El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-15


ceived his reward-the nomination of I
his party for governor of New York !
Like his namesake Of the Bible, he has !
been patient, though not afflicted nor
humbIed in the dust Indeed, he might
have held high office before this had
he said the word, but he has preferred
to work in the ranks and wait until the
tlIrn of the wheel should bring him
within reasonable distance Of the eN-
ecutive chair at Albany The wheel has
turned in that direction.
Hedges wants to be g0Vernor-he mas
said so in plain language To use his
own phrase: i DeHeye Jhal co9Id ~
the Job, and 1 would ike 10 DO II
These words, spoken IN June, were not
taken too seriously at the moment DuI
they were CHARACTERISTIC OF the man.
He hates sham and believes that by
pOcrisy, not larceny, IS the political
crime Of the present day Having said
that he wanted the JOB, he Went out 70
round I'D the delegates, ana now wen
ne succeeded is part of the history OF
the recent republican convention at
Saratoga
Iitfcal game with fairly good cards IN
his hands. To be sure, Republican stock
is at low ebb this year, and the out
ward signs are against the elecLlon OF
its ticket, but strange things happen
in politics, and ii is safe to say that
Hedges won't throw up his hands unt4
the ballots are counted against him.
And if ne is counted out, you may De
certain that he will still have laugh
left for he is both Optlm1st and humOr-
ist A reasonable sense of humOr he
regards as q. dispensatlOn OF providence,
and his experience teaches him that,
despite the loud cries OF calamity hOWl-
ers and the beating OF pontlcal tom
toms, the country IS not going TO the
dogs not even if Hedges is barred from
Albany.
For a good many years Hedges has
been called upon to amuSe the voter
and public diner, and his reputation as
a humorous speaker is unquesuoned- 1t
is barely possible that this may react
AGAINST him in the canvass, although
his friends are not worried on TINS
score They point to his effectiveness
as a campaigner, and MS ability 10
drive home sound political argument
while appealing to the rlslpIeS- Ihey
say that he is philosophical not
professional, humOrist, one who has
studied the needs of the community and
is alive to the frailty Of human ma
ture They point also to the announce
ment of his candidacy, in which ne
said:
IF elected governor, l should con-
slider il a binding obligation to Stlmu-
late popular interest in public ques-
tons, and endeaVOr to PROVIDE Ihere-
for, by law, means Of expression, SIM
pie and direct 1t has been my prlncl-
ple and practice TO be active politically
and my endeavor, as part OF such
activity. to do what I thought was
best for the humanity at large
Twenty years of active interest IN
roIitics have given Hedges authority
10 discuss the pSycf ology # the SUD
5ect He has seen political parties from
the inside, watched the rising OF
patronage, and learned now leglsla-
ton was accomplished in days gone
by Reformers, office seekers, press
agents he knows, also the habits OF
those who attempt to control puDllc
opinion. perhaps for the good OF the
community but often in the interest or
some group that seeks special privilege.
These things have interested MIN ana
brought the conviction that the country
is better off when the majority OF peO-
pie are discussing public questions ana
each man has stake IN the game
Two years ago Hedges published ms
book, Common Sense in Politics, ana
dedicated it to the man who does the
best he can. at all times, without hy-
DOcrisy and regardless or applause
That book voices the optimism OF
Hedges with regard to the country
future although, he says, optimism
unaccompanied by PERSONA error E,f4 -
merely a state of mind and not fruit
full"
Hedges does not take a gloomy view
of the man OF affairs who can smile
1T is not necessary he says, 10 90
through l.fe with a perpetual grin,
which Will result in permanent ap-
pearance Of idiOcy, any more than II
is to assume a frOWn IN the nope InaI
in will grow into q wrinkle Indicative
Of nrofound thought. 1t is better to be
smiled with than laughed at A hypo-
critic can force tears without QeIec-
ton. Honest laughter cannot De
If men before the public did not con
duct themselves with a reasonable de-
gree of seriousness, II would De as
sumed they they were not serious mind
ed enough for the proper conduct OF
affairs When. however, they act ne
hind a forced seriousness, an abnormal
n frV- 81 nd o &
endeavOr 70 create an Impression with
out the moral courage to be natural,
they so mix up their personality WIN
political questions that any normal So
luton of a problem is difficult Of &C
American life is not a principle: it
is a procedure. 1t is a procedure in
volving not only rights but obligations.
If there is one obligation i'm
posed upon an American citizen more
than another, it is to be frank manly
honest. open, generous, and without re-
serve in thought and act toward every
other citizen.
There is only one prescription that
the writer would offer the American
people al this time, and that is to stop
long enough to catch breath, reflect,
and look at themselves in the mirror OF
their own absolute cOnsciences, instead
of the reflected life of what they claim
Half Century Old.
Fifty years have passed since Job
Hedges saw the nSnL In EllLaDeLus N.
j. also the birthplace of William Sui
ger, his Democratic opponent. To be
exact Hedges was born on May 10,
1852, and his 50th anniversary was
celebrated by his friends, with Hedges
as the chief guest at dinner. 1t was
nonpartisan affair, and president Taft
sent a telegram in which he said: The
wisdom you have shown in many uirec-
lions. and the COnfucian aphOrism in
respect to politics that you have given
to your grateful cOuntrymen. would
indicate that you were considerably
more than five decades old
Hedger was educated at Princeton
and graduated with the class of 1884
taking his masters degree two years
later. He took his law degree at Co
lumbia in 1886, and Immediately began
to practice his profession. Like most
young lawyers, he had an uphill fight
and once he said: 4 remember very
will when I didn't have a client in the
world When the excheQuer was very
low, I used to go out and order a new
suit of clothes. Heaven knows where
I was to get the money to pay for it
within a reasonable time; but the mere
fact OF ordering a new suit made me
feel like a nabOb lawyer like 4 ChOate
or a Root"
Politics attracted him and he was ac-
tive in the reform movement which led
TO the election of mayor Strong in 1894.
Strong chose him for his secretary. and
for two years Hedges made his head
quarters at City hall, standing as buffer