Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-05
Hughes Is Sensation
OF National Capital

4
croakings that it wa. only a spring
thaW.
Diplomats, legislators and newspa.
per correspondents. who went to his
Office wearing ear muffs and mittens
came away demanding, "Where dc
you get that human iceberg stuff p
He was direct. incisive, emphatic,
firm, businesslike, bu. so ingratiat-
ing that you couldn't help liking the
man even if you failed to get what
you went for.
Just Getting Acquainted.
Hes az changed man." said the
upholders of the Hughes tradition of
chilliness. He has decided not to
be an iceberg
Hes the same Hughes" said his
intimate friends. "A lot of folks are
Just beginning to get acquainted
with him.
At any rate he has afforded re-
freshing experience to the veteran
newspaper correspondents who have
seen secretaries of state come and
go and have endeavored to cope sue
cessfully with the ignorance, evas-
ivencss and petty quibbling Of some
OF his recent predecessors.
He strides into the daily conference
with the correspondents, the image
of vigorous health, with his teeth
SEEMING through his beard in that
smile he has for everyone. He be-
gins by announcing such news de-
velopments as he desires to make
public. When those matters have
been discussed in detail he inquiries
ii there are any questions and i'm
mediately becomes the target of in
terrogation by so or more keen
minds. Mr.. Hughes swings this
way and that. facing his questioners
OF the moment, removing his glasses
now and then and swiftly delivering
his answers, always courteously,
never flippantly. .
Detailed Explanation.
In reply to one question the secre-
tary will enter into a detailed ex-
planation of the position of the gov
ernment, giving an insight into not
only the merits of the case, but the
strategy of his procedure. To an
other questioner he frankly states he |
cannot answer, because publicity
would interfere with the success of
the negotiations in which he is en-
gagged. So it goes until there are
40 more questions and the secretary
bows himself out. Once he came
-ushing back to the conference, say
ng he had found the Italian mandate
lote on his desk and he wanted to
make it public. He read it all aloud
With such dramatic effect that the
correspondents burst into applause
much to the surprise, but delight of
he secretary. /
The skeptics experienced another
urprise in the manner in which Mr. |
Hughes proceeded to conduct our
oreign affairs. They begun to perl
.eive that the legal acumen they
granted Mr.. Hughes was after all the
'rime necessity and that either ig-
torrance of diplomatic finesse count
d for little or Mr.. Hughes was a
orn diplomat He took the man
ate question where Mr.. Colby left
t and put it on. new plane, a
masterpiece of legal analysis, re-
ninding one of the testimony of the
awyers that when Hughes has stat
d case there is nothing left to be
aid on his side and periously little
n the other side.
Digs to Bottom.
With the painstaking study char
cteristic Of the man in everything
e has done, Mr.. Hughes has gone
0 the bottom of every matter he has
ackled in the State department be-
ore he loosed his fire. He has
stonished the veterans of the de-
artment by his Unsuitable curiosity.
Ie has insisted on probing the why's
nd wherefores of methods of pro-
edure which most of his predeces-
ors never knew existed. The result
as been an overhauling of the de-
artment, various reforms and a
eneral quickening of official func-
oning.
1t is too early to judge whether
ir. Hughes is going to be success
IL in his handling of American for
ign affairs. He has only embarked
pom vast undertaking, with a
lyriad of complications, to salvage
$ much as possible of the rights and
lterests the Wilson administration
ad sacrificed, to safeguard and
our position in the world.
! can only be said now that what Il
e has done up to date promises to
lace Hughes in the first rank of
.merican premiers. II