Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-29
PRESIDENT UNABLE
TODEC|DE ON MEN
TO HEAD DISTRICT
Personnel Not Yet Selected,
in Spite of Consideration
Given Many.
lNcUMBENTS END TERMS
WITHIN LESS THAN WEEK
No Announcement Made From the
White House on Possible
Reappointments.
BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG.

With the date of the expiration of
the terms Of Commissioners Dougherty
and Taliaferro less than a week of,
President Hoover finds himself today in
the position of having no one definitely
in mind for appointment to succeed
either of these incumbents.
Although the President himself has
never announced publicly that he would
not reappoint the present Commission
ers, he has been represented as having
decided not only to put two men of his
own selection in their places, but to al
low Col. william B. Ladue, the Engi-
neer Commissioner, to return to other
work In the Engineer Corps of the Army
and to put another Engineer ohlcer or
his own choice in Col. Ladue'S place.
In other words Mr.. Hoover has in
dicated since he began the consideration
Of making changes in the heads of the
local government, that it would prob
ably be advisable to have an entirely
new board of commissioners. selected
because he considered them possessing
the experience and qualifications ne
insists upon, rather than to make just
one or two changes in the board.
Studied Matter Closely.
President Hoover has given an un-
usual amount of thought and personal
attention to the matter of finding the
men he would care to appoint as Com
missioners. This has been especially
true In the cases of the two civilian
members. As for the Engineer Com
missioner he has left the casting about
to the War Department, and when the
time comes he will pick from the names
suggested by the latter
But the Presidents problem Of find
ing the right men is apparently more
difficult today than 1t was when he
first entered upon the task This is due
probably to the fact that several indi-
viduals, whom the President was salts
ned, after making close inquiry, pos
SesSed everything he was looking for
in the matter of experience and qualif-
cations and personality, could not be
prevailed upon to put aside their private
affairs to cast their lot under his BAN
ner and take over the reins of the
District Government. At least this is
known to have been true regarding the
finding Of two civilian Commissioners.
The selection Of an Engineer Com
missioner Is expected to be fairly simple.
The report Is that Lieut.. Col. John J.
Ktngman, Army engineer in charge OF
the Milwaukee district, who Is among
the Army engineers suggested by the
War Department, Is looked upon with
favor by the President. However, he
has not reached decision yet regard
ing him.
Many Men Suggested.
A score or more of names have
been suggested to the President to
consider in connection with appoint
ing successors to either or both Com
missioners Dougherty or Taliaferro.
There have been some formal candi-
dates who have sent to the President
q resume of their personal accom-
plishments and qualifications. Some Of
the aspirants have been Endorsed by
associations or groups. In most cases
individual names have been either sent
to the President or brought to him or
his secretaries by friends.
The President Is known TO have been
indifferent to none Of these suggestions.
Each individual suggestion has been
thoroughly looked into by one Of the
Presidents secretaries for the purpose
of determining whether or not the in
dividual possessed the experience and
other qualifications the President had
set Is his standard. Through this me-
dunn the names have gradually been
put through the process Of elimination,
and most Of them eventually into the
discard.
It Is even doubtful If the President
has what he described as q preferred
list before him. There are several
names which after investigation were
set aside, but as a result Of develop
ments have been brought forth again
for further consideration.
Onicer Withdraws.
More than a week ago the President
was represented as having virtually
decided upon one appointment and
then concentrated on landing the other.
But it was learned yesterday tl.at this
man, q retired major general of the
given to understand would accept the
place, declined to permit himself to
be considered further and asked that
his name be dropped. So far as could
be learned today the President has
agreed.
Mr.. Hoover has been quite frank IN
indicating that he would like q retired
Army of1cer, say of the rank Of major
general, to take over the supervision
of the Police and Fire Departments.
His reasoning has been that man
of such executive experience and such
long training in handling men would
fiji the bill of experimenting the Police
and Fire Departments admirably. A
number of retired Army officers, who
have been making their homes In Wash
ington since their retirement, have been
under consideration. Prominent among
these were Maj. Gen. Edward F. Nc
Glachlin, former commandant of the
Army War College, and Mai. Gen. Amos
Fries, former chief of the Chemical
Warfare Service.
Maj. Gen. Albert c. Dalton, former
Quartermaster general Of the Army.
and more recently president of the
Emergency Fleet Corporation of the
United States Shipping Board, also
has been under consideration.
Col. Kirby Endorsed.
Col William w. Kirby, who at one
time was head of the Bureau Of En-
craving and Printing, and who is now
in the Autograph business in this city,
was suggested for appointment as Com
missioner today by a committee rep
resenting the Northeast Business Mems
Association. A resolution indorsing
Col. Kirby was brought to Walter H.
Newton, one of the Presidents Secre-
taries, today by q committee composed
Of Harry p. White, George F. Hoover
and Hubert NewSom.
Friends Of both Commissioners
Dougherty and Taliaferro have urged
their disappointment. The President
has made it clear that his desire for
successors to these Commissioners is not
tbecaue of his disapproVal Of their adj
ministratton. but because Of his wish TO
have two civilian Commissioners of his
own selection. The incumbents were