Evening Star Newspaper, February 18, 1923, Page 71

THE SUNDAY 8T, Secretary Mellon an Enthusiast In Work of Treasury Department BY JAMES A. BUCHANAN. XE of the bustest men in the country 1s the Secretary of the Tressury. From early morn untll late at night the custodian ‘of Uncle Sam's strong box 13 devising ways and means to safe- guard the many milllons of dollars that sre in his keeping. Not only Taust he see thut every dollar of the peopie’s money is kept from being Stolen by bold bandits, but he raust also keep an over-watchful eye on what the men on Capltol HIll are trying to do with the money that be- longs to the hundred and odd mil- lion people that go to make up this + country. It has long Dbesn an acknowledged fact that the Secretary Is a sort of safety valve for Conngress for, from the earliest days of the government, ,there has heen a disposition on the part of leglslators to pay more heed to thelir conetituents' demands, elther| Just or fancled, than to conserva- tion of the money that rests in thet vaults of the nation, ‘Taxation Is the great outstanding Guestion that every Becretary of the Treasury has had to fuce, for large- upon him falls the blame for an} inerease in taxes. The public Is prone, 'to say: *What is the matter Withj that fellow, anyhow? Here we give| of milifons of. ol snd he cries for more Whut hae he sh we Luve dug up from our pockets? Why, he gave s0 much moner to thls and so much | 10 that. Does he tt that the only | ihing we have to do i to work our fool heads off =0 that Le can scatter our money around s a termer sowing wheat?" i The public does mot stop to think that the Secrctary of the Treasury a dollar of the vast Ehortsution by the of the goverament do not understand men run. They have never been| told just what tr government | should mean to them, and until some | bwisc Prostdent ormanizee a real in-| formation bureau, tae public will re-| k: n in € 8 mental condition that it s today The post of Secrotary of the Treas- ury te looked upon by th who are | iar with the dutles of the of-| of the hardeet in e never has been a man in the oMee that did not have 4 hard row to hoe, &nd from the first Secrelary, Alexandcer k. Yorky down to ti ‘of tae pesitton, Jegleiative body | Tcople generally | Low the govern- to January 1. ngress, September 2, 1789, partment to | ent of the | und of the| who theroo?. i About 45 per cent of the goid—that ! tiie monetary geld of the world 48 In the keeping of the Pittsburgh | banke while tac average per- | mon says, iaentally, “fin to have | o much money, really it s a con- | stant source of worry. There is al- | ways the possibility of something | g wrong. Some of it may be A financtally unwise act may be passed by Congress that will make ' great faroads on this pile of yellow metal, and besides that ways the danger that the great hg‘pi iay become too large for the safety, | sot only of this country. but of the| whole world, a fact that economlists sppreciate. There are many other 1easons that men who deal In} faauces in a lurge way will under- | sand | @utles of the Sescretary of the | ‘reavusy are, briefly, that he shall, 2 tma to time, digest and prepare | ns for the fmprovement and man- | wgement of the revenue and for the | ,upport of the public credit; shali supertntend the collection of the pub- | revenue; shall grant, underlimi- ! tations of 1 all warranty for | (aoneys to be issued from the Treas- | :ry in pursuance of appropriations | inade by Congress, and shall report d give Information to Congress in person or by writing, as may be re- quired, respecting zll matters re- ferred to him by the Congress which £hall pertain to his office Untll the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1921, the Becretary of the easury annually submitted to Con- ress estimates of the probable reve. wuues and disbursements of the gov- ernment. This duty will in future be performed, under the budget and sccounting act of June 10, 1821, by ihe President of the United States, the budget having been prepared in | the bureau of the budget, located in| the Treasury Department, and trans- initted to the President for that pur- pose. The estimates, Which were for- merly transmitted to Congress by the | secrotary of the Treasury and con- | stituted fivhat was known as the| “book of estimates,” are now called | the budget. In the budget, the esti- | wates of the expenditures are pre- | sented in a form which classes them | by esecutive departmonts and inde- ;pendent establishments. | ¥ % % HE Socretary of the Treasury also has under his control the cotnage ;¢ metalic money and the printing of raper money. In addition, there come Lnder’ the adminlstration of the Yreasury Department, although not solated to tho finances, the coust cuard, the public health service and the office