The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1901-05-23
THURSDAY. MAY %, 1901
CUsHMAN AND yakima" JONES


"Champ" Clark. the Missouri con-
gresham who has achieved quite a
reputation as a politician and q humOr.
ist, and who evidently has rather a
friendly feeling toward this state and
its recent congressional representatives
of both schools Of politics, says in one
of his recent "cloak-room" stOrieg
"One of two things in true about the
new state of Washington either she
possesses an unusually able set of men
or is exceedingly lucky ip selecting her
representatives and senators in con-
gress. In the Fifty-fifth congress no
two men attracted more attention than
her representatives, Colonel James
Hamilton Lewis and Hon. w. G.
Jones, of Spokane.
~
"When the political wheel revolved
in 1898, Colonel Lewis and Mr.. w. G.
Jones were submerged beneath the
black waters of defeat, and Francis w.
Cushman and Wesley L. Jones, nick
named "Yakima" Jones from his
place of residence. impinged upon the
public vision as national statesmen.
"This Jones, as his namesake and
predecessor, is an able man, a tireless
worker; but it is of his more spectacular
colleague of whom am writing now.
"CushmaI came to Washington
handicapped by wide newspaper ex-
ploitatiOn OF his powers and fame. He
was represented as the Abe Lincoln of
the northwest / say handicapped ad-
visedly, for it is a positive dlsadvant-
Rge in nine cases out of ten for a new
representative or a senator to be herald.
ed as possessing phenomenal gifts. 1t
raises expectation too high. He can-
not generally live up to his reputation.
AS rule persons who hear famous
orator for the first time are disap.
pointed. To compare any man with
Abraham Lincoln is to do him harm
rather than good. Cushman suffered
thereby. Until he made his celebrated
speech, January 10, on .he river and
harbor bill he had fallen below-much
below-the high standard set for him
by lis newspaper admirers; but on that
occasion he not only redeemed his
fame, but augmented it and splendidly
vindicated the opinion of his friends.
His opportunity had come aud he
seized ii with a resolute hand. He il
nearly as tall as Lincoln was, nearly as
lank, nearly as dark. 1t is 10 fiction
to say that in personal appearance he
somewhat suggests the immortal rail
splitter. He also resembles Lincoln
somewhat i'm clearness of statement
and the use of humor.
~
"All Washingtonians, whether DEM
ocrats, Republicans, Populists or what
not, are ineffably proud of their nascent
commonwealth and intensely jealous
of her rights. No amorous youth was
eyer more thoroughly infatuated with
his inamorata than are these Washing
ton statesmen with their state. To
hear them tell it, i'm the sweet by and
by Washington will be greater, richer,
more populous and more powerful than
New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio all
rolled into one.n
~
The speech to which Mr.. Clark re.
fers as having so "splendidly Wind.
seated" Mr.. Cushman in the opinion of
his friends, was a scathing and master
ly arraignment of the seventeen mem.
bers of the river and harbor committee
for their discrimination against this
state, "one of the great maritime states
OF the Union," and in favor of the in
terror states, bordering OH the great
lakes or the Mississippi river. which the
members of the committee represent.
Here is one of the numerous sarcastic
paragraphs:
The honorable chairman has called
particular attention to the fact that this
Dill has the unanimous support of the
committee. To the new and uninitiated
member on the floor of this house the one
lncomprehensiblef feature of congressional
legislation is the more than holy sanctity
that surrounds and permeates that thing
known as the committee report The
superstitious never looked upon his fetch
nor the heather gazed upon his idol with
onc-half the holy awe that i'm this cham
Der is accorded to this thing called the
committee report There are members
On the foor of this house that have yio-
lated the Ten Commandments and for.
gotten the lines of the doxology, hut who
expect to be saved from the hot hereafter
because. forsooth, they have always voted
with the committed"