Pueblo chieftain., 1921-05-08
MELLON HAS
HARD PLACE
TO HOLD now
Hughes Has No Snap In
\ Cabinet and Neither
Has Mellon
(BY MARK sULLIvAN)


Washington. D. c.. May Every
body thinks of Hughes as having the
biggest job in the cabinet. and as liv-
ing to 1t in a way that commands uni
verSal admiration. so long as our for
eign affairs are so complex and so
pressingly important This judgment
II correct.
But 1t is also true that another man
in the cabinet much less in the pub
lie eye. has n job of which the diff
culties are not perceptibly less. The
public eye does not realize yet how
heavy burden rests on Secretary Mel
Ion OF the Treasury. Tho changes that
have taken place in this department
IN the direction OF size and complexity
arc not realized. When Wilson became
President. the treasury did busi-
ness of roughly, n billion dollars n year.
and carried a public debt that was COM
1arativcly negligible. During the eight
years OF Wilson's administration the
changes that occurred in the treasury
department were enormous. To mem
tton only tho moro important differ
onces between the treasury at the time
Wilson came into power ard the treas
ury as Secretary Mellon finds it. is to
maks an extremely impressive catalog.
Tho annual financial operations of
the treasury have increased from
roughly billion dollars to approxi-
mateiy i've billions. Tho public debt
has increased from negligible sum to
ever twenty billion dollars. Many new
departments have been added OF
size and importance as great as the
whole treasury itself. was eight years
ago The income tax law entails an
nual financial operations greater than
the entire Business OF the treasury
formerly was. The enforcement OF the
prohibition law has sddcd to the treas
NrN "A fOYsN alm0Rt great the
sentirc force OF tho whole treasury de-
bartment formerly wAs. Thru the
sfcdera1 Reserve act the treasury has
taken over a degree OF management of
tho banking business Of tho country
which is SO big and SO vital as to bo
moro important than many cabinet de-
partments arc.
Tho treasury has borrowed over
wenty billion dollars. Il large portion
OF which is in such shape that very
poon there must be refundinE opera
tions of a magnitude never before at
tempted in the history of the world.
Tho treasury has loaned to foreign gov
ornmcnts somo ION billion dollars.
under circumstances such that many
OF the loans can only bc collected by
tho most careful management and by
tho exercise OF great patience and wis
dom. on these loans there is now
about half a billion dollars due in ar
resrs OF interest.
The treasury has taken on n war
risk Insurance department. comparable
in size and in compleSity 10 any OF our
great insurance companies.
These are tho principal items OF the
Increase in the volume OF business
which tho now secretary Of tho treas-
ury must take care of. Many OF these
additions wcrc taken on in the loose
and haphazard manner which neccs-
aarily attended tho haste OF war.
II IL be said that Secretary Mellon
hnds his department in a condition OF
such confusion. let that not bo inter
pretcd as a criticism OF the man under
whom these conditions arose. Let 1t
be said once and for all. that in tho
Judgment of many who are his poll
teal opponents. Secretary McAdoo,
was. for war time purposes. an excel
lent secretary of the treasury.
In war timc. tho comomn rules OF
prudence and caution are reversed.
There Is a military maxim which should
be remembered and always repeated
in any criticism OF our MANAGEMENT OF
the war. whether as regards tho treas
ury or any other department.
The maxim is In war money Is moth
ing and time IN everything and every
military man understands this maxim.
II is part OF his preliminary train
ing But 1t Is most difficult for the
civilian mind to appreciate this max
i'm. and almost impossible for civilian
mind to observe II. Again and again
during the war. business men, whose
training had all been in civilian life
came to Washington TO help win the
war. In most cases, the flrst and most
difficult lesson they had to learn was
to dismiss their customary civilian
caution about economy. For example.
during times of peace in the building
OF a bridge the first requisite Is econ
omy. Everything must be planned so
as TO get the required result with the
minimum of cost. But III war time that
lCnnrinued on Hnge SixtaeM.l