The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-09
Daily Financial Gossip
By HOLLAND

, Roots friends are persuaded that it is his belief that whatever service he can hereafter give will be best performed as a private citizen.
 Some of the gossip has mentioned Senator Knox as possibly if not proba- bly the next Secretary of State. But the Pennsylvania senator presumably will prefer to remain in the Senate. He l could not add to the reputation he gained as Secretary of State in the ad-
 ministration of President Taft, al- though he would supplement that reputation. Moreover the repose and serenity which 8 senator may enjoy win very likely appeal to him espe cially in view of the fact that he is not as strong as he was when he served as Secretary of State.
 THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT It is not, however, the state depart ment to which the President~elect must give the most careful considera- ton, but instead to the Treasury de- partment. He will be able to find a
 competent Secretary of War, a highly
 satisfactory Secretary of the Interior
 and of Commerce, it will not be diff
 cult for him to make choice from among
 the large number of influential repub-
 licans for the Postmaster Generals of
 flee. But the Treasury department is to be confronted with several and un-
 precedented problems which refer to
 the financing which must be done in the next four years and also to the
 disposition which must be made of the
 loan approximately of ten billions made by this government to our allies and which is represented by demand notes and unpaid interest.
 We hear vague intimations that the
 Tra astd d atlf- ole l
 rious Considerations made it practi-
 cable to call former Governor Myron T, Herrick of Ohio to the Treasury de-
 partment. The personal reasons for a
 choice of this kind would be very
 strong. Governor Herrick was one of
 the earliest of those who advocated the
 nomination of Senator Harding for
 President He has had personal as well
 as political association of the most in =
 innate character with Harding. For at
 the time he was serving as governor,
 Harding was lieutenant governor
 These associations however. would not
 be sufficient to persuade the President
 elect that he should offer the Treasury
 department to his former associate in
 the state house at Columbus. But the
 problems which the Treasury depart
 ment must aid in solving are peculiar
 ly of the kind which Governor Her
 ricks career as a banker and financier
 identify. He is not Wall street man,
 although he understands Wall street. His success as a banker is acknow1- edged. His service while United States ambassador to France iin the early days |-of the war will never be forgotten. And he'is gifted with personality of such charm as to be almost rare attribute He has served as president of the American Bankers association and was first president of the savings bank sec tion.
 It may be that various contingencies to which a President -elect must give due heed will lead to the selection of someone else for the Treasury depart ment. Furthermore the governors friends in this city believe that ii would be with reluctance that he would take up the responsibilities o1 any cabinet office. For if he had choice he would like above all things again to go to France as the ambassador from the United States. there to complete the service which was well under way when his successor was appointed by President Wilson.