The Washington herald., 1914-01-25
y :
ADEE IS sBRyANS
RIGHT Arm Man
Known IN State Department
as The Human Table
of Reference"
HAS VARIED EXPERIENCE
Second Assistant Secretary Bridges
Chasms Between Outgoing and
incoming Administrations.
HAS VARIED EXPERIENCE

officials may come and oflicials may
30. but the government goes on forever.
But 1t wouldn't IL 1t were not for the
human encyclopedias who are attached
TO the several executive departments
mere and who bridge the chasm between
outgoing and incoming administrations.
IL must be evident to every thinking
citizen that masters of precedent ana
routine are an absolutely necessity IN
the State Department. Dealing with for
eign nations, II stands to reason that
1t would be unpardonable folly for q
new secretary, however great, to attempt
to run that department entirely on his
own initiative without first familiariz-
ing himself with its routine procedure.
In that department, then, 1t is not sur
prising to find q man Of the caliber Of
Second Assistant Secretary Of State Al
vey Adee, known to men in Washington
SIS the Human table Of reference"
The Second Assistant Secretary is
more than seventy years of age. The big
diplomats and men In the State Depart
ment and Congress will tell you that
without Secretary Adee the State De
partment might be chasing itself around
in circles trying to find out what the
precedent Is for this or that and the
other.
Is Departments Referee.
He has made a life study Of the rules
Of international procedure which govern
the game Of diplomacy and he Is really
more a referee in the department than
anything else.
They say in the department that once
during the Taft administration, when the
Chinese rebellion trouble was at its
height. Secretary of State Philander c.
Knox, sent a hurry call to the Second
Assistant Secretary to determine what
the status of that troubled nation was as
regards possible recognition.
Secretary Adee came in with his ear
trumpet, sat on the extreme edge of his
chair and prepared to talk. In his right
hand he held a small memorandum con-
tanning several dates. Secretary of State
Knox gazed at him in surprise, suppos-
ing of course that he would move in
about half of the departments library
in order to eiucidate the matter.
Official records don't show how many
precedents the Second Assistant Secre-
tary recited, but he certainly brought
in enough thoroughly to convince the
head of the nations foreign Office. He
recited in detail, without reference to
any kind of note or memorandum, the
case of Brazil when a provisional mill
tary government was set up. He took
up the case of the French revolution,
empire, and republic.
Afterward, so the story goes, the Sec
retary Of State, believing 1t impossible
that one man could have so many facts
at his fingers ends, went into a personal
study of the matter. Every statement
that the Second Assistant had made
they were taken down by a stenographer
wa found to be correct. mathematical
ly and absolutely. Such is the value of
the Second Assistant Secretary of the
State Department.
The evidence of his value to the gov
ernment is the fact that he has weather.
ed Republican and Democratic admins
trations, turning in his resignation with
other officials when the administration
goes out and invariably having the new
administration decline to accept II.