The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1912-10-11
"HONEST" BOB.


Honest" Bob Hodge filed with the
secretary of state sworn statement
of the expenses incurred by him In his
candidacy for the gubernatorial nOml-
nation, in which he cOnfesses to the
expenditure of 1852. Bob announced
his candidacy early in 1911, and he.
started actively on his campaign early
in 1912. He travelled from that time
until the date of the primaries in Sep
TENDER into every nook and corner of
the state, using an automobile most or
the time. If 1852 is all that 1t cost
Bob to do this, he is remarkable fl
nancier. He calls himself Honest
Bob and he has made oath that he
spent only 1852, so we are almost COM
PEELED to believe, but
OF course there are possible explain
atiOns that might convince the most
suspicious doubter. For instance, Bob
may have stand in with John ID.
Rockefeller which enables him to get
gasoline for that automobile for moth
ing. That would eliminate one
troublesome item of expense. Then 1t
is barely possible that his winning
personality so affected otherwise OBJ
durate hotel prOprietOrs that they had
not the heart to charge the bonny
sheriff for board or room. Also he
may have charmed the avariciOus
printers into printing the big posters
that he had distributed throughout the
state for a price away under the cost
of doing the work, and those posters
may have been distributed and placed
by admiring friends just for the love
of the man. All of these things are
possible, but
Yet such must be the answer, for
Honest" Bob loves luxury and Is
hearty eater. No one will be so mean
as to doubt that he travels just as
comfortably when he pays his own
way as he does when the, state or
county fOots the bill. The records
show that he will have the best re-
CARELESS of the price. On various Oc-
casions he has acted as state agent in
extraditing criminals from other
states The last time that he travelled
in that capacity he went after fugi-
tive in Wisconsin, and he turned in a
bill of 1927 for the trip, which was
made in fifteen days. He travelled in a
staterOOm of Pullman car from Sc
attic to Chicago and spent from "a to
$3.50 each day for meals. That trip
cost 1925 more than an exactly similar
trip made by the sheriff of Jefferson
county a couple of weeks previous. and
over $3.50 more than the average for
state agents going that distance. His
bill was reduced $50 by the state Of
ficials for what they considered pail
pable Overcharges and he was never
again permitted to travel at state ex-
pense. OF course this has no connec-
ton with his expenses as candidate
for Office when the state was not pay
ing the cost, nor does it throw any
light on his claim to the title of Hon
est" Bob, but
Now it is possible that 1852 is all
the money of his own that Bob spent
in his candidacy for nomination. and
it may be that he failed to read the re-
quirement of the direct primary law
covering the filing of expense &C
counts, or if he read it, that he failed
to understand its meaning. They do
say that Bob lacks understanding,
though we consider that foul SANDER.
Anyhow, he may have overlooked the
clause in the law which reads that
candidate must set forth each sum of
money and thing of value, or any con-
sideratiOn whatever, contributed, paid
or promised by him, or anyone for
him, with his knowledge or acquies.
ence, for the purpose of securing or
influencing, or in anyway affecting, his
nomination, to said Office" Yes, sure
ly he overlooked this clause, because
he says that the automobile that he
used throughout his campaign was
furnished him by an admiring friend
nrtv nd .UrtN l. to,
knowledge and acquiesence. Since he
is Honest" Bob and has made oath to
the $152 we cannot question the exact
ness of the figures, but
The same admiring friend who fur
nished the automobile may also have
paid for the gasoline, for the meals
and the lodging, also the bulk of the
printing and distributing of the post
ers. This would be a far more likely
explanation than that the printers, the
hotelkeepers and John d. Rockefeller
omitted charging for these things Be-
sides it would be in keeping with Bob's
good fortune when he ran for sheriff
Of King county the second time. In
that campaign, Honest" Bob's candi-
dacy was financed by Gene Romano,
an estimable gentleman from sunny
Italy who was interested in the slot
machine business. 1t seems that the
slot machine business. If properly pro-
tected, is highly profitable enter
prise, and after Bob was elected the
second time, the slot machine bust
ness in King county fourished amas-
ingly. 1t fiOurished so amasingly, in
fact, that Gene became ambitious for
wider field in which to expand his
lucrative trade, so he enlisted the SER
vices of Honest" Bob in an attempt
to demonstrate the advantages and
profits of the business to the sheriff of
Pierce county, at that time Thomas N
Morris. Mr.. Morris, however, proved
to be one of those foolish people who
seem to think their oath of Office i'm
poses duty or obligation upon them
to obey and enforce the law, so that
even the pleadings of his brother sher-
if, Honest" Bob again, was unavail-
ing. Genes invasion of Pierce county,
like NapoleOn's march on Moscow, lead
to his undoing. Soon thereafter the
knowledge of his slot machine monop-
oily in King county became so motor
iOus that it was suppressed. Now Gene
cannot afford to finance anybody's
campaign, so there is nothing in this |
that intimates that Honest" Bob re-