The Washington times., 1913-03-05
A PROGRESSIVE CABINET.

Until there is good reason to judge otherwise the
country is likely to think that President Wilson has
done very well with his Cabinet Taken in mass it is
Cabinet of young men-there is nobody in it past
6fty-four years-and young Cabinet ought to be up
to the huge mass of work that in national public
life is now piled upon the man who is at all fit to
be in his job.
1t is Cabinet of liberal material This is so aside
from the radicalism of Mr.. Bryan, who is so we'll
known to the public as to need no description in a
Democratic, Republican, or Progressive news
paper.
Mr.. Franklin X. Lane, who goes into the Interior
Department, has been exceedingly progressive, and,
in his work on the Interstate Commerce Commission,
has been willing to stand up boldly for his convic-
tions Mr.. McAdoo, who goes into the Treasury, was
progressive several years before President Wilson
entered public life, and he independent until
he became active last fall in the support of the Demo-
cratic candidate Mr. Garrison Secretary of War has
been in intimate contact with Mr. Wilson since the
latter became governor and with his strong pro-
gressive tendencies there be no doubt that the
President is assured of those of Mr.. Garrison. Mr.
McReynolds, succeeding Mr. Wickersham as Attorney
General has been one of the chief trust busters Of
the Administrations of both President Roosevelt and
President Taft.
None of the foregoing men, always with the ex-
cepton of Mr. Bryan of course, can be called poll
tcians, and the American public will not be sorry for
that. Mr. Burleson Postmaster General, has been in
the House of Representatives for several years.
Josephus Daniels, taking charge of the Navy, has
been a redhot Bryan Democrat, and William C. Red
field, now Secretary of Commerce, has been exceed
ng1y independent, especially in the vigorous promo
ton of his out-and-out free trade views. Mr. Hou
ston of Missouri is like the President himself man
whose life, in large measure, has been devoted to
education. Labor-and organized labor-gets its rep
resentative in William B. Wilson.
At the announcement of the selections some criti-
Cisms arose the fact that New England got no
representative at all and that in the Cabinet were
too many members either living in the South nav
ing come from the South. AS matter of fact the
time has passed when the American people care
snap of their fingers whether a man comes into
official life from the South any other part of the
country provided he is able to fill the job And they
don't care whether New England is represented in
the Cabinet the Southwest is represented, pro-
vided there is proper representation of the people
of the United States
Mr.. Wilson may have made mistakes in the Sc.
lection of his Cabinet-there are few Presidents who
have not. Some Presidents have made CHASTITY mis-
takes. But good, strong President is able to cor
rect to rise superior to the mistakes he may have
made in forming his Cabinet while, as it has been
often said Cabinet of the strongest men has ever
been able to make weak President either a strong
or successful President.
President Wilson appears to have selected the
members of his Cabinet with an eye to the public
service, bearing in mind that he wanted progress
sve Cabinet perhaps very radical Cabinet, to fol-
low the pace that might be set by Mr.. Bryan, the
chief figure in the official family We don't think
he wanted progressive members of the Cabinet at
the cost of efficiency in public servants, but we do
think it is perfectly obvious that he
did not want and would not take natural efficiency
at the cost Of progressiveness.