The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-13
Remarkably Young Man to Have Handled Affairs of
 Such Magnitude
IS ABLE TO KEEP
 HIS OWN COUNSEL
John Sherman Attributed Much of His Own Success to His Ability to Keep Secrets Entrusted
 to Him
By HOLLAND

New York October 12.-(Special.)-In the great and far reaching movement of present day events there stand out sev- eral persons who are hereafter to be conspicuously associated with tnese world moving affairs One v,no is now at tracting to himself, not consciously, much attention and who is the subject of great and approving comment is Henry P. Davison of J. P. Morgan & Co For it is commonly understood that M- Nor gan and MT. Davidson have been the leaders in the preparatory steps which have at last led to the consummation of the greatest external loan ever made by any nation. or any two. also much the largest piece of international financ- ing, in which the United States has been one of the parties.
 It has been with utmost caution that Mr. Davison has participated in these negotiations, some of which undoubtedly began, informally at least at the time of MT. Davison's visit to London last winter. Caution, prudence and a reason able taciturnity were entailed if the ne- gotiations were to be brought to a sue cessful conclusion. These qualities had distinguished our greatest secretaries of the treasury when momentous national financing was under way. The now tra- ditional achievements of Governor Chase when Secretary of the Treasury under President Lincoln, were at the time they were progressing carefully yelled by the Secretary So also John Sherman, when Secretary of the Treasury in the admin fstration of President Hayes having mo- mentous financing to occupy him. includ- tv.rx tI.. was spoken of as the most taciturn and secretive of men. After his triumph, Mir Sherman confessed that an attitude of that kind toward the public was essen tial if he were to gain success.
 No one who was not authorized to have the information ever gained from Mir. Davison. either by hint, by expression of his countenance or by anything he did or said. the slightest idea of the char acter of the stupendous undertaking with which he was associated.
 It has sometimes been said since that negotiations was successfully ended that there must have been moments when it was in progress when MT. Davison called to mind an earlier experience of his own in international financing upon large scale. The amount involved at that time was ihree-fifths of the sum upon which the representatives of England and France ard the Amerfcan bankers had agreed should be the loan. China had need, as it's leaders thought. of 800 GOO, = GOO. But this loan was to be participated 1n by six nations. The United States was one of these. Mir Davison was chosen as a chairman of the conference which was held in Paris. It was an extraordinary honor to pay so young a man as he was, as it would have been extraordinary to name any American for this important responsibility. It was due to MT. ,Davidson's great skill in fi- nancing diplomacy and equally to his great tact, that the conference was sue cessful, especially in the agreement that the open door was to be maintained in China and that there should be no at tempt to take from China any part of it's territory.
 The fact that the United States, later, was compelled to withdraw from that association does not reflect at all upon MT. Davison. A few moments conver- sation with the Secretary of State, w. J. Bryan, was sufficient to lead MT. Davi- son to say that as the state department did not approve of the participation of the United States in this loan-although that deparement in the administration preceding not only approved such par-. ticipaton, but strongly advised it--the' American bankers would withdraw from participation in it. Later, when one of the loan now about to be made sought to place loan in the United States the same influence which had compelled MT.