The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-07-12

h Funeral services for John w.
Weeks will be held at his home
u West Union. Mass. and his
body will he temporarily placed
Ia vault there to he transferred
later to 4 permanent resting place
IN Arlington national cemetery
/ here.
The war department was in
formed of this arrangement today
+. BY telephone from the Lancaster.
y. H.. farm, where Mr.. Weeks
died early this morning.
Burial In Arlington will be ar
ranGcd In accordance with the
wish often expressed by tho for.
Mer secretary Of war.
Lancaster. N. H.. July II -(AP)---John
w. Weeks, was secretary unHcr Pres
idcnts Harding and Coolidge. died
hcse, ut his sumncr home. Mount Pros
pcct. at 5 o'clock standard time this
| morning. Death came from angina
pectoris and followed a long fight for
health
Mr.. Weeks died without recovering
| conscionsness from the coma into
| which he had lapscd early Sunday.
Mrs. Weeks. his son Sinclair. and Mrs.
John Washington Davidge. his daugh-
ter, were at the bcdshide when the
end came.
.tfAnnounccmcnt Of the death was
made 10 the Associated Press by Mr..
| Weeks son shortly before 9 o'clock.
Funeral services will be held on
| Thursday afternoon at o'clock at
! the home in West Newton. Mass. Of
Sinclair Weeks. son Of the former
secretary.
II WAS generally assumed in the
event the Republican party won the
! national elections Of 1921 that John
W. Weeks would be . me ember of Pres
ident Harding's cabinet. His selec-
tiOn for secretary Of the navy or Sec
rctsry Of the treasury was regarded
as certain. His success as financier
/ was recognized. His graduation ut
Annapolis and experience in naval af-
fairs had been recorded as fitting him
j for the navy secretsryship.
| A big surprise came. however. when
Preside intellect Harding announced he
would appoint Mr.. Weeks as secretary
of war.
Was Well Qualified
A rich life experience in the SC
years preceding the appointment was
found to have equipped Mr.. Weeks for
that 3.suty 2lso. and he soon Was rec
ognizcd rs fortunate selection" for
the army, then facing the post-wa,
problems of reorganization and reduc.
tion to q peace time basis.
I It was said of him that he "slid into
his job" the easiest Of any of the
other cabinet officers and grasped
the conglomcrate details of army ad.
i ministration with a thoroughness and
quickness that spelled confidence
IL heo Na,0vs Anr spt INN ~ fnv
1.-the staff officers and hundreds OF
subordinate chiefs.
Those who sought light on the
methods used by the new secretar ~
soon found it. They had only to re-
view the many sided life Of the man
which showed at = glance that he had
lived among live things. had learned
to ,kn0w them and incidentally had
; come to know himself.
From tho time he Was born on tht
) little New Hampshire farm near Ian
caster. April IL. 1860. he kept in each
} stage Of life an ever present human
J viewpoint.
i Until he was II he was doins
; chores on the farm. and taking
{ friendly interest in the horses ant
other living things about the barr
!, yard. His graduation 1t the eros.
roads school and local high schoo
! placed him soon afterwards in ths
, school masters chair. also At coun
try cross roads in his native state
He continued studying and learned
J one thing well--that a little knOwl
edge was not enough.
, A Midshipm2n
: The then young school master sue
ceeded 1t the age Of IL in getting ~
| fs,,o Tn tim Novn1 AvaA0nv
Annapolis. where he was graduated
four years latcr = midshipman. Blu
two more years sufficicd to kill wha
. ambition then remained in the mind o.
MidshipMan Weeks for q permanent
post in the navy. He and numbcl
Of his classmates resigned. The rca
son was two-fold. He failed person
ally to cnthuse over the services ~
a life's work and congress failed tt
appropriate funds for new ships ut {
time when there was lack Of vessels
and consequent surplus Of officers
Incidents followed rapidly in thu
life Of Mr.. Weeks after his rcsigna
tion from the navy. Though he con
tinued interest In that arm of the ma
tons defense, serving rs volunteer
during the Spanish sh-Amcrican war. ant
later accepting = reserve commission
as rear admiral. he turned ava,
searching for new fields and livcli
hood.
In 1886. Mr.. Weeks married Mis-
!. Martha Sinclair and journeyed soutl
as q surveyor and land commissioner
4 for the Florida Southern Railroad
II Three years later he returned to New
: England. joining partnership in wha
. grew TO be- the thriving firm o.
, Hofnbl0wer 4 Weeks. bankers, O.
Boston. Mass. One Of the bigges
, financial establishments in that par
of the country thus was said to ow'
its success in large measure TO th'
genius Of this then young man NO
long away from the farm.
II Busy as way Ms career as 3 bank
er. Mr. Weeks found time for publ,
service. He contributed to the deyel
opment Of the Bay State Naval Bri
gade and later commanded brigad'
in the rank Of captain. His service'
during the war with Spain were rec
ognised BY personal commentator
Z from the chief Of the auxiliary service
/ - regular naval officer.
II Eaters Politics
II In 1000 Captain Weeks began to ct
4 tract Attention In New England p0
) 1itica1 affairs and in prominent tanE
! Of the Republican party: 4 residen
! Of Mewton. Mass: = that time. =,
/ held many city offices and, n 1901
9 vas elocted mayor Of Newton. kApit
81 tribes fsllowsd. He went - coagrss
{csstlausd - pass tws.)