The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-06-26
He Eats Pie With q Knife and Drinks
Water " 0utsn "a Pitcher
He WILL MAKE THE CAMPAIGN HUM,
The Man Who Had Tho Nerve 10 Make The Texans
BsIisp Foreign Capital Should
Bs Kspi0ut

New York. June 26.--James Stephen
Hogg, the obese ex-governor of Texas.
who is the faworite son of the Lore
Star state for the Democratic vicN
presidential nomination, was being dis
cussed by group of politicians la the
Hoffman House lobby few nights
ago, one of whom was George Sealey.
a prominent man in Galveston and .
warm friend of Richard Croker.
"Hogg will make this campaign HUN
IL he is selected as Mr.. Bryans run
ming mate" said Mr.. Sealey "He is
one of the mostN unique figures in
southwestern politics, big of body. b!g
of brain, wit, and of inexhaustible
resource to get the people on his eide.
III he takes the stump i'm thssaorth, his
manner and methods will astonl-fi the
natives.
He is considered startling, even in
Texas. The way in which he got him.
self into the executive chair for his
second term will be a part OF the state
traditions after the names Of other
governors are forgotten.
He won out when everything seemed
going against him by eating pie with
a knife and drinking water out Of a
pitcher.
SOME POINTS IN HIS CAREER.
"Hogg went TO the Texas White
House after four years as attorney
general He had made that office a
factor In the state government 1t had
never been before. In truth, az attor-
ney general he was more prominent
than the governor. Being a politician
by instinct and leader by nature, this
was not difficult. He came out strong
| as a champion OF the people against
| the corporations. He launched himself
with particular force at the railroads.
| He dug, around in law and in records
Of land grants and found that every
| road in the state held property Tor
| sidings and switches to which. on tech
| nlcality. they were not entitled. He in-
| stituted suits which, after bitter strug'
giles in the courts, were DECIDED in Ia
vor OF Hogg.
after these victories II was easy for
| the attorney general to become govr
| ernor. IL there is anything the average
| Texan hates IL Is trust or corpora
| ton. The fact that Hogg had soundly
| beaten the railroads was enough TO
| make them all look upon him as one
| sent from above. .
| "But the demigod was almost pulled
| from his pedestal before the frst year
| Of his term had expired. and IL was IN
| setting himself elected the second time
| that Hogg showed his greatest political
| resource and ingenuity through the
| water pitcher and lowly case knife.
| OBJECTED TO FOREIGN CAPITAL.
Gov. Hogg placed foreign capital In
| the same category as monopolies: soon
| after taking his seat he began nsn.lns
The british syndicates who had bought
nm and were developing enormous
| stretches of ranch lands In the SOUTH
western and Panhandle sections OF the
| state
"He held that Texas was for Texans.
| or at least for Americans. and tnat its
+, lands should not be owned by men Nv
| ing In a foreign country. They wera
| welcome 10 come and settle as citizens
| but not to drain the state OF wealth TO
| spend in other lands. He succeeded In
| having the legislature pass an 'ahen
\ land law which provided that all TEX
! as real property held by foreigners VINO
| did not intend swearing allegiance TO
| the United States should be sold 10 ci-
| tizens within fifteen years.
"A storm now broke about the big
governor. Monex was scarce In Texas
| and those who had supported him most
ardently turned against him Tor trying
| 10 drive cash out OF the state. They
wanted money and did not care where
| n came from The syndicates sent
II
| sired cash to the state. and worked ia
prevent Hogg's denomination. George
| Clark. n railroad attorney of Waco, and
| one OF the strongest men I'm the state,
| personally. was selected to make the
| race against him.
'The pre-convention campaign wat
sharp and vindictive. The Hogg and
| Clark delegates went 20 the corclave
| determined their man should win u
| they had 10 split the convention. That
IL what was done. WSen the Clark
| men saw the governor would probably
he a little too strong Or them they
| bolted. The result was two Democratic
tickets. Texas. and probably no other
| state was ever torn by such another
bitter political struggle as that which
| followed.
WHEN OPPORTUNITY APPEARED
AT first, things went againt the gov
ernor. but one day the Galveston News
| published an editorial attacking him
which he seized upon with characteris-
tic vigor and shrewdness and turned ia
his own account.
"The article in question rldiculed the
| governor for eating pie with a knife and
drinking water from pitcher.
THE voting population Of Texas II
chiefly rural and Il had been part oi
Hoggs politics to do as the Romans dij
while he was In the shayow of ths
| Coliseum. so when he penetrated 10 tho
forks OF the creek he became bucolic IN
action. The farmers and backwpods-
men had only n speaking acquaintance
with forks and goblets and the Cover
| nor feigned ignorance on these momen'
tous implements when after their votes
He drank out OF gourd or pitcher ~
well bucket or anything else handy. and
shoveled his food down With gusto b,
the aid OF q broad bIaded case knife.
''The governor seized upon the New,
editorial and based all his subsequent
rural speeches upon a.. He told tn,
farmers with great Indignation tha
the Clark faction wanted 20 turn Texa,
into nest ~ fcps and dandies. III
said their stand was an insult 10 the
honest farmers who were the hack
bone of the state. Then he would cx
plode into something like this:
Why shouldn't eat with m,