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Show I WILLIAM a. M'ADOO, who has resigned from positions as secretary of the treasury and director direc-tor general of railroads. ;i . ! y Ki ; ,1. ;V TREASURY CHIEF HDD RAIL HEAD RESIGNS t - j Inadequate Salary Is Reason Assigned by Cabinet Member for Relinquishing Posts. j j President Wilson Declares De-clares Country Has Never Had More Uniformly Uni-formly Efficient Man. t 1 v:, A SI 1 1 N CWOX, Nov. Willia m Gibbs JlcAd'oo, secretary of ike treas-j treas-j ury, director-general of railroads and , 'often discussed as one of the 'presidential J possibilities of 1920, has resigned his offices of-fices to return to private business, j President "Wilson has accepted his :cs- ignation. Mr. MeAdoo will give up the j treasury portfolio as soon as a successor J has been selected. He wished to lay down his work as director general of railroads by Aumary J, but will remain it the president has not then chosen a successor. suc-cessor. Upon the new secretary of the treasury, treas-ury, whoever ho may be. will devolve the task of financing the nation through the transit ion period of war lo peace, which probably will include at least two more Liberty loans and possibly tdso a further revision of the system of war taxation. AIMS TO REPLENISH HIS PERSONAL FORTUNE. Letters between President "Wilson and Mr. MeAdoo, made public today with the announcement of the resignation, give Mr. McAdoo's reasons for leaving the cabinet solely as a necessity for replenishing Ids personal fortune and express the president's presi-dent's deep regret at losing his son-in-law from his official family. Mr. McAdoo's letter of resignation., dated November II. follows: "Pear Mr. President- "Now that an armistice has been signed and peace is assuri-d. I feel at liberty-, to advise you of my desire to return, as soon as possible, to private life. "I have been conscious for some time of the necessity for this step, but, of course, I could not consider it while Ui country was at war. "For plinost six years I have worker! incessantly under the pressure ot great responsibilities. Their exactions have drawn heavily on my strength. The Inadequate In-adequate compensation allowed by law to cabinet officers (as you know T ri elve no compensation as director ge:M-ral of railroads) and the very burdensome cost of living in "Washington "have so depleted my personal resources that J am obliged to reckon with the facts of the situation. "I do not wish to convey the impression that there is any actual impa irment of my lualth, because such is not the fact. As a result of long overwork I need a reasonable rea-sonable period of genuine rest to replenish my energy. But more than this, I must, for the sake of my family, get back to private life, to retrieve my personal fortune. for-tune. HAD LONG NEGLECTED HIS PRIVATE AFFAIRS. "I can not secure the required rest nor tho opportunity to look aft'-r my lonp-ncglected lonp-ncglected private affairs unless 1 am relieved re-lieved of my present responsibilities. "I nm anxious to have my retirement effected with the least possible inconvenience incon-venience to yourself and to the public service, but It would. I think, be wise to accept my resignation now aw secretary of the treasury to become effective upon the appointment and qualification of my successor, so that he may have tho opportunity op-portunity and advantage of participating promptly in the formulation of the policies that should govern t he future work of the treasury. 1 would suggest that my resignation as director general of railroads rail-roads become effective January 1 . 19 19, or upon the appointment of my successor. "I hope you will understand, my dear Mr. President, that r will permit nothing but the must imperious demands to force my withdrawal from pub;ic life. Always 1 shall cherish as the greatest honor of my career the opportunity you have so generously given me to serve the country under your leadership In these epochal times. Affectionately yours. "W. G. M'ADOO." I The president's letter of acceptance, dated November 21. follows: PRESIDENT REGRETS TREASURER RETIRING. "Mv "iear Secretary: "I was not unprepared for your' letter of the Itth. because you had more than once, of course, discussed with me tlje circumstances which have long made it a serious personal sacrifice for you to re-j re-j ma in In office. I knew tlia t. only your (Continued on Page Two.) lEIffl TREASURY SECRETARY TP RETIRE (Continued From Page One.) high and exacting sense of duty had kept you here until the immediate tasks of the war should be over. Rut I am none the less distressed. I shall not allow our intimate personal relations to deprive me of the pleasure of saying that, in my Judgment, the country has never had an abler, a more resourceful and yet prudent, pru-dent, a more uniformly efficient secretary of the treasury; and 1 say this remembering remem-bering all