The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-04-13
Secretary to President Wilson Seems
to Have Faculty Of Making
Friends Mighty
Easily.
HE IS A HARD WORKER
Does Not Wear a SILK Hat to Work
or Put on the Airs Which
Hilles Loved to
Assume.

WASHINGTON, April 12.-This is
another story about Joseph Patrick
Tumulty, a blond haired irish gentle
man who is private secretary to-
Woodrow Wilson, president Of these
United States
While Mr.. Tumulty was acting as
an efficient secretary Ito Governor
Wilson, he was fairly active young
man, with push in both hands and
smile guaranteed to disarm an angry
lion,-which, good authorities claim,
is the essence of real anger. He was
active, engaging and polite; he had
fund of political wiles, garnered in
years of buffeting the New Jersey
political machine, and he was an all
around, unassuming mixer. Incident
ally he had behind him record OF
achievements, domestic and political,
unusual in man so young.
Then he drifted into the white
house executive offices still redolen,
of that suave dignity which Charles
d. Hilles, late of New York had
spread over 1t. It's nice office, and
even the potted palms and cut glass
desk fixtures wore that air of sup
pressed dignity and English cutaway,
/ high hat stuff that Charles D. was
wont to instill into his immediate sur
roundings.
Well, the cut plants and the cut
glass are still there, bu.. the dignity
and the memories have fed, run, re-
treated and otherwise beaten it,
! There's whole lot less dignity and
4 a lot more real activity apparent
around that Office than there has
been In many moons,-And there's a
spirit of human good fellowship that
is almost sacriligious In view of the
atmosphere that used to cling around
those precincts.
Mr.. Tumulty wears a regular brown
4 suits or blue ones when he comes on
the job, these supplemented with a
gray and black mixed soft hat with
the bow behind, when he doesn't get
excited and put 1t in front. II any
body wants to see him, they just, DRIFT
in to his Office, large roemy affair.
with lot Of comfortable chairs and
, hang around until he comes over to
see him. The secretary moseys about
! the place in a casual manner, drop
ping into seat here, divan there
and disposing of the caller who hap
| pens to be nearest in line. Massed ir
, the background, still wearing amazed
, looks, are always a corps of news
y paper correspondents, nervorei
0 chewing cigars. and wondering wheth
3 er this is sweat dream or just the
9 result of auto intoxication
e Mr. Tumulty. though he doesn'
e wear a silk hat to work, is always
/. attired in charmingly democratic
i. manner, and absolutely unassumins
o speech. If he has any airs at all, hi
certainly has choked them dowr
e since he took over the Job Of beins
r right hand man to new president
e He seems to have abou. ten thou
t sand details, names and dates at hi.
l. fingers ends. If he Is asked a cues
h ton, he answers 1t directly or tells
s the auestioner he won't say a word
e There isn't any diplomatic bunk abou
i, It, Directness is his chief aim ant
after question is asked and answer
= ed, satisfactorily or otherwise thu
r{citn orn a tot
r. there weren't any threads left hang
i, ing to Mr.. Tumulty's conversation. H,
l. has gotten all that anybody else ha!
c gotten or will get.
The new secretary gets on the jol
D. at about $50 In the morning and quit
It when he can get through the day.
e work His first task is to rush through
t. his mail. He eyes the stack bravely
f lights large black cigar, they re
duce automatically in size during tn,
n day, until at night he is general,
d smoking a thin panatella,- thel
d goes to work.
r He doesn't dictate. He Just tell
e his ammanuensis what he wants hin
e to say and leaves the phrasing Il
d him.
n This is condensed picture Of It,:
4 Tell this man tina. it will be a
right I'll see to It,"
" Tell this man to take that bus
" ness up through the regular channels
k Address him by his last name. He
n. a friend of mine"
ID Thank this man for the president
e. and sign it cordially"
Just write this man that recon
mendations like that won't help hir
is to get a job
i'd Say that will make an engage
le ment for him in the regular way, an
W tell him to CALL
II And so on.