The Washington herald., 1906-11-04

assemble in front of the Office of this
newspaper next Tuesday evening to gel
the election news. every man of then
will be primarily interested in the result
in New York.
VIII the bulletins show William Ran.
dolph Hearst elected or defeated?
Unless the vote be clOse-and it is moro
likely to be decisive one way or the other
the outcome will be known at a reason
ably early hour, for the returns are gath
cred promptly in New York City and
State, and the counting Of the vote is
done with dispatch. Washington's in
terest viii not, of course, be confined
to any one quarter of this great republic,
but the Hearst-Hughes contest is of over
shadowing Importance to all. from the
President 10 the humblest citizen.
William Randolph Hearst has been the
picturesque. commanding hgure of this
campaign. A perfect landslide may carry
him triumphantly to the executive man
sion at Albany. Overwhelming defeat may
be MS pOtA4o&- -NCDyuS hiLONo-
Moneyed men, who would see ruin star
ing them in the face if. by any mis-
chance. he should be victorious, have been
wagering large sums against smaller
, sums that a crushing defeat is coming to
him. But not one Of them Is sure of it.
Apprehension is widespread.
There are conditions the shrewdest po-
ntical mind cannot fathom. Forecasts are
worthless; estimates of no account The
longest headed prophet is at sea. Wise
ones said Hearst could not be elected
mayor of New York City. but he was
elected, most people now believe. even If
he did not get the office. His formidable
strength in that race increases the fear
Of him in this. Everybody has come TO
recognize that he is a political quantity
that cannot be now appraised; a factor in
affairs that cannot be reckoned with by
any fixed standard.
Who is there that cares about Hughes,
save to see him elected2
Who knows anything about him, except
that he was the insurance investigator
who brought ugly truths to light AFFECT
ing the magnates of the great metropolis
Few know more, and few care to know.
His Is not a personality that attracts the
multitude. He is too safe and sane as
the country views him, to cut a striking
figure these days of radicalism running
rampant
The countless voters who cast their
ballots for Hughes Will be thinking OF
Hearst. They have been thinking about
him the whole campaign
What manner Of man is this most
talked-about. neutrality-suspicious. leader?
The hest advertised man in the United
States to-day. William Randolph Hearst
is the least known personally. The Bar
mum of the newspaper world. the specter
that frightens Wall street. the factor in
everyday life that gives apprehension to
Republicans and Democrats alike, he is.
in the personal equation. an enigma.
In the minds eye an aggressive, AFRO
giant agitator with hand raised against
all corporate interests and ready TO strike
down every luckless pOssessor Of a COM
petence; the champion of labor, whether
right or wrong, in any and all disputes
the friend of the poor and down-trodden,
who finds goodness and virtue only among
the masses ana wrongdoing chiefly
among the classes-William Randolph
Hearst exists in the Imagination the di-
rect counterpart Of what he really is as
an individual
r-t-
is the type representative of his news
papers. and herein comes the misunder-
standing OF the man himself.
40 other editor is so wholly unlike the
newspaper ne edits. Neither the Journal,
nor the American. nor the Examiner-not
one OF all his papers-conveys in remote
degree a fair conception Of the personality
OF the editor himself They promulgate
his policies, sound his slogans, stand for
what he stands for. but they do it all
in a manner that misiesds the reader as
to the personality Of the man himself
William Randolph Hearst is in reality
no more Of 4 swashbuckler than Albert
jeremiah Beveridge, and not half so self
confident. Exploited in his own papers,
made the subject of the self-praise that
is half scandal. he is in his relations with
his fellow-men the very soul OF modesty.
By nature as gentle as an Edward
Box, as timid and shrinking as a school
girl. reucence IS the quality in him most
marked. He shuns the crowd. fees from
the limelight, ana clings TO his donicile
or his sanctum, unless fairly forced into
s~fa A v-f.4
when first essaying to make a speech-te~-
rorized by the thought of mounting the
stump or the platform-it was not until
aroused in Congress on a memorable oc-
casion that he found he could think and
speak on his feet
Once he was advertised to address the
League Of Democratic Clubs at Indian
apOlis. He failed to appear Disappoint-
ment gave rise 10 the report that a ca
rousaI was responsible for his broken en-
gagement. But this was untrue. AS
matter Of fact, he was actually too.
frightened to come. but was AT a tele-
graph wire constantly in closest touch
with every detail of the proceedings Of
the league.
IhuS ne IS much-malgned man. A
roysterer in his youth and a Bohemian in
his earlier newspaper days, maturity set
tied his ways and made steady-going
man Of him. He does not smoke. and If
he drinks at all, it is only to sip an occa-
sional glass Of wine. He is as temperate.
in fact, as President Roosevelt. who. all
know. is a model Of correct living. Hearst
finds diversion at the theater or at little
informal dinner parties. where he is wont
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