Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-26
Washington Letter
BY VICTOR ELLIOTT.

WASHINGTON. Oct. 26.--Here in
Washington where there are so many
delicate jobs to be filled delicatelyd
those best qualified to judge say that
the position of private secretary to q
member of the Presidents cabinet is
as delicate, if not more so, than any
other delicate job. The diplomatic
corps is reported to call more insist
emily for delicacy than any other
| branch of the public service, but UNI
| der the now order of shirt sleeve
diplomacy, delicacy is said to be going
| out of style, with John Linds taking
| the places of erstwhile Tallyrands. 1t
| is also urged that it is not necessary
| to be SO delicate in your dealings
| when a sea or a desert lies between
| YOU and your correspondent as when
! home questions are involved
| The private secretary to cabinet
| member must have an elastic and
pliable mind, a tenacious memory for
names and faces and above all, he
must know which of those names
mean something in the political
scheme of things and which do not.
| He must know whose face will be
welcomed, whose should always be
sent away smiling, and kindred
| things.
The private secretary to a cabinet
member is supposed to play a part in
lrelation to his chief similar to that
lplayed by the Kingdom of Belgium
lin relation to England. France and
Germany. He is the buffer between
the secretary and the outside world
and occasionally he is badly trampied.
j 1.-THE private secretary to cabinet
n member is reminiscent so far as his
l ,.. Of hn 0sAYfrn n
/, god Janus, who, resting upon the city
gates, bore two heads, one looking
Into the city and the other looking
out. Similarly the private secretary
must be always on the alert for calls
from within the secretary's sanctum
and must be ready to supply all the
wants of bis chief a fraction of a
moment before they are felt. But on
1.-THE other hand he must look out,
; The principal assaults on his strongly
lintrenched position come from with
out. There is, in connection with
Ieyery cabinet suite of offices, a large
lante-room in which the private secre-
tary has his desk. Into this office
ARE ushered all who desire to see the
lcabinet member, Before they reach
him. however, they are compelled to
pass the position of the messenger
lcolored of course, who brooks oveI
1.-THE ante-room door. Such positions
usually are little more than outposts
and can, as a rule, be taken by storm
Once you face the private secre-
tary, though, all your diplomacy
must be pitted against his diplomacy
plus his delicacy IL you hope to win
through. You have to stand and de-
lliver. First you must give, prefer
ably on an engraved card, your full
name and calling. Then YOU will be
called upon by the private secretary
to state your business and any Other
excuses you may have for taxing his
time. If the caller is blessed with q
rudy complexion and has horny
hands, the private secretary has nc
difficulty; he rings for guide anc
after shaking the caller by the hand
a number of times starts him off on q
tour of the building, secure that this
l,rural constituent of his chief will have
forgotten all about who he wanted tt
see when he came into the building by
the time he has threaded all III
maZes
But cabinet members usually Wan'