of the supervising architect, (he last-named having charge, under the Secretary, of the construction 2nd malntenance of all public bulld- ings. As if all these matters were not enough to occupy the attention of the ynancial officer of tho government, “he Secretary is ex-officio chalrman of the Federal Rewerve Board, cre- ated by act of Congress approved optember 23, 1913; ho is ecx-officio chairman of the federa! farm loan| Loard, created by act of July 17, 1818;; ; chalrman of thp War Finance Cor- soration and chuirmar of the world war forelgn debt commission. The Secretary makes his report .very year direct to Congress, so that body is able &t & glance to tell the .ondition of the finances of the coun- iy, 'he nation’s financial onorary chairmaen of the United letters that come upaml‘ are thuse. One o/ Busiest Men n Com;try and Holder of One of Hardest Jobs in Cabinet, He De- clares All His Duties Most Interesting—Sur rounded by Men of Efficiency, But Has Many Big Questions to Decide—Guards 45 Per Cent of Monetary Gold of World—Advocates Sep- aration of 50mg Branches Which He Believes Are Not Properly in Treasury. ‘ ECRETARY OF THE TRE: FORTYFIVE PER Cl there ts al- | sav iday ¢ the inter-American member of the of the postal er of the Smith- ates section o high commission, board of trustees av me of the sontan T board of federal na til the fisca 1821, the bureav ance the Congress passec the Vetera: pendent burcau takes the place of the war risk insurance burcau. and has cemnmitted to it the transaction of all bustness In connection with pensions, claims, ete., of the soldlers and saflors of the United States who fought in the r world 1w s that are directly uader ¢ are numerous, but one must not imagine that the Secretary has fust thesc and no more things to do, for there is rnot a day that he Is not called upon for advice as to mat- ters that affect the finances of the nation Secretary Mellon does not take credit for being able to do all this work, but states that only by the le-hearted co-operation of those associated with him s he able to give the service that these different bureaus demand. Yet while it is true that he is surrounded by men of the highest type of efficiency, in the last analysis he must decide gquestions that ere of more than ordinary import. Tn- 1, cotie control. reginning July war risk 1 jurisdiction of but the the § T us sit down with him for an hour or so and see how he works, how he manages to keep in touch with all the activities of the Treasury Department, how he guides the helm of the ship that. has more than 60,000 employes on its pay roll, how he works out Iknotty problems that arise every in the year and how he -an- ticipates a situation and is ready for it when it comes. You have been able to get an appointment with him and you call upon his confidentlal sec- retary, John Kieley, former new: paper man. You find that the secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury knows the department from A to 2Z, and that if you test him he will, without hesita- tion, tell you what you want to know. How he ever manages to keep 5o many facts and figures in his head 1s something that vou cannot under- stand, but you cannot stump him. You have briefly outlined to him what you went to know and, presto, the information comes out like a shot from a gun. You are walting until one of the heuds of division is through with the chlef and your gaze wanders around the room. There are several easy chairs and a table on which are a few papers. Kieley does not allow them to accumulate. He would be swamped if he ¢id, for actually hundreds and hundreds of letters and telegrams come to him every day. This does not include the thousands that have been JRY MELLON, WHO NT OF THE WORLD'S MONETARY GOLD. RDS ABOUT Copyright by Harris & Ewing. | that must reccive the attention of the |chiet and his secretary. | You ask, as a test, how many em- | ployes are under the direction of the | | Treasury Departmen and the answer | i3: Departmental, 19,023; tn the fleld, 137.588, to which must be added 4,161, ¢+ Which Is the total of officers and men | in the coast guard. The grand total is 60.772 not a bad-sized working force, and, according to all reports, the | great majority of them really work, for the business of this department ! of the government has, as its head, a | man who s used to having things | done when they should be done. He | made a success in private life by | sticking on the job, and he does the ! same thing for his boes, Uncle Sam. | * % % % E office of the Secretary of the | X Treasury is located In the south- | west corner of the Treasury bullding | on the second floor. It is not the kind of place you would expect to find the custodian of nearly half the gold of the world occupying. It is well fur- nished, but not