The Norfolk weekly news., 1900-10-25
Truth About Marcus Hanna.

hoV ieCohclIe MS kindly ana smlllnR
countenance with the stories of grasping
sordidness that has been told by the
political writer and the cartoonist. and
as n matter of fact, his appearance does
not belle his life.
The following is taken from Wash
ington correspondence to the Omaha
Bee, and gives true insight into his
character:
"The facts about Senator Hanna
are not generally known. Although
every intelligent man realizes that the
major portion of the silly stuff that is
written about him every day in the
year II mere tommy. .rot-without any
foundation in fact-and not worthy the
credence of any thinking, self. respect.
ing American citizen, yet a very re.
spectacle number Of people really do
believe that il he is not the grinding,
grasping, selfish, corrupt combination
of unholiness that the newspapers
describe, he is, to say the least, an
unwholesome type Of politician, to be
looked at askance and not to be trusted
under any circumstances. They can
not reconcile Senator Hanna with their
highest and best conception of American
manhood and American citizenship :;
they cannot think Of him as an mas.
suming, modest and kindly gentleman,
who has absolutely no designs what.
ever upon the welfare of the American
people, but who, on the contrary, loves
his country quite as well as any of them.
All of which, however, comedies most
readily with the truth
IA remarkable condescension was
witnessed recently when the man who
does the political stunt on the editorial
page of one Of the prominent democratic
newspapers Of the east observed that
there are at least two men in the
United States who were thoroughly
capable of getting down on level with
the every day man with message that
could be best appreciated and under.
stood. One Of these men, according to
this gentleman, is William Jennings
Bryan and the other is Marcus A. Hanna.
Think of that. Is it not comparison
without parallel in the annals of
Organism? And is not this character.
istic Of Mr.. Hanna rather a peculiar
one to be possessed by man whose
want of sympathy for the plain people
has been so widely and persistently ad-
vertised in the columns of the opposi.
ton press: The truth is that his heart.
to-heart talks have been one of the sur
prises of the campaign. No more
forceful speeches have been made in
years.
ut is a fact that nine.tenths of the
falsehoods that are so glibly fashioned
day after day are inspired in the absence
OF the most remote reference to the
truth, and by men who have not even
superficial knowledge, either personally
or through any authentic source, of the
man they disparage and abuse with
such etfervescent gusto. The stories
written have absolutely nothing in
common with the trnth, and it is not
intended that they should have.
"Singularly enough, although Senator
Hanna has for years employed organized
labor upon q stupendous scale, strikes
among his employees have been conspicu-
Gus through their absence. There has
been no strike in the history of Mr..
Hanna's life. There has been no strike
among any men employed by any com.
pany IL which he has had. an interest.
The record is clear. 1t is significant,
too, that, during the .great street car
strike in Cleveland, still fresh in our
memories, not a line in which MIR.
Hanna was interested was tied up for 80
long as the fraction of second. Every
car continued to run regularly so far as
his employees were concerned. Not man
in the employ Of Mr.. Hanna could be in.
duced to join the strikers. For all of
which there must be very good reason.
There is. 1t is this: Mr. Hanna may be
approached by the humblest employe.
There is no more accessible man than
himself. He desires, and even invites,
his employees to lay their grievances, their
complaints before him. 1t may be done
with impunity. He may be seen per.
sonally. There is no formality about the
matter. The employe with a complaint
walks into his Office without even being
announced. The door is always open to
him. There is no clerk to meet him in
an outer chamber and convince him that
it is not necessary for him to see Mr..
Hanna personally. He walks directly
into that gentleman's presence, and
when he retires there has usually been
an amicable adjustment of the grievance.
These complaints are few in number
so few in number that there are almost
none at all. Complainant and COM
plant are treated with the utmost fair
ness and consideration, and it is ap.
-.