The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-23
SENATOR HOAR GROWS OLD.
FACE-TO-FACE VIEW OF THE SEN
ATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS,.

Loves His Bible and I1naE Walton.
Collector of Autographs and
Webster Manuscripts-LIves in n
boarding House of Which n Cuban
Is the Kecper-Never Misses n
breakfast of Goldfish BaIIs-Lilses
to Tell Stories-NO More HIegIbIe
Pennlan in Neutrality-suspicious.
Everything Said About Himself In
the PaperS-His Country Home In
Observation-Disclosures Outdoor Life.
Proud OF Ills Ancestry.
Senator George H. Hoar is a rare char
acter He has strength ripe culture,
wit, incisiveness; he Is wise and subtle,
yet at times ingenious as child he has
had marked success as a politician, but
he cares little for politicians or their ways;
he Is a lawyer and a man of affairs, a
scholar and a classicist; he has been al
most continuously before the public for
half century; he has played a conspeu-
Gus part in many great events, yet he is
to-day as innocent of certain phases Of
politics as though he has spent these fifty
years in his closet among his beloved
books.
man of courage, II has never trou-
bled him to be In minority-even in a
minority of one. He entered politics as
member of the free soil party when It
was little more than party name. and
now in the evening of his career, with his
partly In power, he has spoken out in OPP
position to his partys most popular policy.
When the A. u A. was a dreaded force
in politics, and others held their tongues,
he went out of his way to publish a let
ter denouncng the order. When his state
was defeating Republican candidates for
Congress in Arthur's administration, be-
cause they had voted for an obnoxious
river and harbor bill, he again went out OF
his way to publish a letter defending river
and harbor appropriations on principle, and
this bill in particular.
Loves the Bible and Izank Walton.
Senator Hoar has finer literary sense
than almost any other man In public life.
His Bible and his Shakespeare and the
classics are dear to him. His taste runs
in channels somewhat out of the COM
mon. That appeals to him especially
which has the flavor and the sweetness
of the past. George Herbert, Izaak Wal
ton, DIR. Dome are among his familiars.
He loves to ramble through the by ways
of literature. For him to visit England
Is delight. He Is not much of a collec-
tor of books He has al home in Worces-
ter four or five thousand volumes, fondly
chosen, IL is true, but containing few rare
editions or choice bindings. He takes
pleasure in gathering autographs and
manuscripts of certain sorts. He has a
fine collection of Webster manuscripts,
and never let's anything relating to the ex-
FOUNDER Of the constitution escape him
He cherishes every reminder of his grand
father, Roger Sherman. Among his treas
ures is an old copy Of the Aiken Bible,
which his grandfather owned. The copy
lacked few pages, and he supplied the
lack from another imperfect copy which
he picked up somewhere. He loves TO
fondle this volume and tell how much
money somebody would like TO pay for IL.
II IL could only be bought. In Washing
ton he has only a few books-just enough
to enable him to do his work at home.
Lives in IA boarding House.
Senator Hoar lives In a boarding house
in Washington. 1t is a substantial old
place on X street. and the family with
whom he lives are Cubans. There are
no Others in the house besides him and
Mrs. Hoar. This is in a fashionable and
convenient part of the town, but there is
an old boarding house on an questionable
street where the senator lived for years
soon after he came TO Washington, which
Is more Of a home to him. II Is kent
by an Ohio woman, whose single weak
ness in the senator's eyes was that she
could not bake a New England brand
of baked beans. But she puts together a
famous Goldfish ball, the only article of
diet of which he Is inordinately fond. As
regularly as Sunday morning comes the
senator appears at his Old boarding place
for his breakfast of Goldfish balls He
never misses 1t. He sang praises of this
Goldfish ball IN letter he wrote when
somebody charged him with being a mo-
nopolist and a friend OF the trusts
A Great TaIker.
Senator Hoars mind is always at work.
When he has nothing else for Ii TO do, he
settles himself in big library chair and
reads. He is fond, too, of talking, and
nothing pleases him more than to weave
a chapter Of "reminiscences with a congo
NAL friend. His casual talk is full of lit
erary and historical allusion ana of dis
eliminating humor lie very rarely writes
with his own hand, even the briefest OF
notes His penmanship is so illegible that
there is really little Of it in existence aside
from his countless signatures 70 letters.