The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1911-12-24
POLITICS BOILING
IN NATIONAL PRESS
CLUB OF CAPITAL
Fourth Estate Adherents of
Washington in the
Game.
Do 1T JUST LIKE
REAL POLITICIANS
Contest Between Haskin and
Walker for Presidency Similar
to Those Of Congressmen.

The Fourth Estate is in a condition
Of violent ebullience.
Politics never was thicker around the
National House during a speakershjp
struggle or a rules riot; the Senate In
the EFFORT to elect a president protein
10 mild-pnannercd, amiabl and simple
minded when stacked up against the
streEuousness and intrigue that have
taken possession OF the National Press
club on the eve Of the annual election,
which Will take place on Wednesday,
Australian ballot; polls open all day.
The chief issue is the presidency.
Frederic ]. Haskin, syndicate writer.
ana Ernest q; Walker, head OF the
are the candidates. Persons s,,srectin.;
the newspaper crowd doesn't know any.
thing about politics should at once pill
nom In arc g suspect sp again; It's simply
pure. guaranteed under the pure food
act.
.,, mRea;sti (: "progrersiyes." i'm
elements are delightfully."- mi1ed up.
Then there IL the safe and sane
group. that stands for strong business
administrations" They all claim TO be
ooVu NCol VI TOutlCS.
Takes a good deal Of politics to keep
the Fourth Estate going. There's the
Grdiron Club. the arstocracy of the
| business. the senate, as it were. Like
the Senate, the outs find lot Of fault
with 1t, and all want to belong. Then
there's the press gallery, roughly cor
responding to the House of Representa-
lives. and. finally, there's the National
,h x.,ttt
bers, that may be compared to the
electorate, the body politics, the plain
| ree-pul. It's perfectly democratic in
theory. but not without ambitious fac
tons willing to assume the tremendous
incident to running IL.
Between Haskin and Walker for presi-
dent the race Is CONGO dcd to be close.
Inless a landslide intervenes-doesn't
this sound like a real political piece?-
one or, tother is likely to skin through
by the difference In the length of eye
lashes, and each crowd claims it's can
o press has s Inc more rI, Sxurant growth
Club politics are always getting their
wires crossed, and this makes every
election IN either organization highly
at the beginning of each Congress- a
standing COMMITTEES, a sort Of amba Ssa-
dorial BODY that officially represents the
gallery in relations with the House and
sought ana always develops an ami
mated contest with q good field of en-
tries. On the basis of actuarial cx-
pcrience. a good many of the younger
newspaper men have a theory that IL
you get elected TO The standing COM
mittee it's step toward realization Of
iridiron clnb ambitions: IT, both the
gallery and the Press Club there are
more or less persistent limitations, al
ways in circulation that the Gridironers
would be willing to run both the gallery
and the club.
| The Gridiron Issue.
Now. this Gridiron issue is always apt
to be a roorbaca. It's fine and cour-
ageous to get out ard roar about the
undesirability of syndicated bosship and
Grdiron oligarchy. but the boys who
woul dgive their left lungs to belong
to the Grtdiron Club mostly don't care
to 40 m much , den,ouncing; They might yet
Theodore Burton. who insurGed his way
into the Senate, and then got to be so
regular that he could sit with a per-
fectly straight countenance at the trial
of Lodge ana GalIinger for rank heresy.
by and by the possibility of one day
wearing the Gridiron pin makes the boys
do their roaring about "as gently az
I'twere q sucking dove"
Besides that the Gridironers don't oft,
len get caught with the goods In the
present contest there has been some in
ltimation thar they are running Walker.
doesn't. But this doesn't tally With the
fact that good many Gridironers are
out "deploring' the dispositicE to draw
that organization into the contest and
lactively supporting Haskin.
| Then some of the Walker support
ers have objected to Haskin on the
ground that he isn't a regular tele-
s,T S9@rrsspSaden" He doesn't sn5
opp Ops do oeen The eo H as " JUS,
laugh. and demand that appeals to
the politicians do when they do
nounce the other side as demagogues.
1.-THE other fellow is Away a dema
I, gogue. whether it's in a Senatorial
Haskin support is based on the claim
that Haskin Is an excellent bust mess
man, that the club needs business
management, and that with such II
is an assured success, already premier
among like organizations Of the ma
ton.
II The Other Contests.
There is contest for the vice presi
dency between Robert H. Patchin
head Of the New York Herald Bureau
and John T. Sutar, of the Chicago
Record Herald. Both are popular and
their contest is being waged with
utmost amity.
III For secretary Oswald +. Schuette
of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, has the
field to himself, as do G. A. Lyon, tr,
for treasurer, and II. c. Stevens fol
| financial secretary.
! For the board of governors. four tc
be. elected, there are twelve candi
dates ard hot fight. The nominees
are Ira e. Bennett, of the Washing
ton Post: Arthur ]. Dodge, or TIE
Minneapolis Tribune: Harry L. Dun.
lap. of the New York World: Jackson
S. Elliott. of .he Associated Press
Earl Goodwin. of the Washington Star
Henry II. Jones, of the washington
Post; Gus j. Karger, of the Cincin
natl Times Star; Arthur d. Marks, o
the Washington Post; George r. NIL
Ter, of the Detroit News: George w
Summers. of the Wheeling Register
Leroy T, Vernon, of the Chicago
News, and Fred A. Walker, of th'
Washington Times.
Ill II is proper to say. because thi'
really Is an orthodox political story
that a good deal OF animated bettlnI
has been done on the result, The
II preside tial money went up even, an'
SATURDAY. night the Haskin support
ers claimed to have taken everything
offered by the Walkerites. and thei