the able, devoted and distinguished distin-guished men who preceded you. I have kept your letter a number of days, in order to suggest. If 1 could, some other solution of . your difficulty than the one you have felt obliged to resort to. But I have not been able to think of any. I cannot ask you to make further sacrltices, serious as the loss of the government will be in your retirement. I accept your resignation, therefore, to take effect upon the appointment of a successor, because In justice to you I must. World Admires Skill. "I also, for the same reason, accept your resignation as director general of railroads, to take effect, as you suggest, on the rirst of January next, or when : your successor Is appointed. The whole world admires, I am sure, as 1 do, the i skill and executive capacity with which you handled the great find complex problem prob-lem of the unilied administration of the railways undpr the stress of war uses, aiwl will regret, as I do, to ppe you leave that post Just as the crest of its difficulty is passed. "For the distinguished. disinterested' disinterest-ed' and altogether admirable service you have rendered the country in both posts, and especially for the way in which you have guided the treasury through all the perplexities and problems of transitional ; financial conditions and of the financing of a war which has been without prece-' prece-' dent alike in kind and In scope, I thank 1 you with a sense of gratitude that come from the very bottom of my heart. I Gratefully and affectionately vours, ! "WOODROW WILSON." i Mr. McAdoo explained to the corre-! corre-! spondents that he had "absolutely no other reasons" than those specified In ! his letter for the retirement. He said he realized many varied- rumors usually accompanied the resignation of an official, offi-cial, but he emphasized again and again that he had no motive or purpose except ex-cept those mentioned. . He said he hated to quit the job just at this time and disliked personally to disassociate himself officially from the president, but added that necessities of providing a living for hia wife and family make this Imperative, A moment later one correspondent suggested: "Well, It Js too bad, Mr. Secretary, Sec-retary, that, as a railroad man, you could not have shared In the wage increase in-crease which you gave everyone else." Then, for the first time, McAdoo brightened and explained his reluctance to take the action. He said he did not look around for a job, as most prudent men do, before quitting, but declared he felt like taking at least a three months' rest .before "looking for work." He said he hoped to leave Washington goon after January 1. Mr. McAdoo said he had no Idea who would be his "successor or successors." tyfcAdoo's Career. William Glbbe McAdoo was bora near Marietta. Ga., October 31, 1863. He received re-ceived his education at the University of Tennessee. He married Sarah Hazel-hurst Hazel-hurst Fleming of Chattanooga, Tenn., November IS, 1 883. She died in February, Febru-ary, 1P12. - He married Eleanor Randolph Wilson,, daughter of President Wilson, May 7, 1914, in the White House. He was appointed deputy clerk of the United States circuit court for the southern south-ern division, eastern district of Tennes-! Tennes-! see, hi May, He was admitted to I the bar in 1SS.V He practiced law in I Chattanooga until 1892, when he moved lo New York. Tntil 1903 he was law partner of William McAdoo. , Me wa president and director of the j Hudson & 'Manhattan Railroad company, . operating the Hudson river tunnel evs-! evs-! tern, and winch completed March 8, 1901, ; the first tunnel under the Hudson river. ' In RV1C he was delegate to the Demo- cratic national convention in Baltimore, ! and in the same year was vice chairman of the Democratic national committee. He was acting: chairman for the greater I part' of fhe campaign of 1912. j i lie was made secretary of the treasury ' In the cabinet of President Wilson, March ! (j. 1913. Ho was also chairman ex ofil-I ofil-I cio of the federal farm loan bureau, I chairman of the federal reserve board, : and of the United States section of the i International high commission. He was ! appointed director general of railways I December 23. 