Page:Men of Mark in America vol 1.djvu/77

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WILLIAM HENRY MOODY
37

case of the Commonwealth against Lizzie Borden, indicted for the crime of murder. At a special election held in 1895 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of General William Cogswell, who represented the sixth Massachusetts district in the fifty-fourth Congress, Mr. Moody was elected his successor over Harvey N. Shepard, Democrat, the vote standing 14,970 for Moody, 5,796 for Shepard and 8 votes scattering. He took his seat in the fifty-fourth Congress December 2, 1895, completed General Cogswell's term and was reelected to the fifty-fifth, fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh Congresses, serving 1895-1902. He was a member of the committee on Appropriations. He also served on the committee on Insular Affairs, on Expenditures in the Department of Justice and on the Joint Commission on Transportation of the Mails, etc. His prominence in the House and his thorough knowledge of parliamentary rules led to favorable mention of him as a possible candidate for the speakership to succeed Thomas B. Reed. On the resignation of Secretary Long in March, 1902, President Roosevelt made Mr. Moody secretary of the United States navy, and he resigned his seat as a representative in congress and took his place in the cabinet May 1, 1902. While a representative Mr. Moody visited Cuba in 1901 in order to study the condition of the people who had been so recently relieved from the yoke of Spain and to determine if possible how soon they would be capable of carrying on a republican government for themselves without the aid of the United States army. As secretary of the navy, he had charge of the disburse ment of the largest sum of money ever appropriated by congress during one administration to strengthen the United States naval force, and the vessels built under his administration are a monument to his efficiency and carefulness. He also instituted reforms in the department, notably that of sending shore officers to sea, and providing for the needed recruits for the enlarged navy by enlisting men from the Western states and training them for the sea service instead of depending entirely on men from the seaports. In this way he secured Americans to man the United States vessels instead of filling vacancies with the seamen of various nationalities who could be found in the maritime ports looking for work, as had been the practice of former administrations. He also recommended to congress the elevation of the standard of incentive to recruits by making the duties of the service and chances for promotion and a possible commission as attractive as are those offered by the army. Mr. Moody