The Washington herald., 1914-07-15
HISTORY BUILDERS.
A Remarkable Instance of Official
Integrity.
written szpuessly for The HsTaldl
BY DIR. Z. J. EDWARDS.

BY DIR. Z. }. EDWARDS.
The late William A. Richardson. who
was Secretary OF the Treasury at Wash
ington in the last half OF the nrst ad-
ministration OF President Grant. was one
Of those men who. while they gain and
maintain strong friendships. are likely
not to be taken entirely seriously. There
is often n hint of some unconventional
habit Of thought or manner or express
sion which Is sure to cause a smile, al
though II Is always kindly.
Judge Richardson was probably more
conspicuous as Chief Justice OF the Court
OF Claims at Washington than as Sec
retary OF the Treasury. That may have
been due to the fact that he was much
longer upon the bench as Justice of this
court than at the head of the table IN
the Office of the Secretary Of the Treas
ury.
At one time or another warm personal
frienGs Of Judge Richardson have mar
rated to me little anecdotes associated
with him which reveal a kindly hu-
morous side Of his character. One Of
these anecdotes was told me by the late
George d. Robinson, who was for many
years the representative in Congress OF
the Western Massachusetts, district and
who gained national distinction by the
campaign ne made as Republican con-
didate for governor of Massachusetts
against Gen. Benjamin F. Butler. who
was the Democratic candidate and was
seeking reelection.
Judge Richardson has a singularly
scrupulous and as l thought. rather
overestimated sense Of personal honor
or Of personal propriety in all matters
relating to money Mr.. Robinson said.
Il remember that l called upon him
one day very near the close Of his SCI
vice as Secretary OF the Treasury. He
told me that in his way was the tempta-
tion to utilize to personal advantage
some of the opportunities appertaining
to the office OF Secretary OF the Treas
ury.''
To utilize this. Judge Richardson reach
ed over to a drawer in his desk ana.
having opened II. he took from it a small
box. handling that box as carefully as
though it contained jewels or very deli
cate specimens of cut glass. He opened
this box in a leisurely way and then
asked me to look into il. / could see
nothing there but some postage stamps
and some sheets of paper and a few
envelopes
Observing, think, my surprise that
nothing more precious than these aTti'
cles had been exposed, Judge Richardson
said:
Il got this box for the purpose OF pro-
Nldlng mESeI with materials LOT my PEI
sonal correspondence. l realized that
might be tempted to utilize official
stationery and the postage prerogatives
Of the Treasury Department not. OF
course, Intentionally. but carelessiy OF
heedlessly 1t did not seem to me that
1 would be justified IN using official
stationery for anything but correspond
ence connected with the Treasury De
partment.
Sometimes, however. personal cor
respondence and official correspondence
come pretty near being the same thing.
Whenever that happened l determined
scrupulously to use my personal letter
head paper and envelopes, and l Keep
constantly on hand an adequate supply
of United States postage stamps These
1 have in this box, and / believe II to
be the case that l have in no instance
violated official propriety.'
Judge Richardson said this with per-
feet simplicity Of manner. and yet there
was something about his way OF speak
ing which contained a quantity humorous
suggestion Of which, OF course, he was
utterly unconscious.
loopyrizht. 1911 By DR.. L. ]. Edwards. All rights
reseyedl
Tomorrow, DIR. Edwards will tell oi
"a Modest Mans Respect for His Po-