New Britain Herald Newspaper, January 22, 1919, Page 5

He Spends More A Pocket Mirror of Carter Glass { ’ Short on “talk”; long on action. { Never went to college; quit i school at thirteen years. | Farming and cattle breeding his | hobbies. H Began as “printer’s devil” and i wound up as Sccretary of I Treasury. Author of Federal Reserve act. ‘ “Not afraid of work” his suc- ! s slogan Scotch-Irish descent; born Virginia; sixty-one years old. | Uses neither tobacco nor liquor, | Head of a home-loving family— ' wife and four children. i in By Robert T. Barry Washington, Jan, 4 WHUI\ Carter Glass was a boy, play- tife Lynchburg, hig nickname was “Pluck.” ing baseball on candlots at Even now the new Secretary of the Treasury receives letters. from com panions of his youth, beginning “Dear Pluck. He acquired the na me during a bail gsame with boy's from a village across the James River. The ‘'visiting team" to the rules of qid not play accordi: Hovle, the Marquis of Queensberry or ihe National the re of Plaver Giass of the “home ‘ommis n and aroused team. Player Glass stood it about as long as the courtesy of the home grounds demanded. Then he seized the lone hat which had been used by both teams, stood at the plate, and invited attack by the entire team. The visi- tors argued a while, but did not at- tack, and presently retired to the north of the James River. If the name of Pluck attached itself to Glass from that day, o, too, did a reputation of “being a whale of a fighter when you get him started.” Comes Forward “Retiring” That's what he is. Retiring to a marked degree, Mr. Glass has gone through a long career in politics, never seeking a fight, but generally coming out on top when foreed into ane. The late Ollle M. James, United States Senator from Kentucky, who served in the House with Mr. Glass, referred to the Virginian as a “snap- ping turtle.” Scnator James said that Glass was a quiet and harmless look- ing individual when let alone, but mighty dangerous if you poked your finger at him. The same spirit that caused hLim to defy the rival ball team carried him te the high places in public life. He has not been one of the flashy members of Congress who seek public attention by all manner of speeches on the floor or the introduction of bille and resolutions designed to in- terest the press gallery. Carter Glass put his name in Ameri- can history flve years ago, when he fought his way through Congress with the Federal Reserve banking act, and #aw that great measure cnrolled on the statute books just as he believed it should have been written, without Yokers or ambiguous provisions. The portfolio of Secretary of the “Pluck” got his nickname by stand- ing up to the home-plate and de- fying the whole team Treasury stands high among the posi- tions of trust in American government, but it is not going beyond the facts to state that when the achiovements of Carter Glass, of Lynchburg, Va. are recorded in the order of their impor- tanee, the title of author of the Fed- eral Reserve act wiil precede that of Secretary of the Treasury. Without the firc. be would not have attained the second; but the Cabinet portfolio is in the hature of a supplementary honor, rather than the cornerstone of his career. Mr. Gilass is slight of build. To sonte be appears delicate, and, while it is true he does pot enjuy the best of bealtn, he has no chronic illness as has been stated recently. Except when finuncial measures were beéfore Cougress he seldom made a speech in the House. He does not like to speak. When required to do so he attracted biz audionces and commanded full at ter:tion. e has a peculiar delivery, speak of the corner of his wouth. He came to Congress in Novembe:, 1802, but for more than four years had but little to say on the floor. He conciuded early that speeches in the Houes were largely bombast; that they were important only to members ma & them, and that the place for & member to do real work was in the cammitteen. out After Mr. Gl nad been in Con- gress for more than two years without having made n speech, a constituent called upon him in Washington. “Carter,” sald the visitor, “the fo down home arc expecting you to have something to say up here pretty soon. You have been here more'n two years now, and we want to hear from you.” “I won't make a speech untll I have something worth while to say,” re- plied Mr. Glass. “I will not get up and say ‘Hurrah for the Fourth of July,’ or something about the tariff or stuff like that. What do they want me to talk about?” “I dunno, but just you start some kind of a speech. Then we can have Charley Hamner, your secretary, stand up in the gallery, and shout “That’s a damn lie, and I'll guarantee you'll finish that in great ape. Tt will be a corker.”" Needless to say, Mr. Hamner never staged any such performance in the gallery, but it required as great a provocation to make Mr. Glass deliver his first big speech on the floor. That h does not appear in the Con- aressional Record. It was made at a Democratic caucus over the Federal Reserve bill. Proceedings of a caucus are not recorded. To understand how thoroughly the fighting spirit of ihe gentleman from Virginia was aroused when he made that speech to the caucus, it is neces- sary to recall some of the early his- tory of the Federal Reserve act “What Does an Editor Know?” A. D. 1913 seems a long time ago when memory seeks to compass tn- tervening events, but it is not so far in the distant past that the average citizen fails to