Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-20
SIMPLICITY CHIEF
TRAIT OF MELLON
Treasury Head Cares Moth
ing for Pomp and Dis
likes Politicians.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

VILLA Closeup OF secretary MetOn.
AT heart the American people are
fond of myths. They delight to attach
almost fabulous attributes to favor1te
figures In public life. just as it has
pleased the American people to believe
that former President Coolidge was
man of few words, so a popular notion
has arisen that Andrew w. Mellon is
some sort of magician, who is capable
of performing miraculous feats by
waving a wand Secretary of the
Treasury Mellon does perform well nigh
miraculous feats, but the magic he en-
ploys is compounded in chief of hard
common sense, based on an active life
filled with the sort of experience which
comes to one who has worked his way
upward through the competitive maze
of American business.
The reason for the very limited pop
ular knowledge of MIR. Melons real
personality is probably the fact that it
Is so unusual in a public official. It's
keynote is simplicity, and because it is
so obvious the public has overlooked 1t
in search of something more compn-
Gated.
Members of the cabinet almost in
variably are chosen from among leading
statesmen and politicians whose names
already are known to the reading pub
lic Mr. Mellon was known to scarcely
any one outside his home town of Pitts
burgh, and known personally to Only
q few persons there. In fact, President
Harding had never met him when, on
the suggestion of the late Senator
Philander c. Knox he invited him to
become Secretary of the Treasury.
Naturally Modest.
It is not that Mr.. Mellon recoils from
the public eye. 1t is merely that he
naturally is a modest man and quite
the reverse from the pushing type of
politician or even business man. He
talks, in a quiet tone of voice because
it is his natural voice. and with that
voice he says little because there is
little which he desires to say. He has
always found that any business In hand
can be dispatched with very few words.
The Secretary no more believes in
wasting words than in wasting public
funds.
He was born at Pittsburgh, March "a,
1885, In a generation when children
were supposed to be seen and not heard.
Although his father, Judge Thomas Mel
Ion. who had come to this country from
County Tyrone, Ireland, when but 5
years of age, was rich man for those
times, young Andrew was expected to
fight his own battle of life. His fathers
influence helped him to get a job-as
a mechanic in wheel factory. Had he
not made good there, it is by no means
certain that he would have been sue
cessful in getting his next job, that of
railway brakeman. But the young Mel
lon had the germs of success in him and
rose to the responsible position of con-
ductor. Later he went into his fathers
banking ONCE and has been in the
banking business ever since.
His father, as head of T. Mellon 81
Sons, turned over to him the smaller
1Nr1rS 80 H. -
unimportant people were his first bank
ing responsibility. But Mr.. Mellon
Sensed that unimportant young men
might grow up to be important later
on. He helped struggling youngsters
trying to get started in business by adj
vancing money, often taking an inter
est in infant enterprises. A typical ex-
ample OF such young man was Henry
G. Prick, founder of one of Americas
greatest fortunes. At the time Mr.. Mel
Ion gave up direction of the Mellon
National Bank to become Secretary of
the Treasury he continued the policy
of helping the little fellow. The lead
ing bank of his city, dealing in millions,
still did not scorn 81 deposits from
newsboys, bootblacks or any one else.
Scholarly Man.
Andrew Mellon graduated from the
University of Pittsburgh and may prop
erly be regarded as a scholarly man.
although 1t is not his custom nor desire
to display his scholarship in public
speeches. But any one desiring instruc-
ton in how to employ forceful Ian
guage should peruse his reports to Con-
greSs on such matters as taxation and
foreign debts.
the young Melons policy of aiding
new and small businesses in the early
days resulted in his investigating and
learning details of a great variety of
businesses. The quiet, somewhat shy
banker utterly astounded his louder
voiced colleagues in the cabinet with
. the breadth of his knowledge. After
President Harding had become better
ACQUAINTED with him, he used to enjoy
Sylng to bring up some matter with