The Washington herald., 1920-04-11
Folks and Things
Around Washington
Labert St. Clair.

Although less than a dozen per-
sons in the United States are aware
! of IL, probably, Secretary Baker
came mighty near resigning from
the Cabinet during the war and go
! ing into active service. The fact
never has become known officially,
but Baker whispered the story TO a
| few friends recently. so there is no
reason why il should not be told
publicly now.
During the latter part of 1918.
when things looked dark for the
allies. the Secretary became dis
| couraged. one day, over what seemed
to him the small part he was play
ing in the war. So he called Gen
Bliss into his Office and said:
General, have decided that II
is a shame for an able-bodied man
like me TO hold down a desk job in
Washington when / might as well
be out in the field seeing active
service"
The general nodded, but said moth
! ing, so Baker continued:
Il have about made up my mind.
therefore, to resign as Secretary OF
War and get into active service,
and i will do so on one condition.
That is that you will see that I am
made a first lieutenant"
Cant do it," Bliss said, shortly.
And why not?" Baker inquired.
You don't know enough for the
job" the old fighter replied.
And 1 now fully realize that
what the general said was true"
| Baker said, in telling the story. II
could not have drilled a squad OF
men If my life had depended upon
! it,"
/ Baker tells another yarn on him
self that is a fit companion to the
| foregoing one. Late in the war. one
| morning, he was up near the firing
line, on a private train, eating his
breakfast when firing broke loose
nearby. Soon two soldiers, who had
been in the thick of An engagement,
came rushing over alongside a car
window at which the Secretary was
sitting and began munching bread.
Seeing Baker partaking of grape
fruit, toast, eggs and coffee, one of
them, without realizing that he was
| addressing the Secretary of War,
said:
Pretty soft for you. ch?"
1t is a rare day that some new
story about Postmaster General Bur-
Lesson does not go the rounds Of
Washington. Here is the latest:
At a dinner the general is said
to have made some remark about
the woman vote in the next cleo
tion which did not agree with the
views of a certain woman diner.
''It is obvious to me-" she said,
that tho general knows no more
about the female than he does about
the rail"
49,
Boone is one of the smallest coun-
ties in Illinois. but Il has three of
it's sons In the House Of Representa-
tives. They are Representative Full
Ter. of Illinois. and Towner and
Botes, of Iowa. Furthermore, all
of them were judges before they
came to Congress.
Fuller holds a record as an ex-
tended talker. but owing to the fact
that he never has made a speech OF
more than fifteen minutes duration
in the House. few persons know It.
When he was a member of the IL
linois State legislature he rose up
one day and chatted to his fellow
members for a period Of seventeen
hours before sitting down. His pur-
pose was to force an adjournment
OF joint session that a new menu
ber might be seated and thus in
sure the election Of Gen. John A.
Logan as United States Senator.
The plan worked just a. Fuller had
planned it.