Evening star., 1920-03-28
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

~ saving grace of salesman
ship. A salesman is not,
OF necessity. a genius, though he
may be. The friends of William
Gibbs McAdoo insist that he is the
greatest salesman in the country
They point out that under his di-
rection as Secretary of the Treas
ury $1,000, 100000 worth of gov
ernment bonds were sold to mil
lions of Americans.
AS head of the Treasury Depart
ment It was Mr.. McAdoo's job to
finance the war. 1t was he who
conceived the idea of the liberty
loans. the sale of billions of bonds
at comparatively low rate of
interest to the people direct by the
government Once the plan was
launched, Mr.. McAdoo put his back
into it. How the loans went
"over the top" is an old story.
The Secretary of the Treasury
toured the country in the interest
of the sales. from east to west
and from north to south. speaking
sometimes twenty or thirty times
a day.
X X X
Before launching the idea of
great popular loans Mr.. McAdoo
called to Washington some OF the
most eminent bankers and ftnan-
ciers of the country to talk things
over. They suggested that the
loans should be fioated through
the banks. They believed it would
be disastrous to attempt to float
a loan of more than 100000, 600.
One or two placed the limit at
$1,000, ,00o. 900. They advocated high
rates of interest to attract the
purchasing public.
Right there is where Mr.. Nc
Adoo cut loose. He gambled on
the patriotism of the American
people. He determined on loan
of $2,OO0,O00,OO0 the bonus to bear
only 81 per cent interest, with
certain tax exemptions. The people
responded with a loan Of $3.000.00O.-
900. The plan was repeated as
the vast needs of the war ate up
the money, and with unvarying
success. Now Mr.. McAdoo sug-
gests still another loan and a re-
AS the ability Of Mr.. McAdoo
became more and more "ioeiy
known his friends began to talk
of him as a possible candidate tor
President. This was long DeIore
he went out of office as SecretAIy
of the Treasury. more than a year
aro Rut Mr.. McAdoo would not
countenance the suggestion he is
hitting the soft pedal on such taik
now. and has already refused 70
ALLOW his name to be used In the
scramble for delegates in mum.
her of states. But this does no.
necessarily mean that he wou!o not
ACCEPT the nomination II the oemo-
cratic national convention at oah
Francisco should oher 1t 10 nih'
X X r X
Near Marietta, Ca, Mr.. McAdoo
was horn october 81. 1868. He Is,
therefore, fifty-six years OLD anu
going on fifty-seven. In spite OF
the tremendous amount of work
which fell to his lot during the war
as Secretary of the Treasury, al
rector general of railroads, cnAr-
man of the Federal Reserve Boara.
chairman Of the Federal Farm
Loan Board. chairman OF the war
FINANCE Corporation and director OF
q number of other governmental
activities, he doesn't look his age.
Erect. over six feet tall. lean. alert
and always well groomed. ne might
mass for a man in his forues. Inc
hieh brow, deep sunken eyes. high
cheek bones, long nose and strons
law. together with his patience ana
Courtesy, suggest Lincoln.
Mr. McAdoo has not always heid
high. positions. The civil war
stripped his family Of Its money.
His father was a Confederate SOL
dier and before the civil war hao
served in the Army during the war
with Mexico. After peace had been
made between the north and south
the McAdoo family moved 10 Ien-
nessee Mr.. McAdoo's fatner was
named William Gibbs McAdoo. also:
He was a lawyer by profession ana
became a Judge. At one time ne
was attorney general for the state
Of Tennessee and a professor Oh
English in the state university.
Young McAdoo had to work. ana
work hard, at homely tasks wnen
he was q boy, He turned to the
study of law, following his fatners
profession. He entered the UNI.
yersity uof Tennessee. Lack Oh
means Interrupted his course. now
ever. and he left the university at
nineteen years of age and became
denuty clerk in the United states
circuit court, He studied law IN
the evenings. and three years later
he was admitted to the bar In
He had his first taste OF rail.
roading when he took charge or
.treet railway in Knoxville, Tenn.
90 ~ the first electric lines in that