1917. I It is entirely probable that tho president presi-dent may fill separately the offices ' of 1 the secretary of the treasury and director direc-tor general of railroads. There was nothing official tonight on which to base ! a statement of who might be under consideration con-sideration for secretary of the treasury. On previous occasions when a successor to Mr, McAdoo was discussed, John Skel-ton Skel-ton Williams, comptroller of the currency, and W. P. G. Harding, governor of the federal reserve board, have most generally gener-ally been mentioned. Paul Warburg, formerly a member of the reserve board and a prominent New York haTiker, and Russell C. Beffingwell, assistant secretary secre-tary of the treasury, also are reckoned among the possibilities. President Wilson Is not required to , choose the new director general of rail-' rail-' roads from among the cabinet members and it is possible that the place may go to some one associated with Mr. McAdoo in the railroad administration. If the place should go to some member of tho cabinet. Secretary Baker of the war department, de-partment, Postmaster General Burleson and Secretary Bane of the Interior department de-partment are likely to be considered. There was a probability that the.di-: the.di-: rectorship might have gone to Mr. Baker al tlie time the president decided to give it to Mr. McAdoo. It was thought that government operation of the railroads as a var measure was closely connected with the military program, but the president presi-dent chose Mr. McAdoo because of his knowledge of transportation problems. 'Postmaster General Burleson already is operating the telegraph, telephone and cable lines under government control. Secret hry Dane is intimately versed in transportation problems, particularly railroads, rail-roads, and for years was a member of the interstate commerce commission and at one ti) no ' chairman. ; Hines Mentioned . I Walker D. Hines. assistant director i gonerai of railroads, formerly a New York lawyer and chairman of the board of' the j Santa Fe, has been intimately connected : with the development of government operation, op-eration, and is among those discussed in ! Washington tonight as a possible suc-, suc-, cessor to Mr. McAdoo as director general. ! Mr. McAdoo made the announcement of ! Ills retirement at one of his weekly conferences con-ferences with a score of newspapermen tonight in his private office at the treasury. treas-ury. The men for an hour had been discussing dis-cussing with Mm questions concerning future fu-ture policies of the treasury and railroad administration and were about to arise to lave when Mr. McAdoo, seated at his desk, remarked casually: Breaking the News. "Now. gentlemen, T have Just one other little thing to say which may be of Interest. In-terest. I am retiring from public life." Tins came so utterly unexpectedly that none of tlie men Ltteied a word of comment com-ment and the little map and paper bestrewn be-strewn office, which has served as tiie secretary's workroom for more than five years, was still unt il Mr. McAdoo, in Ills usual tone, explained further: "Copies of the correspondence vlth the nrpsidnnt will exnlain the reason why I have been compelled to take this action. i nnd there isn't any other reason why I ' did ft." 1 Just a few minutes before the press conference, Mr. McAdoo had called in bin : treasury advisers and broken tlp news j to them. Utmost surprise was expressed by his coworkers. There had b-en only I one rumor recently of the possibility of ' AU". McAdoo'a resignation, and that was to the effect that he might be appointed secretary of war while Secretary Baker went to Europe as the president's emissary. emis-sary. Tiiat report was specifically denied at the time and it was said that Mr. i McAdoo had no immediate intention of i quitting either as secretary of the trens- ! ury or as director general of railroads. 1 Small Salaries Paid. n Mr. McAdoo receives S12.000 a year as, secrotary of tlie treasury, the uniform sal- i ary of cabinet members, and nothing as: dfrector general of railroads. His family, expenses are known to have been heavy , in the last few years, although since the war he has taken almost no part In the ; little capita! society that remained. Re-1 peatedly the secretary has referred to i small, salaries of government officials, ! though he did not refer to his own case. ! In fixing the salaries of his assistants in I tlie railroad administration lie allowed j heads of divisions $23,000 a year and even j the minor assistants received $12,000 or $16,000. Secretary McAdoo is the fourth member mem-ber of tlie cabinet to resign. William Jennings Jen-nings Bryan, the president's secretary of state at the beginning of his administration, administra-tion, was tiie first and Bindley M. Garrison, Gar-rison, secretary of war, was the second. James C. McReynolds, attorney general, resigned to take an appointment to the supremo court. Aside from those three changes the president's cabinet stands the same as il did six years ago, and his friends say h4 has taken a great deal of , pride in referring to it as a team. At i the opening of hia second term the president presi-dent asked all the members to remain. Made Rapid Rise. The rise of Mr. McAdoo to a place ,of Influence in the administration tvhicn many have declared was second only lo the president was very fast. As a southern south-ern lawyer who had been Interested In transportation schemes In southern cities, he went to New York and accomplished the then almost , unbelievable teat of successfully suc-cessfully tunneling the Hudson river for electric