The Washington herald., 1915-03-11
HISTORY BUILDERS.
Americas First Secretary of Agricul-
ture.
Wnuen Expressly for The Wsshs gt"n H'rad0
By DIR. T.. J. EDWARDS.

By DIR. Z. }. EDWARDS.
"As / look back over my political
| career and recall one after another
| the many men. some of them of great
| prominence. with whom l had asso-
citation l am more and more convinced
! that the greatest Democrat don't
use the word in the partisan sense
that real democracy means, was Jer-
emiah VI. Rusk."
This remark was made to me by
| Gen. Thomas VI. James, VINO was Post
! master General in President Carrie Id $
| Cabinet and who would have been
glad if political consideration had
made it possible for GARFIELD to name
Uncle Jerry" Eusk, as everybody
called him, as one of his Cabinet Of
iicers.
Il never knew why Garfield did not
offer more important Office TO Jerry
I;usk than he did offer to him. There
were Sentimcn/l and romantic rea-
sons why Garucld should have been
strongly attracted to Rusk, as in fact.
he was. when Garfield AS 4 boy was
driving mule along a canal tOwpath
Ill NOT ln'In ofllp SO tIldI ne tpuli
earn some money. Jerry Rusk, who
was about the same ago. was driving
a stage in Northern Ohio. and the two
lads then became acquainted.
Il. have heard ii said that they did
not meet again until Rusk became a
member of Congress. in the latter part
of Grants first administration. but I
seem to recolIect that Garfield once
said to me that when he was in the
army he met Jerry RuSk. who had dis
tinguished himself for bravery and
was in command, I think. of Wis
consin regiment. They did. however.
meet when Rusk came to Washington
to take his seat as member of tn"
Lower House. and the relations be
tween them became very cordial. al
most intimate.
After Garfield was inauEurated for
President. l think within week or
two, he offered Rusk his choice of a
foreign mission or the superintendenCc
of the Bureau of Engraving ann
Printing. Had either of these offers
been accepted. the probabilities are
that Rusk would not have made the
wonderful record which he did make
as governor of Wisconsin.
what a delightful man he was
unassuminE, plain. approachable and
yet without any loss of dignity. He
was. I think, with Senator Eirkwood.
of Iowa, the best representative of the
truly democratic American citizen. He
had great respect for ability and tas
more of a reader of books than most
persons suspected He was one of the
first men of public life fully to COM
prehend what the agricultural posi-
bilities of that part of the United
States which lies west of the MissiS-
sippi are.
1T was. of course, his record as
governor of Wisconsin which made
him prominent as one of the candi-
dates for President in 1883. Had he
been nominated and elected, he
would have been accepted as the per-
feet type of a true American. l sup
pose 1t was on account of Rusk's pop
ularity and also because the Republic
an convention had given his nominal
ton some support that President Har-
rison who was nominated at that con-
vention, decided to appoint Rusk
Secretary of Agriculture. that depart
ment having just been created by
Congress.
Though these two men were ut
terly unlike in temperament and in
many qualities of mind. yet I have
heard il said that Rusk was the Cab
met officer whom Harrison found
most congenial and In whose counseis
he found most to accept"
Copyright. ,sqs by Z. J. Edwards All rights ~
served,
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell of