The Washington herald., 1921-04-02

The government appeared TO have
forgotten the date on which the
option expired.
strong Impression Made.
This purely business incident of
government was disposed of in a
purely business way. and IL was
largely this episode that led to the
formation of liquidation board for
the purpose OF uncovering a consid-
cradle number OF other places in
which the same kind Of debris from
the war exists. and handling them
in the way that will be of the hest
business advantage to the govesn-
ment. This is the kind of thing
which in private business is always
done well. but in government busi.
ness is frequently done badly.
OF the same character was Post
master General Hays discovery that
the business of the post office could
be expedited greatly by having the
government itself spread out its
enormous deposit of second class
matter over the whole day. instead
OF throwing the entire burden on
the post office during two hours Of
the evening.
All Of this sort of thing which
composes what may be. called the
governments housekeeping. is the
respect in which the Cabinet has
made its strongest and most agree
able impression. The Cabinet is
distinctly a business Cabinet. The
picture they make as they file out
of the Cabinet meeting is distinctly
that OF a board of bank directors
There is hardly any touch of the
purely public man." such as Bryan
gave TO Wilson's first Cabinet.
There are more business men in
this Cabinet than in any previous
one for nearly a generation. Mellon,
Weeks. Hoover. Davis. Wallace.
Fall and DENLY have all had strIk-
ingly successful careers as business
men. Hays has not had a business
career, but his Is essentially an en-
ergetic and organizing personality,
and no one of the others gives more
clearly than he the picture OF a
live wire" business man. Hughes,
OF course. is wholly a lawyer. but he
Is much more the business
type of lawyer than other Secre-
taries of State like Bryan, Colby
anu JonH nay.
Good Assistants Scarce.
In the effort to make a record for
efficiency in a business way. the
cabinet members are handicapped
ny IN difficulty of getting good as
sistSnts. As respects appointments
and patronage, the public is prob
ably cynical. Recalling what has
happened in the beginning Of pre-
vious administrations, the public
probably pictures the waiting rooms
OF the Cabinet members as flled
with party workers looking for their
rewards. There is some of this, but
very much less than; on previous oc-
casions.
Government jobs are not as at
tractive as they used to be. The
changing value of the dollar has
been recognized by business but
not by the government. Business
now rewards its workers so much
better than the government that a
government job is less sought after
than in the old days.
A newspaper man who goes from
Cabinet office to Cabinet Office and
who, in his talks with Cabinet mem
bers. cannot help overhearing much
thdt 10 eolnS On over the telephone
and otherwise gets distinctly the i'm
preston that the Cabinet is less
embarrassed in satisfying the
smaller party workers than in get
ting able men to leave their private
businesses and go to work for the
government at smaller salaries. -re
job seekers bore them mildly at
the wish to get able assistants
burns in their minds.
You would think it would be
easy to get successful business men
who have achieved a competence to
come to Washington for the sake
of distinction and service in the
spirit in which the dollar-a-year
men came during the war Many
of the Cabinet members thought it
would be easy, and some of them