Evening star., 1953-01-16
BY George Kennedy

AAACAAA wiz PAONldCd Ill1o IC-
porter with a letter of introduc-
tion to the incoming Secretary
of the Treasury, "be sure to
write a good story about him.
Because this man is not only
one of the outstanding indus
trialists of our time. he is bound
to be the most influential man
in the new administration"
I caught up with Mr.. Hum
phrey Tuesday evening at the
Last Of Series
Commodore Hotel in New York
after the closing session of the
meetings of President elect
Eisenhower and his appointees.
For two days they had been
playing cabinet" and the feel
ing of high endeavor they were
experiencing was communicated
to everyone they talked to. They
were all young again, and. like a
group of freshmen in a college
club or young men who had
just arrived at an officers train
ing camp, they were reporting
enthusiastically on the good
qualities they were discovering
in one another. One of them
said all of them were highly
impressed with George Hum
phrey.
The incoming Secretary of the
Treasury is a man who spends
comparatively little time in his
Cleveland office. He travels
100000 miles a year directing
the widespread activities of the
M. A. Hanna Co. He was chair
man of the board until he began
to diveSt himself of his corpo-
rate responsibilities to accept
the appointment. And since his
selection was announced, he had
been travelling at an even faster
rate.
He was on his way to WASH
ington, getting the 7:30 pm.
train. A conference had been
arranged on the train with some
of the men he is bringing into
the Treasury. Wednesday would
be difficult. He was spending
most of the day in the Treas
ury with John Snyder, the man
he is succeeding. But he would
spend the hour until train time
with me if I would come along
with him to his room at the
Biltmore and stand by while he
packed.
An Engaging Man.
George M. Humphrey is an
engaging man. You like him
from the moment he starts talk
ing to you-you have a feeling
of regret that circumstances
prevent his becoming a new
friend whom you will see much
OF in the days to come. He is
a fairly tall man-tall in the
new cabinet, which hasn't a g.
footer. He is 81. He has few
wiSps of hair in the center of
his head-just enough to keep
from being described as bald.
He was carrying an elaborate
hat box with him that looked
susplciously like a container for
something fetching in millinery.
do you know what this is?"
he asked by way of explana-
ton. TITS a midnight-blue
Homburg for the Inauguration.
I'm going to look like hell in it,"
Mr.. Humphrey wears clothes
that look much better with his
comfortable $40 brown felt hat.
We went up to his room. Over
coats were hung up, and he
settled in comfortable chair.
He'd been on the go, but didn't
look tired.
I'D order a drink" he said,
"but it would be train time be-
fore it arrived"
His interviewer spoke of his
remarkable testimony before the
House Public Works Committee
on the st. Lawrence Seaway. Mr..
Humphrey seemed to have had
every detail concerning Great
Lakes navigation, harbor depths,
cost of construction of each item
Of the plan, distances from ports
to the mills-all in his head. Did
he consider himself a man with
a remarkable memory?
mo, I don't think I have an
unusual memory" he said with
a laugh. But I'll tell you one
thing I'm good at. I can pick
good partners. I'm as good at
that as any man in the United
States.
"And I'm picking the best team
for the Treasury that any man
could put together. You've read
about Marion Folsom of East
man, who will be Undersecre-
tary. and Randolph Burgess of
the National City Bank. who will
be my deputy. and Chapman
Rose of the Hanna Co., who will
be Assistant Secretary.
And wait until you see the
ones that will be announced to-
morrow"
Reported Next Day.
The Treasury appointments re-
ported in the press the next day
were T. Coleman Andrews of
Richmond, as Commissioner of
Internal Revenue. and Ebert
Parr Tuttle of Atlanta, as Gen.
eral Counsel of the Treasury.
He started to call the role of
the partners who have meant so
much to the remarkable success
of his company. The Hanna
Co. gets it's name from Senator
Marcus Alonzo Hanna. the Mark
Hanna who made William Nc
Kinley President. It is one of the
ore houses that made Cleveland
great and is the largest of them.
It's holdings in the vast Mesabi
range are second only to those
of United States Steel. It has
fleets of ore boats to bring the
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