Evening star., 1921-12-01
Secretary Hughes Has Long
! Day and Many Questions
to Decide.
DOUBLE DUTY REQUIRED
ON WORLD PROBLEM
Serves as Chairman Of Meeting
and Head of U. S. Delegation Be
sides Other Routine.
by LEROY T. XERNON.


Modern diplomacy, as revealed o.
the Washington conference, require
an iron constitution and the capacity
for mental concentration on variety
of subjects on any given day
Any one who attempts to keep pace
Of the American delegation to- this con-
ference will find himself leading
strenuous existence between the hours
of am. and midnight daily, and
keeping to this busy schedule seven
days week
The hardest-worked man in the CON
ference is. of course. Secretary o.
State Charles L. Hughes, its chair
man. Mr.. Hughes is, likewise. chair
man of the American delegation. He
therefore, has the double duty of keep
ing the machinery of the whole con-
ference well oiled and in motion and
of bringing to its consideration the
well calculated suggestions of the
American delegation for that purpose.
Busy at I'm Morning.
With Mr.. Hughes a days work be-
gins not later than I'm. with a brisk
physical shaking down in the form
or Few moments of violent exer-
else and a plunge. BY 9 am, often
before. he is on the job at the Stale
Department. where he gives one hour
| 10 the consideration of the business
| of that department.. Of which he is
still the active head. Not later than
10 o'clock Mr.. Hughes is at the White
House. where, in the course of an in
terview lasting from half an hour TO
an hour, he gives the President
complete outline of the situation in
| the conference and discusses with him
questions of policy which the Ameri-
| can delegation will pursue.
II there is no morning session of the
committees of the conference Nj.
| Hughes and his colleagues on the
American delegation assemble at the
| state Department for delegation
| conference. There reports are made
| on the progress of the work of the
I conference and suggestions eX-
| changed
The question of delegation policy is
also discussed and the next moves of
| the delegation as whole agreed
| upon. IT the members are busy at
| morning session of the conference
| committees. this process is indulged
| in in the afternoon. and, in either in
| stance, former Senator George Suth-
| erland, chairman of the advisory COM
mittee, either sits with the committee
or is on call. Likewise, the members
| of the technical advisory boards are
| always on call If any special question
| require es the decision of the whclN
| delegation.
| General Committee Head.
| Each member of the American deleA
CATION is chairman of some SubCom-
| mittee of the conference, Senator I'm
derwood heading the committee con-
| sidering the Chinese customs tariff,
| Senator Lodge leading the committee
| considering the Chinese postal sys
| TEN, and Senator Root presiding over
| the extraterritoriality committee.
| c. Ittr Il i..,, h &c
| duties of chairman of the conference
| and of the American delegation, is
! also chairman of the general arma-
| ment committee, composed of the
| chairmen of the five leading delega-
| tions, and also of the far eastern COM
| mittee, whose membership is made up
| Of the heads of all nine delegations
| III that conference. No day passes
but that each American delegate has
| at least one committee meeting be-
! sides the meeting of his own delega-
| tion in counsel
| Aside from these official and formal
| gatherings. there are the informal
| meetings between the individual dele
| gates or in groups, at which much of
| the real business of the conference is
| transacted. At luncheon. between l
| and pm. each day, the delegates
may pair off, and again at dinner time
a few of them may meet together. or
| between meals informal calls at pri-
vate apartments are in order. Secre-
| tary Hughes may go to see Mr.. Bal
| four or Admiral Baron Kato, or both !;
| Senator Lodge may call on Rene
| Viviani of the French delegation or
Mr.. Shanzer of Italy. Mr.. Root main
| tains his apartment in the same build
| ing with Mr.. Balfour and also calls
on the members of the other delega
tions.
| Receptions and Dinners.
| Occasionally the delegates give re
| ceptions and dinners to which the dip
| lomats and members of the press III
| attendance upon the conference arr
present, and once each day one mem
| ber of the British. Italian. Japanese
| and American delegations tries to So
| the members of the press to inter
pret to them the news of the day.
| On the American delegation this
| duty also devolves on Mr.. Hughes.
| whose physical and mental capacity
| for the hardships of his varied job is
| the wonder of everybody. President
| Harding helps him out by seeing the
press twice a week. but the President
| SO clearly draws the line between the
| work OF the conference and his own
job as President that Mr.. Hughes
oftentimes has to appear anyway, II
he has any information to impart.
Thus the day of a delegate to th"
conference on the Limitation of arma
ments is passed, and II is lively day
full of interest, of great responsi-
bility and of hard work.