The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-24
CRISIS IN LIFE OF
CHARLES {. HUGHES
Next Governor of New York Has
Chance for Brilliant Success
or Utter Failure.
REMAINS A IMAM OF
MYSTERY" TO POLITICIANS
No Man So Little Known Has
Ever Occupied Executive
Chair of State. {
Special 10 The Tribune.

Special 70 The Tribune.
NEW YORK, Dec, 23.-Only few
more days and the administration of
Governor Frank Higgins will be a thing
Of the past in the great State of New
York. The King is dead, long live the
King, will be the cry at the beginning
of the year And what will the New
Year bring for Charles f. Hughes, re-
Gently elected Governor of the State
Of New York. During 1907 Mr. Hughes
will either have developed into one Of
the greatest men of the age or he will
be preparing to fade away into forget
fulness, much as the administration OF
Governor Higgins will have faded away
few months hence Then what Of the
to ask For within six months, per-
haps within six weeks, the administra-
tion of Charles f. Hughes will have
been either made or marred.
First of all and from the Democratic
point of view it is perhaps only fair
to say that no man has ever been elect
ed to the office of Governor Of the
State of New York who is as little
known as is Charles E. Hughes. This
is perhaps not his fault, perhaps ii is
his misfortune. But Mr.. Hughes is not
of the class and character of men gem
orally selected to make the race for
high Office like that Of Chief Executive
of the Empire State. He is more the
type selected to serve in Judicial posi-
tions. The honor and the glory which
attaches TO the position, aside for the
moment, it is perhaps fair to state that
Mr. Hughes is the kind of a man who
would find more pleasures in serving rs
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
than as President of the United States.
He is the kind of man who would un-
doubtedly prefer TO being named for
Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals
than for Governor of the State of New
York. This is not TO say that he may
not be n great man. II Is merely to
say that so far as known his bent OF
mind is judicial rather than executive.
Is Not Politician.
1t is probably nothing to his dis
credit and In the temper of the people
of the State OF New York after the re-
cent life insurance Investigations it
probably did not hurt him as a candi-
date. but it is only fair to say that Mr..
Hughes is wholly lacking in experience
as a politician and a public man. Tho
fact that he had never dabbled In po-
litics made il possible to disassociate
him in the public mind when the sub
iect of the politico-comme relations
of the life Insurance companies and pos
liticians was up for discussion. To an
outsider, TO laymap ii may appear
strange. and vet IT is the simple truth,
that for quarter OF century past tho
life insurance companies have practi-
cally dictated the politics and the poll
cies, not only of the people Of New
York City. but also of New York State.
Nc man could exist in public life who
did not possess the friendship OF the
officials Of the great life insurance
companies Even on the Democratic
side this is evident when it is remem-
bered that David B. Hill was retained
"a retainer which, by the way, the
State Bar association forgave on the
ground that it was not an overcharge,
while President Grover Cleveland has
possessed the confidence of the powers
that be to such an extent that during
his latter days he is in charge of the
rebates for the life insurance compa-
MES. AS for men like Platt and De-
pew and Odell-great names melted
away like snowballs under an August
sun when the life insurance trouble
broke out But the smashing of the
old-time life insurance combinations
which came with the exposures and the
Investigations injected an element of
doubt and only time can determine Just
what the future will bring forth. One
Hughes never having been in politics
in the sense in which other great Re
publican and Democratic leaders in the
State have been in politics, and never
having personally profited directly by
reason of the corruption funds of tho
past. he was at least given the benefit
of the doubt so far as the average man
was concerned,
Jerome as Al Example.
And vet even this is hardly a safe
rule of action-tbis giving candidate
the choice of the corporations the bene-
fit of the doubt. For only one year
ago District Attorney Jerome was at
the heighth OF hIs popularity. Thous-
ands OF mon in New York City and
State looked upon him as a second
Roosevelt man sure 10 be elected
Governor-tben President. And Yet
go fclle are the American people be-
coming-as fckle as the French, who
are supposed to get their revolutions
from Paris by telegraph-that today
to mention the name of Jerome In q
group is To encourage swearing. And
it all comes about because of the fact
that Jerome is supposed to have al
lowed the Mutual Life Insurance COM
pany and other life insurance compa-
MES TO spend hundreds of thousands OF
dollars in bringing about his election,
and after spending tins amount Je-
rome failed to prosecute his political
friends, This is not to say that Jerome
even knew that the life insurance COM
panies were eXpending large sums of
money TO elect hint is merely to
record the fact that the average man
appears TO believe that the life insur-
ance companies did expeud large sums
Of money in that way and that Je-
rome s failure to prosecute has had
to do with these expendi
lures Jerome on his side claims that