pretentious. The room |18 well ventilated, the furnitupre fs }good, but not elaborate, and the desk | at which Secretry Mellon sits has its | counterpart in many offices of firms or tndividuals who do only a fair busi- ness each year. The thing that im- | presses you most, however, is that his desk -is almost clear of papers. A | tew letters are waiting for his sig- | nature, he has a memorandum pad or | two, a couple of pens, a letter opener |and a few trifles, euch as are to be found on the desk of most any busi- ness man. As you enter, he glances at you quizzingly. It is rather a look that trics to see how he can put you at your ease. He bids you be seated and walts for you to start the interview. He sits at ease with the light at his back, for, like most men, who have to deal in finance, he wants to note the expression on your face; at least, that is the way It strikes you. You open the conversation without going tnto the usual formalities, for you can sense that here is a man who has work to do, and wants to finish this job, just as he does all the others, in the shortest possible time. With' the first question, which he sees 1s non-political In character, ho cerns his work, and if there is one thing that the Pittsburgh financial king does like it is his work. While numerous writers have, during the past two years, hinted that he want- ed to resign, they have shot far wide of the mark, for, as he sald, his work in the department is of a most In- teresting character. The question you have asked Is, “What {s the most Interesting of all the things that you have to do?” The answer comes elowly, for the head of this grest business does not make replies without glving the mat- ter under discussion the thought that it Geserves, The reply is couched in the following language: - “All of the questions that arise are most interesting. They are diversi- fled in character and are such as to head 1s also |sortea out fn the maflroom. tor the’need careful avalysis™ When asked. 43 to what was the takes an added interest, for it con-} greatest problem that' confronted him, the Secretary said: “Probably the greatest problem is to find time to glve thought to the .many questions that arise, for it must be remembered that there are many questions coming up every day. This depurtment of the government. has the superviston of many activities, some of which are in no way related to the matters of finance. Take, for instance, the coast guard. That is a matter that should, in my opinion, be under the direction of the Navy. Originally, however, it properly be- longed to the Treasury Department, because it was formed for the pur- pose of preventing smuggling into this country, which would deprive the Fovernment of revenue. There Is a good deal more to it than 10 the other departments. There are numerous unrelated bureaus, some of whicH are of wufficlent Importance (0 engage tite attention of ome man, taking up practically all of his time, but I am Indoed fortunate in having in this department those who are well trained tn the execution of the duties of thelr several offices. “In this connection I want to call attention to the fact that some of the men in the Treasury Department ara working at night as instructors and without extra pay. These men | are training new or less efficient em- ployes, in order that the work muy be done more guickly and with a greater degree of efficiency. I visited {ome of the classes the other night und there were sixty employes pres- ent. It shows remarkable devotion to duty, and those engaged 1n the work are entitlgd to great cred € ¥ % % | 5‘ HEN the Secretary was asiced if the government were not losing numerous experts in the different branches of the department over which he prestdes, he replied: “Yes, there have been a number of excellent men who resigned in order |to better thelr condition, and cer- | tainly onme cannot blame them for that. They have shown spectal apti- tud= for the kind of work upon whi |they were enguged. Some firm or | corporation has heard about them and they have left the department. | Yet. under eoxisting laws. it is not ! posstble for me to pay these men more money thsn they ar: recelving at present. | "We are do -§ & bustnéss of about | $2,000000,009 a rear. It would not i cost more than $250,000 per annum to | pay these men the salarles t i got cn the outside and the govern- | ment would have permanently fores of cxperts that would undoubt- edly be of material | service.” Beoretary Mellon {8 hear! |2 the plan of rearrangement ! tas beon proposed, for, he sald: { “Take. for instance, that part of | the government devoted to the en- forcement of the elghtecnth amend- ment. It fe a legal activity, not & financlal one, and it should properly come under the Department of Jus- tice. This also appites to the