The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-25
REDFIELD.
The Mystery Of His Coming; the Mys.
tery Of His Staying.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23.-The appoint
ment of Mr.. Secretary Redfeld to the
important place he holds is a mystery
Of the Administration which will not
solve itself, as do most such mysteries.
While there were some whose opinion
Of Mr.. Bryan made his appointment a
mystery to them. to those with even
a little knowledge of political history
beginning a few months prior I the
baltimore convention his selection
had no element Of mystery. though
many other plaguey elements were
involved. The e%xigencies Of politics
foreordained the Bryan appointment.
but no more fatefully than the ex-
igencies of politics ordained his retire
ment from the State Department.
But Redfeld, He was no political
force as was Bryan. Kings county
Democrats knew him not before the
Congress elections Of 1910. He had
no following, no political experience;
he was so consciously weak as a vote
getter that he refused to run again in
1912. after the reapportionment. be-
cause the McCooey organization de-
clined TO give him q nomination in
a sure district.
In his brief career In the House
Mr.. Redfcld made two or three tariff
speeches which attracted attention.
They were in some respects remark
able speeches, made with a cocksure-
ness of n which puzzled his
hearers. He referred in assertive
tones TO his many experiences in far
and strange lands where he had
found. he said. American made goods
were dumped and sold at less than
their selling price in the United States.
He was u%nctuous. eXhortive. positive.
Mr.. Mann. listening with curious In
terest to Mr.. Redheld's statement OF
his discovery of the wantonly low
price Of American locomotives sold in
Timbuktu. remarked to a member sit
ting near,s"I'd question his ever hav-
ing been in Timbuktu except for the
one chance in a thousand that he has
BEEN
That explains the way Mr.. Redfeld
put over his tariff stun: he was
positive in assertions which could not
be conveniently examined, cautious in
assertions capable OF prompt analysis.
Then came the campaign OF 1912,
n Mr.. Redfield got up "A show. In
n vacant storeroom he exhibited pro-
tected merchandise. tagged TO show
the added cost OF living imposed by
the tariff. az Mr.. Redncld figured II
ont 1t was not a new notion; It had
been exploited before. but never with
SO much publicity. About that time
Mr.. Redheld seems to have annexed
"a A,u ...a. .a-, a.. ,I. 49,.
ing STAFF whose t~ireless task 1t vas
TO sugge the value It would he To
the Wilson Administrators to have Mr..
Redfeld In the Cabinet az Secretary Of
Commerce. The decision was in his
favor: IL was the last Cabinet appoint
ment decided upon at e Girt.
Presently the ountry became ware
Of an output in new fashion Of pol,t-
zeal dicta m recalled cocksure
statements that wicked men earning
their living by making cotton stock
ings. steel rails. or whatever, were
giving up their means Of livelihood
in order To refu;e Mr.. Redfcld's views
on political economies. The rascals
wouldn't knit any more stockings, rolI
any more rails, not because they
7 tpllul I ma ne d IANlUS Nv 50 'll
hut because they wanted 20 get Red
fields goat. Besides being wicked
protectionlsts. they were inefficient
They won't knit" Mr.. Redield
pointed out. because they want tC
refute me, and they can't knit because
they don't know how"
No confidence Is betrayed IN tbs
statement hat this sort OF logic made
tho President tired. When Mr.. Wilson
knows who Is making him tired he lets
the offender know thai he knows. For
a happy period the Ii~edieldian dicta
ceased To enlighten IN" world.
But his IL not a light that ever q
Presidential bushel can hide. II just has
TO fame out now and then to- escape
internal combustion. Hence his avowa
that those Pacific coast tars were go-
ing out OF the sailoring business be-
cause the shipping act made the bust
ness of shipping so profitable the Pa
cifc coast tars felt il 10 be a shame
to take the money. So they quit.
Bryan is gone: Daniels has beer
spanked Il n confession that the navS
should he something more than s
school for teetotalism. But IIedfelt
can't be dampered; the fires Of mis-
Information and economic fallacie'
burn too fiercely IN his midst to be
put out even by the White House FIR.
brigade. Some hopeful ones advance
their belief that Brooklyn, not Wash
ington, will o he the more brightly
illuminated by the u~nquenchahle Red
fleldian flames.