The Washington herald., 1912-05-26
By JAMES B. MORROW.

By JAMES B. MORROW.
New York, May 5.-An untried man
and until lately an unknown man. is ex-
perimenting with a dangerous theory In
an effort TO nominate candidate for
President Of the United States. A theory
that is dangerous only because it Il
actually being applied, though It has
been heartily commended-to all uplifters
On the opposing side-ever since human
beings began struggling In the wards.
With the art of mingled poetical,
ethical, and sagacious phrasing, OF
which, possibly, he is the most pleasing
master now on the platform or the
stump, Woodrow Wilson has said: The
great voice Of the American people does
not come from seats Of learning. but in
q murmur from the hills and woods and
the farms and factories and the mills"
That Is the theory. William F. McCombs,
the campaign manager OF Gov. Wilson.
is attempting to learn hog # will work
out
II short, McCombs, accepting the beauti-
full doctrine OF his chief, believed that the
PEOPLE, II systematically and intellIgently
aroused, and not the politicians, would
choose the candidate at Baltimore. He
went to his task with conviction, en-
thusiasm, and pluck. He would make the
dream Of Democracy real and vitalize
philosophy that cloistered patriots had
been droning over for years.
Literature, the speeches Of Gov. VIII
son, largely, but also record of his
public acts, was spread IN layers over the
continent. fBehold the man. McCombs
cried in type and paper and the one
hope Of the republic" So energetic, con
vincing, and effective was his campaign
that the other candidates came together
II alarm, and thus the word early went
out that It was Woodrow Wilson against
all the rest.
A Lawyer with a Vision.
No living man can foreten the outcome,
but Champ Clark, Gov. Harmon and Mr..
Underwood, no matter who gets the
nomination, will always remember WILL
lam F. McCombs, the lawyer with a WIS.,
ion, who caused them hastily to combine
against the 'schoOlmaster in politics"
The testimony and behavior Of fear,
then, has been favorable to the theory
OF Gov. Wilson. as wrought out by
McCOmbs, the amateur. II Wilson be-
comes President undoubtedly his young
bachelor manager viii be a member OF
his Cabinet-the Attorney General, very
Hkely-because McCombs, who earns
$4,000 a year net. so one Of his friends
told me, must be an able lawyer and a
good man for business.
Politically, Arkansas, by the descrip-
tion Of Gen. Powell Clayton, is divided
into swamp Democrats and hill Demo-
Gratis. Tie swamp Democrats formerly
we're slave owners. They are outnum-
bered by the hill Democrats, but they
controlled their Tarty and the State,
being men of vigOr, daring and ability.
Their land was low and fiat and was
given over to cotton as a crop. Augustus
H. Garland, once a United States Sena-
tor and a member OF Mr.. Clevelands
Cabinet. was a swamp Democrat and
smoked a cOrncob pipe. He was a wit
and a great lawyer. This, your honors,
Is our contention" he said in the Su-
preme Court, and then fell to the floor
with apoplexy and in ten minutes more
he was dead. To use his words:
The mower mOWs on. though the adder
And the copperbead coil around the blade
Of the scythe.
So likewise was James K. Jones a
swamp DenOcrat-Jones, who managed
Bryan's campaign in 1896, and the one
four years later. Frank McCombs, as
he is called in the Bayou Barthelomey |
country, belongs to the same tribe. |
Among them he was born and among
them he was reared. Hamburg, where !
he lived, a little village in the midst |
Of black fields, was twenty miles from
the railroad. Supplies came in and cot |
ton went out in wagons drawn by mules |
Packets from New Orleans sometimes |
cautiously steamed through the dead |
waters Of the marsh.
He Dreams, hut He Works.
Even so, McCombs moved to New
York, soundly established himself in his 1
profession, and early last year was COM
missioned to nominate Woodrow Wilson /
for President. He is something more
obviously than a swamp Democrat, |
though Democrats from his region have
been famous as politicians, statesmen,
and advocates. Generically, he is an
idealist, who dreams of Arcadia and pro-
ceeds to buy land and hocks. Imagina-
tive, he has the genius and energy to
turn his pictures into the realities of
life
Why did you venture to settle in New
York?'' I asked
Because it was the biggest place in
the United States" he replied Il had
spent a good many years and a con-
siderable sum Of money in getting an
education Naturally, wanted to earn
q dividend on the investment. Up to
date have never seriously thought of
returning Nto Hamburg"
A half a dozen rooms en- suite in a
huge building in lower Broadway also
gave answer to my inquiry. McCombs
practices alone, but the names Of his
six salaried assistants are painted on the
door along with his own. He is tall
and slender and has gray eyes, light
brown hair, large nose, and an argu-