recall the shock occa- sioned by the definite announcement that a Democratic Congress would undertako a revision of the banking speech and currency laws of the Unitea States. Tt had been generally understood that some scheme of decentralization of money control, the shifting of re- serves and provision for a more elas- tic currency was in contemplation, but its imminence and the thought— perhaps, it was a belief—that such an undertaking, striking at the very heart of the financial structure of the entire country was to be in inexperi- enced or radical hands sent a shudder through every bank in the land. “Who'll write the bill?” was asked counting-room, office and club, wherever bankers and financiers met. Woodrow Wilson w: in many re- spects an unknown quantity to busi. ness; flnance was not sure of MNe- Adoo; but thoughts of neither the President nor of the Secretary of the Treasury caused such pangs of hor- ror as did the mention of the new chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency, which was to prepare the banking law. Financial America askes “What in editor from does a country Virginia know about banking?" And, again: “What can he expected from Glass and his kind except a corn-tassel bill that will wreck the country?” Glass said nothing to these ques- tions. He gritted his teeth for a fight. For eight months he worked, day and night, imperiling his health, writing his answer. Playing virtually a lone hand, con- sulting only the President and the Secretary of the Treasury, the Vir glnian toiled over the banking bill for an average of twenty hours a day. Three-fourths of the measuro was written in his own handwriting, be- tween midnight and sunrise. He locked himself In his Toom in a hotel, where he has lived during most of his residence in Washington, and worked. ‘Writing in the tiresome method of bolding a pen between the index and middle finger of his hand, he covered many pages of foolscap. He scratched out and interlined, revised and re- wrote, until he evolved what he be- lieved was wanted. The manuseript copied by his secretary. The lone copy was carried about in an inside pocket of Mr. Glass's coat. He took the typewritten draft of the bill and went over that, amending, supplementing, eliminating, and all the while every newspaperman in Wash- ington and most of the bankers of the country were at their wits' end to leatn what he had written. His col- leagues on the Banking and Currency Committee were uninformed, as Mr. Glass did not talk much. There was a lot of speculation and little of actual knowledge. Later, the Democratic members of the committee were called in for a conference on the bill. Some further changes In wording resulted, but the measure retained its fundamental pro- visions. Then it was introduced in the House Impossible—No! Now, if you were .o ask Mr. Glass to confirm the above account of the Federal Reserve act's preparation, he probably would deny that he had so great a part in its preparation. It is more than likely that he would dis- claim the authorship and tell you that the bill was written by Woodrow Wil son; but Mr. Glass's modesty cannot transcend facts. The appearance of the text of the bill caused further explosions every- where. A storm of criticisr roared from the Rio Grande to Canada. Frank A. Vanderlip, a genuine financial genius, said the bill was im- possible. Paui M. Warburg heard the echo of the storm in Switzerland, read the Dbill and wrote an attack on fts provisions, which was forwarded to this country and printed broadcast. Nelson M. Aldrich, auther of a bank- ing reform bill that never reached the Money Th 1018, by Publied statute books, denounced Glass and his bill. It since has come to pass that Mr. Vanderlip has m«ize a manly retrac tion of his attack on the bill, and stated that without it there would have been a panic at the outbreak of the war; that Mr. Warburg until re cently had a large and happy share in the administration of the act; that some political Jeaders insist that the Glass bill is merely a slightly altered form of the Aldrich bill. These later developments from the story. The chairman of the Banking Com- mittee stood between two fires. There were the radicals in the Democratic party who demanded what amounted to “corn-tassel currency,” and who were not backward about airing their views. On the other side, were the ultra-conservatives who desired the Aldrich central bank scheme. Glass insisted upon a middle ground, and he triumphed. Thumbs Down—Thumbs Up! When opposition to the bill, within his own party, threatened to endanger its passage, Mr. Glass prepared to fight. Radical views which threatened to alter the principle of his bill be- came s0 pronounced that the safety valve on his fighting spirit was re- leased and he exploded. He shouted deflance at a Democratic caucus on the bill; stood his critics on their heads and before finishing had them applauding his views. Members of the House seldom, If ever, had heard him speak. Demof cratg listened, spellbound, that night, and when the caucus adjourned he was forced to walk through a lor lane of his associates eager to grasp his hand and pat his shoulders. That speech was Glass's greate effort. He had a hard task to his bill through the Iouse, but never was he forced to fight as he had been at the caucus. He saw his bill amend ed by the Senate, but still he was calm. Ie went into conference with the Senate committec, fought down every Senate amendment, and his bill, enacted