Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-07
GEORGIA BOOM 6
OVERT RNED
BY WILSON
Shifting Of Patronage to CabI-
net Heads Gives Grief to Pie
Counter Brigade.
BY JAMES 3. NEVlN.

der Of President Wilson turning over
the question Of patronage .argely to the
various heads Of the government de-
partments has thrown a measure Of
CONSERVATION into the ranks Of the
Georgia oficeseekers and many Of them
today are asking where, after all. they
are at" in the matter.
Various plum arrangements framed
up through long and weary months or
planning and manipulating for Mr.
Wilson'S benefit have been knocked into
something of cooked hat, as Mr.. Will
son himself would put It. by the new
rule referring all such things to the
cabinet secretaries.
one promising Georgia boom in par
ticular was to be laid before the new
president today, and now it must be
laid before the postmaster general, a
person to the boomers all but I'M
known.
William j. Harris, Of Cedartown,
wishes to be fourth assistant postmas-
ter general. He is chairman Of the
state Democratic executive committee,
and was one of Wilson's campaign
managers in Georgia. Moreover, he
has a backing composed Of both Will
son and Underwood men, as those
things were determined last fall. The
lob he wishes is the most important in
the service, next to the postmaster gen.
eral himself, as it carries with 1t more
patronage than any one Office under the
government The fourth assistant has
more to do with passing finally upon
the qualifications Of postmasters than
all the remainder Of the department
put together.
Harris boom, however was carefully
planned to go to the president In per-
son. It never was calculated for the
new postmaster general; he merely was
supposed to go through the motions of
appointing.
Whole Program Changed.
Mr.. Wilson has changed all that. The
entire matter now must go to the de-
partment chief for his disposition with
out any hint or suggestion from the
white house.
Lee Worsham. Of Georgia. state en-
! tomologist, who wishes to be assistant
| secretary Of agriculture and who is be-
| ing backed heavily In that ambition by
l the Georgia delegation finds his boom
p, in the same fix as the Harris boom.
II must now go straight to Secretary
! Houston. a man practically unknown
! to Mr. Worshams friends However
as that matter must be settled quick,
| it is planned to go there with 1t today
and it may be that by tomorrow that
problem will be solved Worsham has
the Endorsement of Walter Page, Of
New York. for this position, and that
is regarded as the most powerful sin
gle Endorsement he possibly could have.
! Pleasant Stovau who is slated for
minister to Switzerland old school
mate and college chum of Wilson.
whose friends expected him to be
named right off the reel is now up
against Mr.. Bryan. And so it goes, all
the way down the line All applicants
must cut out the white house and go
straight to the cabinet heads for pat
ronage.
Senator Smith Powerful.
Senator Hoke Smith unquestionably
| holds the master key TO the patronage
situation in Georgia. His influence with
cabinet heads will quite equal his in
| huence with the white house. Indeed,
cabinet officers. as a rule. are most
willing 10 listen to senatorial sugges-
lions. particularly suggestions from
senators close to the throne, because
the departments are so dependent upon
senatorial favor in their general lines
| of work.
In the Hooper Alexander fight, for
instance. the transfer of the fight from
| Wilson to the department Of justice is
regarded as operating in Mr.. Alexan-
der's favor If Senator Smith insists
upon the Alexander appointment, and
it may be that nothing short of Mr.
Alexander's withdrawal will give pause
to the senatorial determination In the
matter. the DeKalb county man un-
doubleday will land. Senator Smiths
word will so a very, very long way with
the department of justice He is very
close to it,