1912–13 Volume 37 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL 449torney-General will proceed with, and while his method will notbe erratic or unduly drastic, he will endeavor fully to apply the law,The very least as feeling its care, and the very greatest as not exemptedfrom its power.His splendid record of achievement in prosecutions under theSherman law and his lack of conspicuous connection with corporationswere the chief points urged in favor of the appointment ofBrother McReynolds as Attorney-General. In these days of Shermanlaw enforcement it is regarded from a business viewpoint asthe most important place in the Cabinet. President Wilson will havecontinuing satisfaction over the appointment. The friends andbrothers of the Attorney-General will feel a just pride in his career,and in the opinion of many it will redound to the lasting good ofthe country.JOHN H. DEWITT, Vanderbilt, '94, Past F G. C.SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE HOUSTONThe following letter about the new Secretary of Agriculture,dated Princeton, N. J., March 22, 1913, and signed "A. W. L." waspublished in the New York Sun:Of all the new cabinet officers the personality of Mr. Houston is perhapsthe least known to. the general reader. I knew him intimately when he wassuperintendent of schools at Spartanburg, S. C, and later when we were bothgraduate students at Harvard. Even in those early days he was recognized asa man who would go far.He comes of the same blood as Sam Houston, the famous Texan, buthe has none of the impulsiveness and recklessness of that doughty citizen.On the contrary, he is cautious and wary, but not timid or vacillating. Healways follows the good old rule of thinking twice before he speaks, andhe never moves until he feels firm ground under foot. By nature andtraining he is conservative, but his mind is always open to enlightened suggestion.He is no friend of what is fantastic or quixotic, but when he makesup his mind that a change ought to be made he moves forward with calmness,firmness and resoluteness. I have seen him more than once break awayfrom early training and opinions, but never with a splutter. On the whole,a sane, wise, steady man, with a penetrating and progressive mind, and atalent for details and organization. He is no worshipper of red tape, buthe likes to see a well oiled machine working effectively. Moreover, he neverhurries and he never rests. He doesn't fret and he never loses his temper.He has abundance of heat in his vitals, but it comes out only in the flashof his eye and in the even iciness of his voice.The hardened spoilsman will not find a friend in Mr. Houston. No genialloafer will slap him on the back and ask for a job. It is safe to say thatnobody will get an appointment in the Department of Agriculture unless hebe a man of proved capacity and character.In the old student days he used to tell me laughingly that I'd turn outeventually to be either a spendthrift or a miser. I am neither. So I do notrank him high among the prophets. Prophecy, however, is not a gift needful toa Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. Houston has so many shining gifts that hemay very well leave prophecy to the wise ones who spend their time in hotellobbies.It may be added that his name is pronounced Hughston. When he en-