The Washington herald., 1913-06-01
Statesman from Illinois Says He Is Going to Sacrifice His
Whiskers When the Weather Of the
Summer Gets Settled.

in this article. Senator Lewis Is to tel
his own story. He is to reveal himself
to the reader. 1t can be said. however
that he has some vanity in the fac,
that he Is a member of the Na.iona
Guard. He is slight and short and there
is masculinity In a uniform and with
| dangling sword.
Hfs Eccentricities of Memory.
Also he Is ridiculously inaccurate in
arithmetic and geography, saying three
million when he means three thousand
and declaring that canal through Cen.
trail America, connecting the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans, will stop the shipment
of flour and wheat from Seattle to China
and Japan. He will quote Cicero and SOL
EMMY announce that he is repeating the
imperishable philosophy of Napoleon or
George Washington.
But no man has said that James Ham,
ilton Lewis is mercenary, or that he Is
indolent, or that he is ever forgetful Of a
friend. Toll. he emphasizes, 10 at the
bottom of all achievement. Those who
know him say that he Is imaginative and
wonderfully, even sensationally, resource
full. His first case in Seattle concerned
the theft of a box of cigars He main
tanned that his client took the cigars as
a precaution against their being stolen
by some one else The jury agreed with
the view of the defense. The young law
yer's fee, paid in cash, amounted to Is
cents. Such was his start in criminal
practice. a practice that made him famous
all through the Northwest and other parts
of the country. He came to the House
of Representatives from the State Of
Washington. Now. Illinois has sent him
to the Senate. He denies, therefore,
though not irritably, that he Is merely
wisp of taffy-colored whiskers. But here
is his story-he never told 1t before:
I'VE were poor. very poor. al Con-
federates were impoverished. My father
fought under Lee, and after the surren-
der moved to Augusta, Ga. / was an in
FAINT. There i grew up. i was a misun-
derstood boy. Quick, indeed bright, In
some directions, I was sadly and hope
lessly inefficient in others. For example,
/ was likely to forget the name of a street.
The number of house would never stick
In my head. l was moderated, you see.
by persons who should have learned my
mental peculiarities. At the age of seven
l committed the ScnnUn on the Mount
TO memory. The whole fifth chapter of
Matthew, which contains forty-eight
verses. I could repeat it now, think.
with some prompting. My memory then
was freakish. II is freakish yet. I can
go into the House Of Representatives and.
after listening to a half dozen, short
speeches. can repeat them tomorrow al
most word for word. along with mis-
aud unusual iniectiyrs
Never Counts His Change.
Il have just come from a conference
with Speaker Clark. We went over SUBJ
iects in which We are interested. He
.aIked long rows of figures. but they a..
all jumbled up in my head. / cant re-
member any of them. II had put them
Town on paper and then thrown the paper
Iway ! could have recoIlected those of
Importance. But that isn't memory; its
It's a disagreesbie effort
or me to count money. / always pocket |
mall change without looking at it. Hav-
ng had such mental idiosyncrasies all |
ny days. 1 was misunderstood as a child