Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-02-23
Money, friendship and Ambition.

Money, Friendship and Ambition.
After Senator Hannas death, MIR.
Hearst spoke of him in a very kindly
way in an editorial in the Chicago Ex-
amincr, from which we make the fol-
lowing quotation, as sort of text:
Senator Hanna in politics typified
policies and tendencies to which the
Examiner is opposed, but it is a pleas
nre to allow that on his personal side
he had many attractive qualities he
was kinG-hearted. amiable, loyal to
those who did him service, and in
spired warm friendship. He trusted
and was trusted in return. The public
liked him, for his nature was straight
forward. He had a masculine con-
tempt for posing and pretense and
cynical humor that made humbugs I'M
easy when they had to do with him"
We wish to call attention especially
to the last sentence of the above quota
ton, that Hanna .'had masculine
contempt for posing and pretension.'
Hanna was pronounced example of
the type of modern politician who be-
lieves in the solute power of money
to buy conscience. He was firm be-
lever in the truth of the saying that
every man has his price" He has
proved the truth of this saying by his
own experiments, in, probably, thous-
ands of cases, and no doubt ne has
found it to be an easy key to the con-
science of many a man who had prev
iously posed or pretended" to be
honest We have Gever heard, or read
of anything sron Senator Hanna indi-
eating the ieSst iosa in his mind that
there was anything wrong in his brib-
cry of Ohio Legislators, by which he OBJ
tanned his seat in the t. 5. Senate,-an
offense against good government and
public morals which the defeated fac
ton of his party proved so completely
that no one has ever thought of deny
ing it, This was characteristic of the
man. He had no faith in the honesty
of men as against money temptation.
Hence his contempt for posing" He
believed that every man who claimed
to be unselfsh was posing or pre-
tending"
Senator Hanna had faith in only
three influences over the actions of
men,-money, friendship and ambition.
His friendships were as staunch as Gen.
Grant s. When his friends were caught
boodling, he still thought them as good
as others, only more unfortunate. He
attributed Roosevelt's attacks upon
them to his personal ambition, and this
motive would not be bad one from
Hanna's point of view.
We are as much opposed as Mr.
Hearst is to the policies and tenden-
cies" which Mr. Hanna typitied. But
Mr.. Hanna typified those policies and
tenden cies no more than does Grover
Cleveland and many others, and there
was no need of singing him out as
typical of them. What Mr.. Hanna
truly typitied was the power of money
to win political success. But of this
Mr.. Hearst says nothing in his eulogy
of Senator Hanna Mr.. Hearst appears
to be, at the present tipe, the most sue
cessful aspirant for 1.-THE democratic
nomination at st. Louis,
Let us say, right here, that if Mr..
Hearst is believer in Senator Hanna S
political methods, our opinion is that
the democratic party can better afford
to suffer hundred defeats than to sub
democratic Hanna, even if successful.
That the end justilies the means, is a
rotten proposition. Our party must
stand immovably for purity in politics,
and be dependent upon sore head re-
Hlblicans for its votes.