The Washington herald., 1919-03-02

the Interior Franklin K. Lane was ed
itor and part owner of the Tacoma
Daily News the two men became close
personal friends.
Since the Democrats took ONCE Ia
comans who really wanted what they
i wanted and knew how to go about
| getting It have written to Mar. wal
lace for 1t, and his daily mail from
his Western friends. would-be friends
and never-were friends would shame
a United States Senator. The pat
ronage question has, therefore. been
| rather forced on him. He never
sought 1t, according to intimate
| friends. but as the biggest Democrat
In a Democratic administration with
State that had sent all Repuoli-
cans to Congress. 1t WAS Just un-
avoidable. He never forgets old
/ friends and the man in overalls. The
/ rancher who was wont to attend old
Democratic conventions years ago
will find a reader audience with him
when he gets back to his plain bare
office in Tacoma than many a big
business man.
| Mr.. Wallace Is a product OF that
new school Of diplomacy OF which
Woodrow Wilson is the preceptor and
| Col. Edward NJ. House Is the most
prominent alumnus.
Mr.. Wallace IL one OF small cir
! Gle of men who have been In posi-
tion ITO know what's in the Pres
ident's mind" from the day that Ger
many declared war. bringing fresh
problems of diplomacy with every
rise Of the sun, until the President
went to Paris.
Like most of the men who really are
| in the confidence of the President
| Mr.. Wallace has not been advertised
! as one of the men CLOSE to the White
| House" His friends have known that
he was intimate with Mr.. Wilson. ou'
the fact has not drawn general at
tention in the newspapers.
Mr.. Wallace is one of the few goif
partners OF the President. Such as
sociates may be counted on the fin
gers of one hand; in fact, after re-
= calling DIR. Cary T. Grayson, Col.
| House and Col. Ed Brown. of Geor-
| gia, It is hard to get any further. ex-
cepting Mrs. Wilson. Of course The
new Ambassador to Paris Is one OF
| the few who have been called to the
| White House when weighty matters
were pressing for solution.
On two occasions he went abroad
! with Col. House on missions for 'the
| President. The first OF these was In
June, 1914. just before the storm broke
| over Europe and press dispatches
| from London carried frequent men,
ton of the Kings guests-Col. House
and Mr.. Wallace. He went abroad In
n personal and confidential capacity
for the President when the House
mission was sent to Europe shortly
, after the United States entered the
war
He is one OF the men who mix with
| prominent people everywhere, usual
! ly the successful type of business
man, the thinking kind. who are alert
to the big national problems of the
! day, and who discuss them intelli-
| gently. the sort of men you meet in
| democratic, even semi-exclusive cir
cles. Accordingly. he was admirably
! suited to convey to the President a
proper conception of what people
thought and said Of what the Execu-
/ tive was doing or had done.
He has been one of the men high in
the councils of the administration
who had the important parts in the
determination of policy. but whose
views on such topics seldom found
their way into newspapers. They typi-
! fy in a very marked degree the dis
q tinction between political students and
politicians.
1t is worthy of note perhaps that.
with the possible exception of the
Mckinley administration, Mr.. Wal
lace has enjoyed personal popularity
at the White House since the Sec
ond Cleveland regime. He was friend
ly with both Col. Roosevelt and Mr..
Taft, and his intimates here insist
he would have been equally well
come in a social way had California
swung for Charles E. Hughes in
stead of Wilson in 1912. This is traced
to the fact was Mrs. Wallace was
a schoolmate of Mrs. Hughes
Mrs. Wallace and Frances Folsom,
who became Mrs. Grover Cleveland,
were classmates and through that
association Mr.. Wallace became q
warm personal friend If the i'res-
ident as he had been = stanch aud
valued political supporter.
The Wallaces acquired tie hand
some residence IN Massachusetts, ave-
nue. here and Il has been the scene
of some of the most select II not
truly brilliant. social functions. es-
pecially during the last six or seven
years Mr.. Waliace's wide acouaint
ance has enabled him to perfol m
! invaluable service to the admiHistra-
ton through social intercourse. For
example. if a member of the Cabinet
were desirous of meeting a par
ticular man in a manner that cast
aside the cloak Of formality and en-
able them to discuss some important
problem or appointment in an unoffi-
cial way, the administration official
simply would communicate his de-
sire to Mr.. Wallace. Within a very
few days the Cabinet officer would
find himself seated next to the man
he desired to meet at n well-appoint-
ed luncheon at the Wallace home.
Mrs. Wallace has enjoyed a real
leadership in smart Washington So
ciety since her return to Washington
from the Pacific Coast, where she
went Immediately after her maria ge.
and all who know her. no matter
what is their shade OF political
thought, are agreed that she will be
welcome addition to diplomatic cir
cles In Paris and an American hos
I tess of whom her countrymen will
have just cause to be proud.
| The new ambassador is ffty-six
years old and a native of Lexington.
Mo. He was educated by private tu-
tors in Missouri and in 1885, when
twenty-five years old, was appoint
ed Receiver of Public Moneys for
Utah, by President Grover Cleveland,
He held that position for two years,
then resigned.
| Mr.. Wallace moved from Utah to
Washington State in 1889. Following
his marriage with Miss Mildred Full
! Ter in 1891, he became close per-