The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-04-11

and good wishes. No, it's relief to get
their smiles"
And so has been the experience of the
cabinet officers. Some of them haven't
| been able to get very far because of the
enceS on patronage One Or~two of the
cabinet officers, who haven't been in Wash
ington before, are amazed at the demands
| of members of congress. They have been
/ told it IS not wise to ignore congress. SO
they yield their time with good-natured
| tolerance
If the entire membership of congress
were guilty Of ofice-seeking the govern
ment wouldn't get anything done. But
! this is true Of a relatively small group.
who manage to keep the heads of the de
apartments and their subordinates worried
all the time 1t used to be the same way
under the Wilson administration, and one
could almost hear the sigh of relief that
went up out of the white house when
congress adjourned and members went
home to mend political fences.
Harding's Achievements.
There can be no catalogue of achieve
mentS as yet, nor can any list be more
! than a cursory one. Yet here are some of
| the things that have been done since the
| Harding administration took office:
President Harding has tackled the rail
/ road problem and means to put the full
| influence of the executive behind a settle
ment of the factor in the business situa-
| ton, which is most disturbing today. 1t
means a reduction in wages and operating
! expenses, but also a drop in rates. He has
managed to tone down the demand in the
senate for the passage of the knox re>olu-
/ ton and has. through Secretary of State
| Hughes. set forth the general principles
of the American foreign policy.
| Mr.. Harding has not yet formulated
definite program on tax revision or tariff
/ Legislation. but he has created a favorable
atmosphere among the lcadcrS-an atmos-
phere that probably will lead to agree
ment rather than discOrd.
Cabinet Functions Nicely.
! The cabinet has functioned as unit.
| Secretary Hughes has Crashed the prob
lens of the state department with remark
able speed. He acts and thinks quickly.
Notes do not lie unanswered very long.
/ And the language of the notes is not
roundabout or ambiguous, but plain spoken
and unequivOcal.
! Secretary Hoover has laid the ground
work for cooperation between American
/ business men and their government, par
| ticularly in respect of foreign trade. He
1 has, moreover, initiated a movement to
save the government money on its tele-
graph and cable messages and has taken
steps toward cO-ordinating the cOmmuni-
cations services of the United States.
Secretary DENLY of the navy depart
ment has visited the Atlantic fleet and es-
tablished friendly and cooperative spirit
inside the navy.
Secretary Weeks has slowly healed up
many of the sores in the war department
growing out of wartime friction and per-
| Sonal jealouSieS among the higher officers
| Secretary Wallace has shown the farm
| ers of the country, through a series of
H public statements, that he is their friend
n in the cabinet. He has revealed himself
lbs no oh of no fqY 1pp'S
tariff.
H Secretary Davis has had measure of
success in settling the packers strike, but
more significant than anything else is his
manifest anxiety to gain the confidence
of union labor by fair dealing.
II Secretary Fall has busted himself with
the Alaskan problem and multitude of
other tasks in the interior department,
which may not make interesting reading,
Il but have a great deal to do with the de-
Yelopment of the west.
II Secretary Mellon has distinguished him
self by the splendid way in which he has
gotten the confidence of the officials of
his department. He has said he would
not turn out one set of employees simply to
make room for others on political grounds.
He has given valuable advice on matters
of taxation and fiscal policy. He is n
distinct asset to the Harding administra-
ton.
Postmaster General VIII Hayes. with
cHdIdCttIISlic Htdl, mas BuSleu HltuSeiI
with the huge organization of the post0fice
/ department. He doesn't find it as incom-
petent as the public had been led to be
lieve because of its peculiar antipathy to-
ward Mr. Burleson. But, nevertheless.
be is going after the mail service with an
energy.
Critics Are Emerging.
+ Attorney General Dougherty, has had
the hardest job of anyone in the cabinet.
4 Not only has he big administrative task
in running the department Of justice, but
/ Everybody seems to have picked him out
as the man through whom the President
can be reached. The office seekers have
been crowding the corridors of the depart
Iment of justice. Mr.. Dougherty has had
his hands full.
No analysis would be fair without re
cording what the critics are saying Crit
icism centers mostly. thus far. on the APP
nnintnnnt of imnnrtant linlnmatil. nnStS