st. Louis.
AS contrasted with this impressive list
OF Southern Cabinet officers, Taft's Of
fetal family. at the close of his admins |
tration. contained not a single man who |
was credited to a Southern State. The
nearest approach to II was Charles Nagel. |
of ST. Louis. who was Secretary of Com |
merce and Labor. He was a native OF
Texas. At the beginning Of his admins |
tration President Taft gave the war
portfolio to Jacob MEG. Dickinson. a
Tennessee Democrat. but Dickinson re-
signed before the four years were up. |
The recent growth Of Southern influence |
in high places also is plainly reflected in |
the character of the minor appointments |
that have been made. Southerners have
been coming in for a large share of these. |
although Northern Democrats have no |
ground for grumbling on this score. Sec |
tionalism has played no part with the |
President in making OF his selections, |
high or low. He has tried to base his |
appointment solely on merit, and has
passed out the nominations impartially |
to North and South. The fact that there |
have been so few Southerners in impor-
tant Offices under Republican administra-
tons has served to emphasize the selec-
tons that Mr.. Wilson has made from
this section of the country.
In the Treasury Department Secretary
McAdoo has drawn on the South for as
sistance. which in years gone by has
almost invariably come from Northern
States. usually from the big money CEN
tiers like New York City. Mr.. McAdoo.
when II came to selecting his first as
sistant, the man who handles the finances
Of the government chiefly In its relations
with the banks. turned to Virginia and
captured John Shelton Williams. a high
class banker. The administration of the
Internal Revenue Bureau is now in the
hands of a Southerner also. William H |
Osborn, OF North Carolina, has been ap-
pointed by President Wilson to succeed
Royal E. Cabell.
In the Department of Justice also the
first assistant is Southerner. James
A. Fowler, of Tennessee. Mr.. Fowler
was with the Wickersham administra-
ton, but Mr.. McReynolds has retained
him.
One of the most important appoint
ments from the South that the President
has yet made was that Of William ].
Harris, of Georgia. to succeed z. Dana
Durand. of California, as Director of
the Census Mr.. Harris was the chair
man of the Georgia Democratic State