trains. One of the first men to suggest the scheme if not actually the first was adjudged, a lunatic and he lived to see the project an accomplishment. Mis name has been forgotten In the success of the achievement. When Mr. Wilson, then governor of New Jersey, became a presidential probability, proba-bility, Mr. McAdoo was practically unknown un-known to him. But Mr. McAdoo took a leading part in his campaign, as vice chairman of the Democratic national committee com-mittee and, much of tiie time, as acting" chairman, and also as chairman of the finance committee. The president-elect chose him for secretary of the treasury. Strong Cabinet Men. At the outset of the president's first1 term It was a pastime of observers of public affairs to refer to "tlie strong men of the cabinet," generally speaking of two or three. It is no reflection on Mr. McAdoo Mc-Adoo to sav that his name was not then so earlv included, but it soon became so. It was" no secret that the president depended de-pended on his advice and judgment mote and more in affairs which ranged outside the treasury. He soon began taking a .prominent part in shaping the administration's adminis-tration's legislative policies and he in- , yariabiv had the backing of the president. Possibly that brought him into the finld of Democratic presidential possibilities when they wore being discussed, but so far as anyone knows Mr. McAdoo never has expressed himself on that subject, but has, devoted his attention to serving his chief. ; It lias bfen wpII known in Washington that Mr. McAdoo, a man of comparatively small personal fortune. has felt that 1 sooner or later he must replenish his rp-J sources. Friends at various times have i expressed some apprehension for h!n j health, for he has been an indffatiqable worker, and, while the duties of score- ! tarv of the treasury in times of world war probably would have taxed the health ; and energy of anyone, he did not hesi- j tate to take on the railroad administra-, t'on and found time besides to take a prominent place in the president's conn- 1 cils on other subjects. While on a recent trip in the west be fell from a horse and ! broke a rib. but his friends say that had no effect whatever on his general health. Since tiie European war brok out in the fall of ini-l Mr. McAdoo's department ' has faced many big economic problems. t Bateiy, the tremendous Biberty loans and corrollary problems of financing war expenses ex-penses have been his principal concerns. Mr. McAdoo stood out strongly against all treasury advisers In May, 1917, and maintained that two billion dollars was not too much to ask the American people to give in a single loan. Others argued that a half billion, or at most a billion, was enough. As a leading builder of the federal reserve re-serve system, an early advocate of a great government-built merchant- marine , and a developer of the federal farm loan system he was known particularly. Promotion Pro-motion of closer commercial and financial finan-cial relations hetween the United States and li tin-American republics was another an-other subject in which he was interested. He played a prominent part in preparing prepar-ing the income tax law and In developing develop-ing measures to permit a flexible financial finan-cial arrangement to tide the nation over rough periods of financial history during the war. He placed government funds in banks of the west and south to facilitate the movement of crops, and later arranged ar-ranged the distribution of government funds more uniformly throughout the country. Emergency Currency. ' Four days after the European war started, Mr. McAdoo asked and obtained special legislation to permit the Issuance of a half billion dollars of emergency currency cur-rency through national banks to tide the nation over this critical period. He also recommended enactment of the measure permitting the government to write war risk Insurance on ships and cargoes and lives of seamen, and the bureau administering adminis-tering this later took charge of paying allotment al-lotment and allowance checks to dependents de-pendents of soldiers and sailors and the administration of government life insurance insur-ance for these men. Mr. McAdoo's department had charge of the collection of four billions in taxes last year and the raising of nearly eighteen bililons in Biberty bonds and war savings within the last nineteen months. About eight billions "In loans to the allies have been distributed at his discretion since the Bulled States entered the war. He also was the directing spirit of tlie capital Issues committee, the war finance corporation and other wartime treasury agencies. Mr. McAdoo was man-led May 7, 1914, to Eleanor Randolph Wilson, daughter of the president. In the White House. They have one daughter. Mr. McAdoo also has three sons and three daughters by a for-I for-I nier marriage. The three sons are now serving in the navy. |