Evening star., 1925-11-30
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM EILE

Secretary Hoover underlines as the
banner achievement of the Depart
ment of Commerce. according to its
annual report made public by him
today. the elimination of industrial
waste" Eliminating waSte-in words
is one of Herbert Hoover's less well
known specialties. He Is conversation
ally almost as thrifty as Calvin Cool
.dge. AS an eliminator of unnecessary
talk. this Is without doubt the cham
pion administration. Running both
Coolidge and Hoover close for taci-
turnity honorS is Andrew w. Mellon.
1t is a significant fact that the three
pillars Of the executive establishment
are all men Of uncommonly few words.
None Of them Is much of a speech
maker as far as the elocutionary arts
are concerned. All of them are IN
stinctively shy. Yet American public
life contains only a limited number of
men who, whenever occasion requires
can deliver more smashing verbal
blows. The blows lack the Borah-
Bryan Roosevelt smashing quality,
but when Coolidge, Hoover or Mellon
opens his mouth something Is always
said, and said to the point.
&%
In one Of the hotels near the CAPITOL
largely populated by members OF Con.
gress lives Representative Edgar How
ard. Democrat. Of Nebraska. Having
been graduated from the Bryan school
of politics, Judge Howard allows his
hair to trail gracefully like a name.
The other day a 7-year-old girl who
has just come to live at the hotel
caught her first glimpse of the Ma
.braskan and learned his identity. Run
ming breathlessly to her parents, she
exclaimed: "Oh, I've just seen Con
gress, And it's got long hair Judge
Howard is one of the wits of Capitol
Hill. In the Congressional Directory
he sets forth that he was born Just
before the war; Is still married "
and, though once lieutenant governor
Of Nebraska. held contemporaneously
| the higher Office Of editor of a country
newspaper"
When Vice President Dawes arrives
at Washington for the congressional
session. he fervently hopes and prays
that no band will turn out to greet
him with his own composition, Mel
ody." The general spoke recently at
indianapolis. The dinner program, he
observed, listed local yiolinist for a
! rendition Of Melody" But the mum.
Der was not given. When the Vice
President began talking, he told the
diners why he'd requested that Mel
ody' be suppressed. Whenever that
Internal piece is played" said Dawes,
II think of some differences / once
had with my wife, and how she pro-
duced a love letter 1 wrote her, in
which I outlined my prospective con-
duct as husband. It doesn't fit the
kind Of campaign am now engaged
in. If those Senators in Washington
would hear that piece Of mine, they
wouldn't think I was capable OF MAX
ing the kind Of fight I'm going to
make on their rules"
X * X
A belated Caillaux story is making
the rounds Of Washington. The first
morning the French finance minister
was In New York, following his futile
debt negotiations at the Treasury, his
New York hotel waiter asked him
what he'd like for breakfast. The
French statesman expressed a liking
for some fruit and asked what was on
the bill of fare. Monsieur le garcen
suggested 'honeydew melon. Mon
Dieu" exclaimed M. Caillaux. Can
never get away from Mellon? In
Washington it was money due Mellon!
And here in New York it's honeydew
melon! No, no, nor
Among the significant names Of
members Of the executive committee
Of the newly established Washington
branch Of the Woman's National Re