Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-29
C.. o. p. Leader i'm New Role

are only few men in the world who
can do that, for he was able not many
years later to walk into Wall Street, in
New York, a country banker, and sit
down on terms Of equality with the
mighty men of that neighborhood. He
had just saved some millions Of dollars
for the stockholders of the Transconti-
mental OH Co., and, although there were
men there who probably would have
identified Chattanooga as new break
fast food or an Indian remedy for
rheumatism, they welcomed him to
their midst.
Didn't Seek National Fame.
In his 30s, Claudius Huston was not
aiming to make himself figure of ma
tional consequence. He was happy in
his various businesses. He loved the
little city where he lived, the pic
turesque hills and valleys and the his
toric ground all about 1t where Ameri-
in Civil War, so horribly bloody and
so horribly unnecessary. He had built a
home on Missionary Ridge, which back
in the COS had been drenched with the
blood Of gallant boys from the North
and South. That home he loved most
of all, for 1t contained his wife and four
daughters. He had no incentive to
travel farther from them than the
neighboring city.
Then came the tragedy Of Mrs; Illus.
tons death, before even the eldest Of
the four girls had reached her teens.
The manner in which the young widow
er guided his daughters into young
womanhood is not for the prying eyes
Of the world, but the bond Of affection
between the girls and their father Is
the JOY Of all their acquaintance. Flea
nor, the eldest, Is married now, but
Katharine, Mildred and Alice are going
to close up the house at Missionary
Ridge and the apartment in New York,
where they have been keeping house
for dad" and are going to take charge
of the home he plans to establish In
washington.
It Is melancholy to record that the
loss of his wife probably steered Claudius
Huston into paths leading to national
prominence. To forget his troubles he
plunged into Tennessee politics with
new vigor, so that by 1920 he was one
of the leading factors in the State. He
managed Republican finances in the
South that year. he induced Warren G..
Harding to shatter tradition by cam
pa1gn1ng below the Mason and Dixon
line, and in November Tennessee went
Republican by a smashing majority.
Late that Winter Harding sent for
him, and asked him to go to Wash
ington and become a part Of the adj
miniStration.
IT had hoped" the President-elect is
reported to have said, Ito have you in
the cabinet, but there weren't enough
places to go around and 7 know you'll
| understand: Do you know Hoover?"
NO" replied Huston, we've never
met"
Took Place Temporarily.
well, he's going to be my Secretary
OF Commerce. He knows of you and he
wants you as his first assistant. Please
take it."
Huston accepted with the distinct un-
Outstanding that he could quit in six
months to get back to his own affairs.
But the time was extended to two years.
SO reluctant was he to break the daily
association with the very remarkable
man who was his chief" And even at
the end Of two years he continued for
several months to travel all over Europe
ana help establish the foreign offices Of
the service Hoover was creating.
When they parted late in 1928 Hus-
ton had but one political idea-to aid in
making Herbert Hoover President. Over
the years he visited Washington often.
never without a visit to the Department
OF Commerce or to the hospitable home
at $500 s street. Very often in those
years Herbert Hoover would receive a
telephone call late at night.
This is Huston" q voice would say,
there's man here want you to meet.
We're taking the midnight and wen be
out for breakfast"
Sometimes the stranger would be q
political factor in q distant State, or a
banker, or a manufacturer. With the
thought that he might some day be USE
full to Hoover, Huston was bringing the
two men together. Many a man who
had a part in that popular uprising in
the Spring Of 1923, when the people de-
manded that the politicians give them
Hoover, received his first inspiration
over the breakfast table at $500 s street.
Others Were Doing Same Thing.
OF course, Huston wasn't the only
man playing with that Hoover for
President" idea. Many others were do
ing the same thing, Jim" Good in Chi
cago, Walter Brown In Ohio, George
Moses and John Richardson In New
England, Walter Edge in New Jersey. It
was the sort Of spontaneous affair that
ran largely by itself, but what direction