The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-06-10

Evans Hughes Is probably less OF
politician than any other man In poll
tics.
Politicians say he is an accident,
the unnatural result of extraordinary
circumstances His admirers say he
Is prophet OF new era In The pO-
lltlcal world Every one who has
been associated with him closely is
certain of one fact:--he is man OF
outstanding individuality.
As governor of New York he has
given the state an administration
ilNt Is absolutely unique. II has not
been wholly successful IN the matter
OF Accomplishment. He has worked
alone. except for the aid Of those
who rallied to his assistance Of their
own accord Tie never asks the aid of
any man
Old-timers at Albany. who admire
the governor for his stand on all
moral questions and who believe in
most of his doctrines OF right living,
say.
"He Is great governor. He has
given the state an administration on
a high plane But Odell and Roosevelt
did more for the people after all. Thsg
made the politicians do what they
wanted them to do. They laid down
the law 10 the legislature and the leg
lslature usually obeyed. IL is true
that the preachers of the state did
not agree with everything they did
but they got results"
Hughes considers the means fully
as important as the end. His father
was a Baptist preacher in Glens
Falls. y. Y. and there Is something
of the Baptist and much of the Bap-
list layman In the governor today
\ leaflet scattered about the legisla-
ure during the iieht on the anti-race
track gambling bills. said of him:
"lIc IS a preacher among polite
ians. politician among preachers. -
Systematic.
He Is the embodiment Of system.
lie habitually looks before he leaps,
and usually carefully measures the
space and carefully estimates his
leaplng capacity in advance.
Much fun has been made Of his
conscience in comic papers and public
speeches II is no myth, either. The
thing about Hughes that worries the
politicians most of all is his placidity
lie consults his conscience on every
move and does what will satisfy 81
and then no matter what happens. he
can say 10 himself:
Il have done the right thing. II
Others fail | cannot be blamed for
their failure / have done my fun
duty"
Hughes studied hard as boy In
school and has never stopped. He isl
nov forty-six years old and IN his
mind are stored away the results OF
almost that many years study. for
he began to read almost as soon as he
began 90 talk
But there Is another side TO the
mantle SIDE that usually Is not seen
by the public. lie has all the human
emotions IN a strong degree. but he
has learned TO control them and keep
them In the background. No man is
better company at a dinner and no
man enters more enthusiastically into
the spirit OF a joke or an evening Of
pleasure. when the evening has been
set aside for that purpose.
At dinners such as the Amen Cor
ner" annual affair IN New York. or
the dinner OF the Legislative Cores
pondents' association at Albany. both
OF which are patterned after tho
Gridiron dinners I'm Washington, he
enjoys all the fun that Is pokod az
him and laughs loudest of all. He
seems to revel in recreation of this
sort and the reason probably lies In
the fact tha; he usually keeps his
mind hard at serious work
The very fact that he Is unpopular
with the politicians who have ruled
New York so long has given Hughes
much support-the support of kind
that surprised everybody. II came
from men who usually are not heard
from in public matters.
No man doubts his sincerity No
one has charged him with inordlnate
ambition. Many believe that he Is
the most popular man in the state and
assert freely that few men ever were
as popular with the people at large.
But, they usually add, he does not
take advantage of his opportunity
The late John Vandercock. presi-
dent of the United Press in an article
on Hughes said
Some think Hughes at heart a
Wall street lawyer-some say that he
is moral prig. The bulk OF his
really earnest popular support comes
from the, upstate 'hayseed districts.