enforee- ment of the narcotic law. . “The public health service is, like | many of the other divistons of the | Treasury, & spending department, and | does not properly belong where it is placed today. Let us also take the office of the supervising architect. that has chargoe of the erection, main- tenance, et>, of federal buildings This division of the Treasury's activ | ties properly belongs in a department of public works | “It must be remembered that the | Treasury, primarily is a financlal de- | partment. One must not forget that one of 1t divisions—the internal reve- | nue—is the largest bustness concern in the United States and is charged with the collectian of taxes. In nearly every large oity in the country there are officers and collectors whose duty is to see that the government re- celves these taxes. “Then in the ports of this country there are hundreds of customs offi- clals who must see that the dutles called for bv law are paid. There are men also engaged in the work of olagsification because. under the ex- isting tariff laws, there are many products that must be skillfully and carefully’ classified in order that the government may recelve its just dues and the importer not be overcharged.” in favor that * % ¥ % URING your interview you have had an opportunity to study Sec- retary Mellon, and If you have never seen him or studied his picture care- fully you might have gathered the impresston that he is a large. cold, business machine, but as you sit look- ing at him you see a rather slender person whose slight figure is garbed in quiet but well fitting clothes. His halr is gray. His eyes are blue, but not the cold, penetrating steel-blue eyes that fiction writers generally place in the heads of bank presidents. On the cdntrary, they are rather m!ld, but when you mention the work of the department there {5 a brightening, for the Secretary of the Treasury finds his work most congenial. As he sits conversing he slowly smokes 2 small, brown all-tobacen tiny cheroot 1t is not a clgarette, neither is it one of the things they call a “stogie” in Pittsburgh. 1f a question is asked, let us say regarding the,amount of interest that will be due tho United States five years from now on any forelgn debt to this country, you will find that the answer I8 not long In coming, and If vou want to take pad and pencil to check it up, you will merely have wasted your time, for the answer that the Secretary hae glven is correct. While on the subject of loans to forelgn countries, it may not be amis: to state that the Secretary of the Treasury makes regulations for loans of the government. During the late war billions of dollars were bor- rowed by the government from the people of the country who bought bonds which bear a profitable interr est for the investor. These bonds will, of course, in due time be re- deemed at their face value. Secretary Mellon has decided views on the thing which we cail success. Upon this subject he say “Every boy and girl must have cer- taln asssts to achieve success—not msterial assets, but assets of charsc- ter, and among the n;olt. important of ‘ “Our work is very comprehensive. | to raise money for the maintenance | WASHINGTON, - D. - 0, FEBRUARY 18, 1!52"3—PART 5. 'New Rock’ Creek Golf Course - Promises to Test Skill of Players BY IAN MACGREGOR. T is ohly a matter of a few weeks before we will have a chance to try out the new municipal golf course that is rapidly nearing completion. Its location is in Rock Creck Park, that splendid place which all last summer you looked at In hopes that Col. Sherrill and Mal. Weart and all the others would make ®ood on the!r word to have it ready by June of this year. Like the true sportsmen that they are, they have labored day and night so that you, your brother, sister and all your golf clan might swing your mighty clubs <n the course this year. That thelr labors have been directed with brains as well as hrawn ls shown by the announcement that when the month of brides comes, the new course will be ready for those who have yearned for links that would test thelr ekiil 1t 1s only of the nine-hole type, but you had better visit the course be- fore you tee off, because, when you have examined it carefully, you will find that it Is not the easiest place in the world on hich to make an extromely small score, and many a lad and lassie w!ll come home, after the first try on these lnks, with enough excuscs to fill several books. It may be necessary, at some later date, it the local devotees of the game insist, to add some hazards other than those that kind nature has provided, but In the opinlon of | the real lovers of the sport of the land of the heather !t {s hardly likely that such additions will be necessary, for the terrain is such as to make many spend a goodly part of their | time