Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-12-26

Aau uau sleppeu III ana dQVeu DepeWs
using his influence with Odell When
the governor chairman was on the eve
~ throwing the senator down In his
candidacy for reelection, and that
but why extend the list? The world ia
fun Of rumers. the political world espe-
cially. Thut fairly oozes with more
Kinds of gossip than the ancient quilt
ing bee. Old IDau ut Is Said" Is tho
busiest politician of them all.
Through oil this mist Of allegations
one fact stands forth clearly. 1t az
least IS undisputed. Odell and Harri-
man are and have been very close to-
sether. Chief Inquisitor Hughes never
oyerlooks things of this kind. So when
he had. Hartman worked up to tho
right pitch he urbanely asked:
ut has been charged that through
Your relation with Mr.. Odcll you have
political influence. What would you
say as to that:"
We'll" replied Mr.. Hartman, "I
should think Mr.. Odell had political In
fluence because of his relations with
me-"
Not the Resigning Kind.
There you have It. Is it not refresh.
ing? That Is almost as good as the
statement of the Perfect" Perkins
that lie was the whole thing in the New
York Life. Perkins, by the way, is
not in the New York Life at all now.
He talked md then resigned. So did
McCurdy. But all this Is beside the
point. Hartman will not resign. No
fcar-or should say hopc?-of that.
DE is not the resiGning kind. True, he
did resign from tho Euuitable-sort of
wow-wow-wowed" himself out. as &
were. But he only did that because
nothing more was in sight there. No
Juice left in that lemon. There Is o
whole lot OF Juice in all those western
railroads that Hartman controls. He
could not be scared out Of those II
every state were brstling with an LII.
vestigation and ut the head of every
investigation were u hughes. Not on
your life. lie himself has said that he
never lets anything get away that he
wants, not II he nus bis fingers on 1t.
lie wants the railroads. and he has
them in his grip. So do not imagine
that there is anything more doing IN
the resigning line by Edward Henry
HarrinaD.
What Odel thought Of that testimony
is not Oh record. Perhaps it would not
look we'll II it were on record. Harri-
man explained aftcrward that 1t was
sill joke. he even gave diagram
OF the Joke and seemed surprised and
panied that anybody had taken 1t seri.
ouSly. Then the public rosred It saw
the point But these high hnanciers
should not spring their playful humor
this way. They should furnish dia-
grams rs they go along. How Is any
one to know when to laugh? There Is
danger OF breaking into the most seri-
GUS passages of testimony with un-
seemly hilarlty and being dead blank
when the really funny things are
thrown off by the witnesses If those
in the chair could sort of prepare us
80 that VIC might cachinnate at the
right places it would save q whole lot
Of embarra After Hartman
made 1t plain that he was only In fun
even Lew Dockstader, the minstrel
saw the point and came out with the
offer Of handsome salary to the rail
toad king TO be an end man in Dock
staders justly famous show. But II
Odell laughed he went down in the
basement where no one could hear
him. And Hughes never cracked a
smile. He was in deadly earnest my
way. He generally is.