in jts final form, was virtually as he wrote it and as he in- tended it When léading bankers and students of finance appeared before tlhie com- mittee they were amazed at the chalr man’s thorough knowledge of Ject. It is not recorded that Zany of the witnesses obtained an advantage over him in a debate Mr. Glass never went to college, but his talent for clear and concise con arc aside is sub- Secretary of the United States Treasury struction is a real ft It never as- serted itself better than in the drafting of the bill. He found one paragraph that stumped him. Try as he might he could not phrase it to suit him. He asked a professor in English to write it for him. The college man spent four hours whipping the provision into shape to convey exactly the meaning, no more, no less, that Mr. Glass want it might be incapable » interpretation by a ed, in order th of more than court. When he fi od it he took it to Mr. Gla It was about ten lir in length The chairman of the committee read it, then said: his all right, but how wpuld this do?” He wrote five lines on a scratch pad and handed it the professor. The latter tossed it k at him in disgus! “Why have me worry over that for four hours, when you have done it f better in ahout four seconds Mr. Glass w: on the Banking and Currency Committee during virtually his entire rvice in Congress. As a minority member during Republican control of the House he had little to say in the affairs of the committee, but he put his time to good use. Th-t fact became known when he was han- dling the Fede bill. It de- veloped that he had acquired, by hard study, a knowledge of the banking laws of every country in the world. Reserve Whenever some one suggested a change in principle in this bill, Mr. Glass was able to cite at once the disadvantages and how the proposai had operated in other countries. His struggle over the banking laws America does a country editor from Vir- ginia know about banking?™ Financial asked, “What greatly impaired Mr. Glass's health. He was advised by his physician to take a long sea trip, but this he re fused to do. He has no love for ocean trav is related of him that he once was a member of a congressional junket to Hawaii, and retarned vowinz never to go upon another. Secretary Glass's aversion to travel ympts the question ‘What are his diversions, his recre- ations?"” “That's easy.” his friends and in- timates invariably declare, "he has nene.” Net the new head of the Treas- nor members of his family have prominent in the social life of ston. They have not sought it ielded to numerous op- portunities to shine socially. They are strictly a home-loving family. Although one of his daughters was educated at Gunston Hall, a girls’ school in Washington, Mr. Glass never has taken a house in Washington. Mrs. Gl ers her home in Lynchburg and her country place just outside of that city to the social life of the na- tional capital. Her friends here are wondering if she will insist on main- taining hes present residence. Mrs. Newton D. Baker, wife of the Secre- ary of War, hoped that she might re- main in Cleveland, where she had ex- tensive interests in welfare work, but she found that the wife of a Cabinet officer was expected to fill a social office in Washington. s pr Loves the Farming Life Secretary Glass does in any form. He is a prohibitionist in practice, but never fanatical in ad- vancing his views. He has never taken u drink of alcoholic liquors in his life. Occasionally he goes to the American League ball park to see Griffith’s Sen- 5 not use tobacco ators in action. He seldom attends a theatre. Ile is a constant reader and to a careful selection of hooks owes much of his education. Ahout ten years ago Mr. Glass be- came interested in dairy farming on an extensive scale. le purchased a very fine strain of blooded stock and erected a model plant on his place near Lynch- burg. The leader of his sto full brother to the famous Flying Fox, owned by Thomas W. Lawson, of Bos- ton. Just after Mr. Glass had tablishment In good running order the Southern Railway decided to build an ¢xtension and the line as planned ran across ihs farm, cutting off the stock his es- Mr. 8 school when thirteen years, to thé conditions in Virginia following the Civil War. He will be sixty-one years old in January, but until he was forty he was not active in politics, at least not in his own behalf vas born at Lynchbu 5 the son of Major Robert H. Glass, a newspaperman for forty years, wno served for twelve years as postmaster rst under the United Government, and later under Government Mr. h descent. His Virginia, before Mr. Glass's She - at Lynchbu States the Glass Confederate is of Scotch-I E s settled in the Revolutionary War. mother was Augusta Christian. died when he was two years old At the age of fourteen Carter Glass entered the office of the Lynchburg Republican as a “printer's devil.” He worked in almost every capacity pos sible on a country newspaper, on the Republican and the Petersburg Post, hoth of which were owned and edited He was in Petersburg in 1877 when he decided he had enough of newspapers. Returning to Lynchburg he became a clerk in the office of the auditor of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad. Afher three years he resumed news- paper work as a member of the staff by his father of the Lynchburg News, which was owned by Albert Waddill. He bore the title of “local editor,” which car- yies an ominous meaning to any one s been associated with a small