in hunting the little white | | sphere, that contrary and elusive bit | i | that has caused so many to take to |uf sport but also of greatly needed exere I Th coud | assistance in its | | | | J | [ THIS WILL | out a full course of eighteen holes, but after mak a careful study of the ground, in company with men of wide experience {n the constru tlon of links, Col. Sherrill decidc that a nine-hole course of the ki now almost ready would be far bet- ter than providing one of eighteen that would of necessity be limited and would prohiblt a real test of skill by the players. If the longer one —_— these are ambition, industry, person- ality and thrift. “Ambition is the will to attain something. The desired object may be knowledge, or honor, or power, but, whatever it is, the ambition to reach it must be bacied up by the willing- ness to work for it. Mere wishes ac- | complish little, without the aid of earnest application and industry. . “The asset of personality is more elusive, and seems to be born in| some people without any effort on; their part, but on the other hand it| may be acquired by every one who | will concentrate on his career and not let it be marred by carelessness and indifference. “To save part of What one earns is another vital element in a euc- cesstul lite. Savings are not only insurance agalnst the turns of for- tune, but also a means of seizing golden opportunities, which are so | often lost through the lack of a small | amount of capital. ! “There is no easy road or short cut to success. It means constant hard work and saving and meny sac- | rifices, but it is really worth them, all through the ultimate feeling of | | accomplishment and the lasting i happiness which it brings to its pos- sessor.” . HERE has been considerablo de-| bate as to whether the Secretary of the Treasury knows anything about politics. Some of those whose political activities have been confined !to county or city politica have de- clared that the Pittsburgh financler knows nothing of the same, while on the other hand those wio have been associated with him for the past ! fow years, and have had an oppor- tunity to judge, declare that he is | really a very clever politiclan. 1t 18 not, however. the prime requi- site to handle the finances of a hun- dred-sndodd million people. The chief qualification needed is that the Secretary of the Treasury be a man who thoroughly understands finance in all its many branches, and if An- drew W. Mellon, late of Pitsburgh. ! now Becretary of the, Treasury, does not ynderstand finance, then there is no use in any of the rest of us trying to master jhe subject. had been declded upon, the players|but $8,850, and it ls belleved that| would have been compelled to keep | o an ever-watchful patrons, | would have been too close for com- fort, 1f not safety ch { the great outdoors in scarch not only wu s Links Will Be Ready for Public by June 1, it Is Expected by Those in Charge—Considered by Experts Among the Best in This Section of the Country—Clubhouse to be Feature, With Pro- vision for Restroom, Lockers, Showers and Other Conveniences — Adequate Transportation Facilities Have Been Promised. OF THE MOST DIFFICULT HOLES OF THE NEW ROCK CREEK COURSE, WITH GREEN IN FOREGROU n it is formally opened the sum total will amount to no more than 10,000, a very moderate figure. The average course costs from $25,000 up; eye on the other| as the range of the drives % | generally up. ted in the | One of the factors that have enabled that time | the officer in charge of the work to been carried on whenever | produce such an excellent cour permitted. It has the fact that o ne of the land matier to whip ! cleared the w was paid for by the tnal conditt HE ncw course was & 1921, and sine no was | alo of the timber and the other ar- | BE THE CLUBHOUSE OF THE NEW ROCK IT WILL CONTAIN LOCKERS, SHOWER WHEN REMODELED. AND OTHER AC S FOR THE GOLFERS. the groud was not of the best, and | ticles removed during the process of besides, there had to be much grub- | construction. bing of roots, cutting away of under-| One reason why the nine-hole brush and clearing of stretches|course was decided upon was that the through timber-covered reaches. In|character of the ground would have fact, more than thirty acros had to{made the holes under the other plan be cleared hefore the links could be [too much alike. The cost mentioned put in any sort of condition. It was |has inciuded not only the preparing not as if the ground had been se- |of the ground, but also all other lected because of its adaptability, as|things of a semi-primary nature, such is customary in many instances both |as seeding, the installation of the in this country and abroad. In the|water supply, the building of tecs and latter section of the world the land | greens and other work of