John Barton Payne

John Payne (1855–1935) headed the Chicago Law Institute and was a Superior Court judge in Illinois. He came to President Wilson's attention and served as general counsel of the U.S. Shipping Board of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, member of the Treasury board of appeals, and counsel for the Railroad Administration. Wilson then appointed him secretary of the Interior after Secretary Lane's resignation. Payne focused his efforts on opposing reclamation projects in Yellowstone National Park and conserving Navy petroleum reserves. For the last nine months of his brief tenure as secretary, Payne concurrently held the post of director general of railroads. With President Harding's election, Payne was made the chairman of the American Red Cross. Over the next 14 years—until his death in 1935—he greatly expanded that organization's influence and international reputation.