The Washington herald., 1921-05-08

$500. .OOo, 900 due in arrears Of in
terest.
The Treasury has taken on .
War Risk Insurance Department
comparable in size and in com
pIexity to any OF our great in
surance companies.
These are the principal items Of
1 the increase in the volume OF bust
ness which the new Secretary OF
the Treasury must take care Of.
Many Of these additions were taken
on in the loose and hsphazard man
ner which necessarily attended the
| haste of war. II IL be said that
Secretary Mellon finds his depart
ment in a condition Of much con-
fusion, let that not be interpreted
as a criticism OF the man under
whom these conditions arose. Let
IL be said. once and for all. that
in the judgment OF many who are
his political opponents. Secretary
McAdoo was. for wartime purposes
an excellent Secretary Of the Treas
ury.
Rules Reversed In War.
In war time the common rules
OF prudence and caution are re-
versed. There is a military maxim
which should be remembered and
always repeated in any criticism Of
our management Of the war, wheth-
er as regards the Treasury or any
other department. That maxim is
in war money is nothing and time
is everything.
| Every military man understands
this maxim. II is a part Of his
preliminary training. But il is most
difficult for the civilian mind TO an
preciate this maxim. and almost i'm
possible for the civilian mind to
observe it. Again and again dur
ing the war. business men. whose
training had all been in civilian
life. came TO Washington to help
win the war. In most cases, the
first 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 hrst requisite is economy. Every
thing must be planned so as 10 get
the required result with minimum
OF cost But in war time that rule is
exactly reversed. The first require
ment is 10 build the bridge quickly
or TO build the ship quickly. or to
get the supplies quickly. This les
son OF dismissinE all considerations
Of economy and focusing every e.
fort on considerations Of speed was
very difhcult for civilian minds to
earn. but IL was ~ the essence
OF carrying on war successfully.
Quick Results Neeessary.
} This is the thing that should be
remembered whenever ther. Is
criticism Of former Secretary Mo
Adoo for the plunEinE. hcsdIonE
haste with which he did things. {
have heard one Of the three or four
greatest bankers in the country
man who. generally speaking.
heartily disapproves OF MCAdoo-
say that for wartime purposes Nc
Adoo was the ideal Secretary OF the
Treasury.
The Secretary Of the Treasury
that we needed in wartime was q
dashing man OF action. intent upon
quick results. regardless Of cost.
The man we needed was one who
should feel confidence that the
United States could never go broke.
When il became a matter OF Dor
rowing money through the sale ~
4 bonds. when prudent people said.
Let us issue a billion dollars in
Victory bonds" and when McAdon
said. NO. let us make Il three bill
lions" and by his dashing energy
succeeded in floating them. that was
the ideal characteristic Of a war
time Secretary OF the Treasury
r Systems in Confusion.
4 But the necessary result or his
wartime haste ami these improvisad
! emergency situations on huge
E scale has been 30 leave 10 Mr. Nell
; on 4 heritage Of a huge Sprawliug
mess Not merely is the Tres s1rv.
: as Mr.. Mellon comes to IL. a Job
{ Of more than five times tho ma Sni-
! tude that any other Secretary of
the Treasury ever had addition
to that. necessarily. much Of the
personnel that he finds under him Is
I new.
Many OF the business men who
: came to help in the Treasury De
> partment while the war was on left
= as soon as the armistjce came. Navy
= Of the department heads OF bureaus
= and departments. who are excellent
men and who had their work rhnr-
, oughly and minutely orCaizcd. ma
voidably had the splendid syS, ems
!, which they had built up thrown 'n-
p to confusion by the size and COM
A pleXity OF the additional tasks
. thrust upon them as an incident Of
h the war.
Mellon inspires Confidence.
u All in all. Mr Mellon has come II
q a task probably never eNccllcd m
y difficulty by the duty Of any finance
a minister OF any country at any
u time. In attacking this task. MI
n Mellon inspires as much confidenos
as Mr. Hughes does in attacking his
II task. The differences in Mr.. Husghe'
temperament. the fact that his PROP
= lens are more immediate and nnors
in the public eye. and the fact that
y he is more frequently seen by the
public. cause tho confidence in Mr..
Hughes 10 he more widespread
But 10 those who have had occas-
/ ion to observe Mr. Mellon. the con.
fiGence in him is rot less. Mr.. Mcl.
Ion is an excessively modest man
He gives the impression of a rather
shy country banker, who alway,
takes the quietost and most unos'
tentatious path from his home to h 4
office, and who has shrunk, just a.
much as natural courtesy wouls
permit him. from letting himself
get involved in anything that woulC
distract him from his task.
Seeks Men Of Ability.
Il is characteristic OF Mr.. Melloi
that in going twice a week from hi
ofice in the Treasury 10 the Cahi.