The Washington herald., 1910-01-30
By JAMES b. MORROW.

contain a fashionable stif hat. nor
gray vest nor dark blue cutaway
frock coat of smart material and stylish
lines and curves.
Before 1t fell and was demolished by
the facts the portrait represented a large
posjtive man. even a fierce man, in
square-toed calfskin boots, wide panta-
looms. a black necktie. a starched white
shirt, and a long, dismal coat that was
shorter behind than in front.
Tradition. yes. and literature. and also
the free license OF my own fancy, were
shocked not a little. therefore. when
Joseph Wingate Folk. paragon of
modernism in his dress. benevolent Of
appearance-the allegorieal monk. it
might be, had he worn cowl. sandals,
rosary, and gown-quietiy opened the
door of his Office and found me waiting
his appointment.
Instantly thought OF William J. Bryan
although Bryan never looked so spruce
and prosperous; of Bryan in the old
DAYS. before time and killing cOmbats
nut harsh flutes into his handsome face
and raucous notes into his bell-like
voice. and before he was cylindrical and
baIdheaded. There was the Bryan smile
as well. a pleasing and cOnquering smile.
whose conquests are men by themselves
and men gathered in wild and emotional
audiences.
Folk Not Poet Nor Orator.
Yet, plainly enough, Folk has not tie
poetry of Bryan. nor will he ever be
competent to create or enjoy the ora
torical ecstasy that accompanies the i'm
passioned description of wrongs and
tyrannies that no not exist, or of fero-
cious and monstrous beasts that are
unknown in the jungles and hiding places
of society and government. Inquiry and
caution are in his greeting; and then he
sits at his desk, alert, reserved, and
laconlc. as he waits. half-suspiciously, 1t
seems to me. the inquisitoTial processes
of my occupation.
Some one has said. in the fling noise
OF ink and the rat-a-tat-tat Of type, that
Gov. Folk does not use tobacco because
of the fear that his example upon young
men might possibly be harmful. With
the same glowing varnish OF fellowship
mat lDl dl Nbtlu CAiipicg NtAN IN u
smoker. Gov. Folk takes a cigar from
box and lights it, extending the hospital
fly of the box and his matches to his
interrogatOry caller. Small as il looks,
the incident was not unimportant. In
that ii rescued him from saintship by the
narrow margin Of at least one human
and reassuring weakness. Moreover. the
odor Of tobacco gave back some OF the
nerve to my vanishing self-confdence.
Folk emerged. in part. from the blur of
doubt and almost became tangible.
In stature Gov. Folk just about main
tains the American average. He has
large brown eyes and he wears glasses.
His nose signifies aggression and direc-
ton; his chin tenacity and the guiliotlne-
the artful but deluded delegate who
made a speech seconding Folks nomina-
ton for circuit attorney was afterward
sent to Jail by Folk for grating His
hair is dark brown, but rather scant in
front, and his growing beard, thick and
shaved to the skin, further intensifies his
Oriental complexion. The peculiar pro-
nunciation of the South sometimes local
ICES his language.
Declines Ia Reply 10 Critics.
Men have said-enemies, suppose-that
Folks policy and Folks career were pre-
arranged with all the skill and mathe-
natics Of an astronomical calculation or
railway time table. Boodlers were to
go into a partial or total eclipse on
certain day; the limited train was 70
cross the continent within a given num-
Der Of minutes So Folk, necessarily,
was methodically and scientifically selfish
Also, the concurrent accusation ran. Folk
was guilty of insincerity, a charge that
is not infrequently the last refuge Of 81
fenced argument Regardless Of all that
IS said and of the futility Of attempting
10 sound the mysterious depths OF any
human act to find It's raotive. what has
been the totally Of Folks results? I
tested him with an inquiry.
IT Cannot be put in the attitude OF
,boastng about what I have DONE" he
Replied. Il will give you my opinions, as
you have come many miles to interview
me. but you viii have to obtain my
personal For official exploits from some
one other than myself"
A modest man? Who can say? II may
be that his disInclination to talk about
himself is but another shrewd applica-
ton of his original and daring tactics
in the great and spectacular battle Of
his life. Still, there can be quite a DIFF
fcrent reason for his effort 10 keep ST.
lent. TO beat off the questions that are
asked. Even yet, in the streets. at the
restaurants. possibly when he goes to
church, he meets men who have endured
the fortunes OF HIS awful examinations
or whose characters have suffered or
persisted under his savage and relentless
attacks. For three years no life or acct
dent insurance company in the country
would sell him a penny's Yorth OF pro-
lection. Letters, enough 10 fill a dry
goods box" he told me, threatened him
with death. Assassins met and made
their plans, and the plans would have
been executed but for the objection Of
q nameless conspirator who baked at
murder in his plotting for vengeance.
Proves Himself a Brave Man.
Folk was thirty-one years old when
he began his fight against the grafters
of St. Louis. He was rather young. it
would appear TO have thought out
selfish policy that would purify a city
and elect himself governor OF Missouri.
and. as likely as not. a Senator in Con-
gress, if the next legislature OF his State
should be Democratic, However, his en-
emies may be right-perhaps he was
thinking straight through OF Folk and
not at all of the public or his moral
ol5iigations-but his enemies will not deny
that he is as brave a man, physically as
ever drew sword or opened a law book
Neither will they try TO explain. save
on the hypothesis of self-interest and his
own kind of strategy, why he declined