The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-10-05
PRESIDENTS
SECRETARYS
LONG LIST OF SH0CK-ABSORBERS
WHO HAVE BEEN ON JOB.
WILL BE NEW ONE
AFTER FOURTH OF MARCH
THIS Is BELIEVED TO BE TRUE
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
HUGHES OR WILSON

washington, sept. ou.--l ne OplnlOl
prevails in Washington that the ma
tons chief executive will he servc'
| by a new private secretary afte
March next, regardless of whethe
Wilson or Hughes is the victor in thu
approaching election. If. Mr.. Hughe.
is elected he will bring with him tC
| washington a man of his own 'selec
tion from among the many efficeitt
and eligible workers whose acquain.
tance he has made in the course OF
| his public career. In the event OF
President Wilson's reelection it is re
garded as foregone conclusions that
the present secretary, Joseph p. TIL
multy, will voluntarily resign his po-
sition, to be succeeded by some other
man of the presidents choosing.
President Wilson has been served
faithfully and efficiently by Mr.. Tu-
multy and the relations between the
two are of the most cordial natu e.
If Mr.. Tumulty resigns the position
in the event of the presidents re-
election his act will be entirely volun-
tary.. That it is his Intention to re-
tire fro mthe position after March 4
next is the belief of all of Mr.. Tu-
multy's most intimate associates.
Time was when the position of pri-
vate secretary to the president was
more or less of a sinecure. In the
early days of the republic, and even
down TO the administration of Hay IS
and Garfield and Arthur, the duties
of The presidents private secretary
consisted almost wholly of cleric /
work of a more OF less routine ma
ture. But of late years the position
has taken on much greater import
ance, with a consequent increase Of
work ond responsibility.
Nowadays the private secretary is
the buffer that stands between the
president and the public, or it might
be said, the shock absorber that pro-
tects the chief executive from the an
noyances of disgruntled politicians
and importmate persons of all sorts.
1t is Inevitable that whoever holds
the position must come in for so>ie
hard lnocks. Among the dissatisfied
element in official and unofficial cir
cles in Washington the habit of criti-
eng tie PRESIDENTS private secretary
is popular indoor sport.
1t is not considered likely that Sec
Ietary Tumulty will care to hold the
position another four years. 1t is
probable that if he resigned and the
president was reelected he could Jb-
tain appointment to an equally re-
and more desirable fed
eral position for the asking. Or, if
he chose to return to private life, the
prestige of his present position would
go far toward landing him a big"
position in the world of finance or
business.
President Wilson probably would
select another New Jersey man if
called upon to rame a new private
secretary. Mr.. Hughes, if elected
president, likewise would be expected
to make his selection from New York
state. 1t has been an almost unbro1-
en- rule for president to select as
his private secretary a citizen of his
own state ever since George Washing
ton took Tobias Lear. Mr.. Lear was
Virginian, close friend and neigh
Dor of General Washington. Thus
Jefferson chose fo that position Car
tain Merriweather Lewis, of Virginia;
Jackson, A. j. Donelson, of Tennes
see; Van Buren, John Van Buren,, of
New York; Polk, John Knox Walker,
of Tennessee; Taylor, Col. Bliss, of
Kentucky; Fillmore, NJ. P. Fillmore,
of New York; Pierce. Sidney Webs
ter, of New Hampshire; Buchanan,
James Buchanan Henry, of Pennsyl-
vania; Lincoln, John N. Nicolay, of
Illinois; Johnson, Robert Johnson, Of
Tennessee; Grant, Robert NJ. Douglas
of Illinois; Hayes, w. X. Rogers, ,of
Ohio; Garfield, j. Stanley Brown, ol
Ohio; Arthur, Fred J. Stanley, of New
York; Cleveland, in his first admins
tration. Dan Lamont, of New York
and Henry 7. Thurber, of Michigan
in his second administration; HaT
son. e. j.. Halford, of Indiana; Nc
Kinley, j. Addison Porter. of Ohio
Roosevelt, William Loeb, Jr, of New
York; Taft, Charles D. Hilies. o
Ohio; Wilson, Joseph P. Tumulty. o
New Jersey.
j Several of these private secretarie
afterwards filled places of high dis
tinetion, some in public and some Ii