The Washington herald., 1907-04-28

years; he served in the State senate be
fore he was elected governor, and for
seven years he was a member g. TIE
Minnesota National Guard, in which ne
rose 20 be captain.
Unless the temper Of the Democrats Of
Minnesota changes between now and the
date of holding the national convention
Gov. Johnsons name viii certainly be
presented TO that body as a candidate for
denomination. The governor himself has
never openly encouraged the idea, how
ever, and his friends apparently viii be
fairly well pleased If he should be named
for the second place
Folk Now for the senate.
No man was ever more v0ciferOusly
talked Of for the Presidency than was
Joseph Wingate Folk during his eandl-
dacy f0r the governorshlp OF Missouri. IN
1904. Even then. however his friends. if
not Folk himself. announced repeatedly
that he would rather represent his State
in the Upper House OF Congress than to
sit in the White House He feels the
same way to-day, and, unless he should
change his mind meanwhile, viii surely
try to succeed William J. Stone in 1893
when stones term as Senator and Foxes
as governor viii expire.
There are two opinions as TO his prob
able success. His enemies, more bitter
and more numerous than those Of most
public men. declare that he can never
shall never-succeed Senator Stone. His
friends, who are also numerous and loyal
20 a degree, declare that he is sure 10
win the Senatorial place he c0vets. es-
pecially If the proposed constitutional
amendment throwing the Senatorial nomi-
nation into the hands Of the people and
taking it away from the legislature is
adopted. That a warm contest for and
against his candidacy will be waged IS
as certain as II is that the springtime
sun will melt the winters SNOW.
Like Hughes, Folk is a Baptist. He is
also the youngest Of the five or six gov
errors now most prominently before the
nation, being only thirty-eight- He is
short Of stature. he shaves his face clean.
he wears a dimple In HIS chin, and his
speech has q strong Southern accent, al
though he does not speak IN dialect. He
is said 20 be the seventh son OF a seventh
son. His father was Judge Henry b.
scended from an old Virginia family. He
is college bred, an alumnus Of Vanderbilt
College, Nashville, but he had 10 work his
own way and there Is a tradition that
while studying law be was able to give
his evenings only 10 his law books. be-
ing obliged 70 hoe cotton in the daytime
in order to keep the financial ball
a-rolllng.
He settled in ST. Louis IN 1892 at twenty
three He had been admitted to the bar
two years before, and he was not long
IN gathering a good practice. Still, he
made no special Roadway in politics until
1860, although years before then he be-
came connected with the Jefferson Club,
the strongest Democratic orga nization ia
81, Louis. His chance TO win personal
prominence came when all others who
tried failed miserably IN their attempt 10
settle the disastrous street car strike of
1900. II had resulted IN the destruction of
much property and some lives before he
took hold Somehow the young lawyer
from Tennessee succeeded in bringing the
men and their employers together and
the strike was stopped.
This gave him great local prestige; his
nomination and election 10 circuit attor-
ney followed as a matter Of course. It
is well remembered IN ST. Louis that he
baked when the nomination was offered
20 him. also that he said before accepting
il that he should get after the b0OdIers
II elected There is a story that he prom
ised not TO bother one Edward Bfutler
who helped IN the nomination and who
was eventually prosecuted by Folk, but
that story is pronounced untrue even by
some of the bitterest anti-Folk men in
the city. They say Butler himself has
admitted that Folk said frankly that if
elected he should spare no one, but that
he. Butler. had no idea the candidate
meant what he said; his words. Butler
supposed, were only the usual hot air"
and meant nothing.
II took Folk eighteen months 10 get
down to business with the boodlers, but
he made the dirt fly'' after he began
as an newspaper readers must remember.
He brought about two score bribery cases
70 trial and got convictions in about half
of them. A dozen OF the convictions, or
thereabout. however. were reversed when
appealed. on technical grounds. by the
Supreme Court OF the State. His nomi-
nation and election as governor and his
stormy gubernatorial career, which has
about two years more 10 run, have made
him better known even than his work
as circuit attorney.
One of Folks strongest characteristics
Is nerve, another his love for fishing. He
never hinched at the many threats of as
sassinatiOn made against him when cir
cult attorney and he never has f1inched
since He isn't "A very expert fisherman,
but he gets away TO whip the waters Of
certain little Missouri lake whenever he
can and always goes back to his duties
much refreshed.
The loudest protests now made in ST.
Louis against Folk are uttered by those
who want an open Sunday. As governor
he has made this a difficult thing to main
tain. Both his supporters and his oppo-
nents are we'll divided between the two
great parties.
Deneen and Cummins.
There has never been a great deal Of
talk outside of Illinois about Gov. Charles
Samuel Denaen as Presidential timber,
and there seems to be 70 thought even
there that he is likely TO be nominated
for that high Office until some of the more
prominent candidates as present before
the nation are disposed OF one way
or another, but he has friends a-pienty
who think that eventually the White
House lightning may strike him. He
says himself that he has plans for only
six months ahead.
Deneen is forty-four. His father was
president Of McKendree College. at Leb-
anon. H., and the boy got his degree
at that institution IL 1882 He taught
school three years and then went to
studied law, got good practice
together. was appointed attorney for the
district In 1895. and States at
torney for Cook County CChicago) a year
later. He became famous in this position,
getting after many big criminals and cor
Euption in various forms with much vigor.
wherefore he was often spoken OF later as