The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-17
ACRELIcHTS fHal 411A.s. A\NATIONAL (
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Andrew W. Mellon, secretary of the treasury, one of the few rich men in the United States, Is thin, tired-looking, mild hammered little gentleman with blonde moustache.
 You wouldn't pick him for one of the important officials of the government, or one of the inn portant factors in the world of gigantic enterprise. His voice is apologetic. His disposition is re- tiring. He would be an easy one to run over," the bully would sur mise.
 He has one of the finest finan- cial minds In the country. That is admitted. Many claim, or con- tend, or concede, that he has proved to be the best secretary that the treasury has had in many years.
 He has been much criticized, perhaps maligned. He was named by the late Senator Penrose, a Republican boss of the old school who labored for big business and did not deny 1t. The prohibition ists dug up the story that he was interested in breweries and distil- lefies, and the story was true in great part. Friends of the peo- pie" feared his environment would force him to favor big interests as against little interests. Later his antipathy to the soldiers bonus made him the object of the bitter est verbal assaults of politicians. And his opposition to the offer of Henry Ford for Muscle Shoals caused the advocates of that offer to refer to the fact that Melons interest in the manufacture of aluminium made him antagonistic to possible rival.
 And the late Senator Watson of Georgia found clause in the constitution which he thought made 1t impossible for Mellon to serve in the cabinet. The thought was based on the general pre- sumption that Melons Interest in the world of business had been so extensive that he could not have freed himself from all of them within the life of an ordinary in- dividual.
 It has been continuous storm around the ears of the secretary and the secretary has said noth- ing. He was moved to defend himself only when Governor Pin chot of Pennsylvania charged that he was negligent of the duty which required him to enforce pro- hibition. And Mellon was not moved by personal motives in making that defense. He was anxious to cruelty Pinchot in that he might be deprived of the Penn sylvania delegation to the next Republican convention. He wanted that delegation for his chief, the president.
 It is significant that in his only defense he won 8 great victory. Wayne B. Wheeler, head of the Anti-Saloon League, congratu- lated him on the manner in which he had enforced prohibition.
 Now, Mellon hasn't said any i thing, but he hasn't changed his mind and he hasn't mended his ways. He is like Penrose in that he admits what he is, and in that he believes he is right. A year ago he declared that if taxation on the very rich was made lighter business would boom. It was made | lighter, though not as much lighter as he desired Business did improve. He holds that 1t would have greatly improved had congress taken his advice.
 It is obvious that if the poor man was relieved entirely and the rich man made to bear it allA the | rich would so circumscribe his business and his investments that | the poor man would starve to | death. That was the basis of Mellon's philosophy. Simply, he knew that the big business inter- ests could make near-panic | whenever they desired.
 But the fallacy in the philoso- phy would be apparent were the Mellon policy carried to it's nat ural sequence. Were there no tax alton on the rich, business would be so good as to contain an eIe- | ment of danger, and the treasury would overflow with revenue!
 But Mellon is hardy enough to defend his position. And no one contends that he is demagogue or primarily a politician.