The Washington herald., 1921-05-22
By William Atherton Du Puy

s9TtHE normal span of a mans hfe," said
= Secretary Mellon, depends on the
length Of time his ancestors have given him
the right to live. Of course, he may shorten
this normal span by acts of his own, may
cut It down BY improper living, thus de-
ereasing the heritage of years that he passes
on to his children. His logical expectancy,
however, depends upon the line from which
he springs and the wisdom with which its
members have lived their lives.
81 am q great believer in heredity. You
have asked me II I think being born to
wealth is q handicap to a boy. / hold that
there again appears the influence Of his an
eestry. II he has had banded down to him
the strength of will that causes him to pos
sess the desire for accomplishment he will
not fail of useful work merely because of the
fact that be is not driven to it by necessity.
However, early training and environment
are, Of course, essential factors"
The new Secretary Of the Treasury,
Andrew W. Mellon, Of Pittsburgh, was just
beginning to find himself fitted into his new
niche down at Washington, was becoming at
home in it, was beginning to sub
NIT to that necessity Of the public man, the
interview. 1t was q new thing to Mr..
dellon. His life had been laid along
different lines.
When first went to him for an interview
he rather turned the tables on me. He asked
me what wanted him to talk about and I
suggested that he tell me some Of the hizh-
lights of bis own life. Where should he
begin, he asked I thought that the reader
was interested in the sort Of stock a public
man came from-in whether he was Of
Scotch, Irish or Dutch descent I thourht
they were interested in the setting Of his
childhood that they might contrast it with
his Present position in life. 1 thought they
would want to know how he got started on
the career that be had followed.
But isn't this digging unduly into q
mans private ife?" the Secretary asked
I replied that the viewpoint of the public
vas that when it gave a man one Of its
posts Of trust and responsibility, it had a
right to know all about him.
But the whole story Of my life can be
written in six lines" he said. 81 will write
It for you. You can come back tomorrow
and I will give you what you want ready
prepared"
i was not quite sure whether he was
spoohng me or whether he was conducting
an investigation into the relative positions
Of the public man and the newspaper, but
] explained that 1 had a page to fill and
six lines would not be adequate, and that
would rather ask him a lot of questions
about the sort of thing which believed the
reader wanted to know about him
How long would it take? What time
would be entirely convenient to me?
/ had been gathering impressions as we
talked, but that final question as to my
convenience was the most vivid fash This
man who was running the Treasury Depart
ment Of the United States. and who was
absorbed in mastering the multitudinous
details that this task presents in these trying
times, wanted to adapt himself to the con-
venience Of the interviewer.
So we set the hour of two thirty the fol-
lowing afternoon.
MR.. MELLON is sixty six years old.
4'1 He is the type Of man who carries
very little flesh and which is shown BY NOR
tality tables to live longest. When the
weakening effects of age set in Mr.. Mellon
viii have no burden of flesh to carry He
Is a smallish man with gray hair which he
still retains and with a heavy, close cropped
gray mustache. His face is bony and his
eyes deep -socketed.
Mr.. Mellon is a fna meier in the truest
sense Of that word. He has been in the
banking business in Pittsburgh all his life,
has long been the president of the biggest
L. in hat ~
bank president is always a somewhat clois-
tered individual. Give him a difidcnt dis.
position, make him naturally quiet sort Of
man. add to this a love for reading and
study, and the probabilities are that you
will produce a man who leads q good ceal
of a life apart. The popular conception Of
the master of finance, the huge, square
iaved hurricane of a man who bowls every
thing over before him, is not the Mellon
type, If he exists anywhere out of fiction.
Mr.. Mellon told me that his father came
10 America as a small immigrant boy
from the north of ireland. The family was,
however, Scotch than Irish in its blood.
II settled on a farm thirty miles from Pitts
burxh and It was there that the elder
Mellon grew up.
This Scotch Irish farmer boy came down
to Pittsburgh when he was grown, obtained
q good education at the University of Pitts
burgh, later read law and was admitted to
the bar. he practiced in Pittsburgh for
many years, prospered, advanced to a highly
respected place on the bench, became q lead
ing citizen of the city.
So 1t came to pass that Andrew W. Mellon
was born Of wealthy parents, highly re-
apectsd and well established in the com.