In 1888 Mr. Waddill desired Jose of the paper, and Mr. Gla who h paper. as cager to purchase it. Waddill $13,000 as the price. Glass had exactly $60 to invest. Promi- t men in Lynchburg advanced the difference. He acquired the Lynch- burg Virginian in 1893 and the Even: ing Advance two yea later. Mr. Glass was a clerk of the City Council of Lynchburg for twenty vears, dating from 1881, but aside from a. very strong influence exercised through his paper, lie was not a per- or in local and State politics set sonal f: until 1892, He never addressed a State conven- tion until 1897, at Roanoke, when he nominated Major J. Hoge Tyler for Governor. The convention was over- whelmingly for Tyler, and all that was required of Mr. Glass was a flight in rhetoric to enliven the proceedings. He refused to do that and instead made a brief and vigorous address. 1le was elected to the State Senate in 1899, and served until 1903. His first election to the State Senate was the result of action by his friends. His name was put forward while he was serfously ill in a hospital in New York city. He was elected without having made campaign. Fe was a legate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1901-1902, and had a large part in the framing of the suf- frage laws of the Old Doimisfon. Mr. Glass was elected to Congr in 1902, upon the death of Major Peter J. Otey. He was made secretary of the Demo- cratic National Committee in 1916. " t“’ H heard that Hif might be against him, he said: “Well, son, maybe I can help you get that waived.” “You'll do nothing of the kind,” the youth replied. “You just keep out of this, I simply wanted to let you know Representative Glass fought his way through the entire Congress with the Federal Reserve act—and won what I have done on my own account. 1 don’t want any one saying that I got a commission because I was the son of a Congressman, and I'll go as a private if they won't commission me on my merits.” Both boys went to France earry in the summer. Neither knew where the other was billeted. Both were ordered 1p to the front line” without having seen each other. Their regiments ap- proached designated sectors by two roads, which cros forming an X. Just at the they met. It either had been two minutes later they would have not met ed, crossing Burns Midnight Lamp Mr. Glass is not visionary. His the ory is that the realization of jdeals must come through hard work rather than through mere contemplation. On some questions his friends believe him obstinate, but his policy is to study a question thoroughly, and having gaim ed a conviction stick to it. . He does not possess the facuity of being able to close his desk at the close of a day and dismiss his work from his mind. For that reason he may be expected to spend many hours at night at his desk in the Treasury Department. Mr. Glass seldom retires until 2 o'clock In the morning. Fre- quently he worked until that hour at the Capitol, reappearing at his desk at 10 o'clock the following morning. About fifteen years ago Mr. Glass was asked to state his maxim of life. “I saw a maxim once,” he repliea, that in a way suggested the principle and habit of life that most appealed to me and that I endeavored most to practice. It said: “‘The man who actually does more than he is paid to do will never be paid for any more than he actuslly does.’ U. S. “Fightingest” Ship HE U. S. 8. C——— along the European coasts wher- ever sailors forgather as the “figh.- ingest” ship Uncle Sam has, and pu- gilistically speaking, her crew is the “fightingest” cre E. L. Shave, a Y. M. C. A. athletic secretary, stationed at a certain naval base along the shores of the “Tight Little Isle,” finds delight in the fact that whenever he has a call for a good fighter of any weight from 120 to 170 pounds, he has only to whis- tle among the crew of the C— to find his athlete made to order and r'aring to go. A few weeks ago he got a wire from athletic headquarters in Lon- don “Can you send first-class wel- terweight to National Sporting Club Wednesday night? Shave's stock of welterweights was a little low that day. He looked around for an hour or two in vain. Then the C— hove in sight around a bend in the harbor. Shave rushed to the ship’s athletic officer and showed him the telegram. “Tigue!” yelled the officer, and up stepped Tigue—ves, Jimmy Tigue, of Boston, the same Jimmy who gave Mike Gibbons a lusty go one time; the is known all same Jimmy who in late years has developed so many young fighters for the glory and honor of the fleet. There’s many a hefty wallop left in Jimmy yet, too. “Don’'t care if 1 do,” sald Jimmy, He was just a trifle overwelght, but by Wednesday night he was just right. And up in London that night Jimmy thrashed two of the best wel- ters the N. 8. P. could muster. The very next week Sha got an- other wire from London. This time they wanted a lightweight. The C— was still in port, and Shave found two hearty lightweights aboard ready for the business. He sent along George Fox, of Philadelphia, and James Rich- ards, from the Boston suburbs, and these two carried back to the C— two scalps from the metropolis. Richards, by the way, is the boy who used to gather in coin in amateur mills in the States. In 1916, the East will remember, Richards won the A. A. U. championship in the 125-pound class, at Boston Shave has had a censw taken of the fighters aboard the C—, and has found on this one ship eigit promis. ing glove experts, from the light. weight class on up, boys