a similar does not present such obstacles, as a | character. rule, a8 have Leen found in Rock| The opening day has not been de- Creek Park. {cided upon, but it will be, from the Despite all these handicaps, the cost | ideas gathered at this time, about the up to the present time amounts to ! first day of June. While it was hoped / PATRICK J. JOYCE, WHO BUILT THE ROCK CREEK PARK COURSE. couy that the first foursome would be com- 1posed of newspaper men and Pre: dent Harding and a partner, this plan ay not be carried out, owing to the | determination of the chiet executive to spend the summer with Mrs. Hard- ing at some point other than Wash- ington | v o% | YA7HILE the fees have not set ! been determined upon, it is the i pollcy of those in charge to make municipal golf cheaper and cheaper. Advices have: been raceived by Col. Sherrill that adequate transportation service will be provided by the com- panfes whose lines run near the en- trances to the park. For those who desire to motor out, the best way will be to drive out 18th street to Van Buren street, to the Military road and Beach drive, or through the park via Beach road and the Milk House ford. The former route s not, as yet, available, but will be in the near fu- ture. Tho physical comfort of the players, according to E. L. Conkliin chiet clerk and assistant to the officer in charge, will be well cared for, as it is pro- posed to it up, as & clubhouse, ths old dwelllng within the golf course area by remodeing it so as to pro- vide @ reading and rest room, locker rooms, showers and other conven- {iences which are now considered es- | sential to the successful operation of | athletic grounds. These will, no doubt, be appreclated by the patrons. Owing to the fact that the new | course fs what may properly be call- led a circular one., a decided advan- tage in many respects, the clubhouse | will be the starting and ending place | for the game's devotees so that |one may finish the round and then, | without a long walk back, may retire [ to the showers and, after a refresh- |inz ten minutes, again don his or i her street clothes and rest for an | hour or s0 on the porches, listening to the tales of how various friends | would have made the course in par, had it notbeen for—any old excuse is applicable. In this connection it would {be & boon to golfers if some onme would invent a brand-new onme, for the old ones have been used 8o mans times that even a very novice laughs when he hears them. P HE first hole is 327 yards from tee to green, and is not an easy one by any manner of means. The second calls for shots that must reach 281 yards, while No. 3 measures 396; the next, No. 4, drops down to 283, and while the next meas- ures only 150 yards, it i{s one that is going to cause many a player to lift, for on either side of the falrway are trees and underbrush, where the con- founded pesky lfttle ball will try to ! take refuge. No. 6 measures from tee to green 417 yards, and is fairly easy to negotiate —that is, for this course—and then comes No. 7, which is only 103 yards, but here again many players will de- cide to lose & stroke or so and pick up, for just before you reach the put- ting green there is a deep gorge that will—reader kindly note this predic- tion—attract many a drive, while on the other side of the green & 2 “rough” that is really and truly rough, the kind that generally makes you tako more than you ever dream that you will need. The next calls for a drive of 485 yards, and it {s one that has to be seen to be thoroughly ap- preciated. The old residence that stands there at present is to be torn down; whether as a factor of safety or not, I ken not. The ninth and last hole totals 303 yards, and the green is adjacent to and just west of the clubhouse. Hero again the player must have more than the-duffers luck or skill if he wants to make this hole in par. If the pllycru.of this city are wise and desire to make good scores on this new course, they should visit it before they play. Yea, they had bet- ter study the terrain very carefully- before they essay to smash any rec- ords. It is perhaps one of the most attractive courses in this section of | the country, and those who planned it out should be highly commended, One should not forget to make mention of the excellent work that has been done by Supt. Patrick J. Joyce, a retired sergeant of the Army, who for months has devoted hours and hours to seeing that everything shall be in apple pie lorder before the grounds are formally ltlfl’ned over to those in charge. | Ancient Mortgages. 'TIIE mortgage business is one of the oldest busines: in the world. Back in the days of anclent Babylon, 3,000 years before the Chrie- tlan era, mortgage transactions were recorded in clay, which was burned to a brick for the purpose of preservation,