The Washington herald., 1918-02-12

There are something like 100000 men
now in the employ OF the War De-
partment;. they come from the haunts
of the submerged tenth and from
the mighty places OF Industrial cap
tains; they scatter over two conti-
nents and into the far corners OF the
earth; their works range from menial
chores to tasks that stagger the imagi-
nation.
Full many a reputation has been
shattered even thus early in our par
ticipation; each week the preferments
Of the able and energetic and the re-
jections Of the weak and unwilling be-
come more insistent. more heartless,
more impersonal. But not a few have
risen above the welter of detail that
would attach to any position and have
refused to be so engrossed by the null
titudinous minutiae OF the moment
that the long vision is lost OF such
may their tribe increases Frederick
Keppel.
Keppel EmeIent.
When there are many people to be
met, many pleas to be heard, many
Inquiries to be satisfied and many.
very many. negatives to be returned.
he is a rare individual who can emerge
from the process, preserving the con-
fidence and the good will OF those
whose nephews must be denied
commissions, whose inventions will
never get farther than the blue
print stage. whose projects for end
ing the war in thirty days must re-
main a scrap of paper.
A middle Western official once re-
marked that the time seemed to be
approaching when no official who
served the public could be returned
honestly to Office by popular yote-it
was necessary to make too many enc
mics in being honest But none Of the
thousands who flock each week to the
War Department has borne away the
impression or voiced the opinion that
Frederick Keppel Is incapable or un-
scrupulous. At least, 1t has not been
expressed so that he who listens might
hear-and that Is no little compliment
in these days when one suspects his
brother-in-law Of remaining neutral or
worse, and when one is quite sure that
the man with the upcurled mustache
at the next table in the hotel is bent
on dire II subtle evils.
Keppel, sometime dean OF Columbia
College. is the confidential clerk to the
Secretary OF War. When the April
declaration against the imperial gov
ernment was made, he put aside the
cap and gown and came to Washing
ton to find a place where his help
might count in the nations emergency.
At the Cosmos Club he was intro
duced by Charles MerZ Of the new re-
public to a member of the staff OF Sec
retary Baker. There was love at first
sight. Soon after, in the rapidly ex-
panding War Department personnel,
Keppel was made confidential clerk
and the union bids fair to be a happy
one ever after, or until there's peace
on earth to them OF good will
OF Varied Talents.
He is a man of many and versatile
talents. IL Keppel. His scholastic
reputation Is sustained by degrees
from Columbia and the University of
Pittsburgh and by membership in the
Phi Beta Kappa honorary society. His
international humanitarianism has
made him the secretary Of the. Amer
lean Association for International
Cancellation and . chevalier OF the
Legion d'Honneur.
A substantial business experience
was gained as assistant secretary Of
Harper and Brothers, the publishers,
in the years preceding his academic
activity. And somehow, in on times
and odd moments, DR.. Keppel has
found time and energy to continue
the creative literary pursuits which
won for him the degree of Doctor
Of Literature in 1872
Slightly more than q year ago he
published a historical volume, de-
scriptive OF Columbia University, and
early this year there came from
the press another of his works, THE
Undergraduate and His College"
1t has become somewhat a common
indoor sport at the War Department
to have journalists who come to re-
cord their impressions of the Sec
retatry OF War linger to write also
the story Of the dynamic, genial, et-
fective sort OF person whom one
meets in transit through the office
Of the confidential clerk. AZ one such
person said a month ago: when
you see Keppel and hear him and are
welcomed by him and watch him in
action, it's all you can do to keep
from laughing and growing and doing
q little dance for no special reason
except that you feel that way. He's
the bright side Of the war"
Always Optimistic.
It 10 not easy to analyze Dean
Keppel; he doesn't fan into any of
the standard categories. But un-
doubtedly his experience In dealing
with many hundreds Of young men
at Columbia has stood him in good
stead while doing q task of some
what the same nature. but greatly
different proportions at the War De-
partment. His boundless energy
carries him through a grueling
program that would wear down and
wreck less robust individual.
He has a tactfulness more than
sumcsnt 70 understand and to make
u