Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-28
CONGRESS TAKES JOY
IN SLAPPINC HOBSON
Limelight Has Made an Efficient Naval
Officer Into Less Efficient Legisla-
tor-How Champ Clark Saved Hard
wick, of Georgia.
Bv Z. ". TOWNSEND

IL son Hobson, Representative in Congress
from the 6th District Of Alabama.
The most interesting fact he mentions in
his biography printed in the Congressional
Record is that he "is tenth in descent from
Elder Brewster, Of the May1ower." AS to
his naval career, he merely recites, Served
in the United States navy from 1885 to 1903"
making no mention Of the incident which
brought him nationwide, yes, worldwide
fame-sinklng the collier Merrimao in the
harbor entrance Of Santiago. Perhaps II
would be bad form for a retired naval officer
to himself set down in Congressional Record
! type recital Of an act of physical bravery;
! perhaps he Judged, and rightly, too, that the
! Merrimac incident needed no renewed tell
! ing to remain fresh in the minds of his coun-
trymen, not forgetting his countrywomen.
Men, rather generally, possess physical
! courage-do they not?- Yet since ever this
drol world began men have been heroized
for exhibiting that almost universal posses
sion under conspicuous circumstances Any
800 men today storming trenches in France
or Flanders, In Galicia or Poland, display
precisely the courage displayed by the 600 at
Balaklava, but no Tennyson will immortal
lie them, no government will strike special
medals for their survivors. There are so
many six hundreds today charging into tho
jaws Of death that there is nothing conspic-
uous about that dlsagreeable performance
Nearly every boy will quote you certain
lines of Richard III and of Henry v; yet
innumerable truculent swordsmen have met
their Macduffs, soldiers without number
have exhorted their dear friends" to follow
"once more into the breach" But they had
no Shakespeare to write stirring pieces about
them
All OF which is not written with purpose 20
detract from the glory of the deed performed
by Mr.. Hobson and the sailormen-who
knows their names s?-who went with him
In the Merrimac. Rather. one wants to sug-
gest that the sudden flood of limelight di-
rected at Captain Hobson spoiled an efficient
naval officer and made of Mr.. Hobson q less
efficient legislator.
Looks Like Youthful BRYAN
In appearance, Hobson very strongly re-
sembles the youthful William Jennings
Bryan of the Cross OF Gold period, except
that Hobson is quite bald, and in those early
16-to-1 days the present Secretary OF State
had an unrent thatch Which is to say,
Hobson is distinctly a handsome man. as
stalwart, outstanding, strong featured a
sailorman as Annapolis ever produced.
But Hobson has an unfortunate manner,
a Certain condescension," which Elder
on the Mayhower and transmitted undimin-
ished in quantity unimpaired in quality to-
his 10th descendant
This, II may be- preserves him unaffected
by the scorn OF those of his fellow members
of the House who compare his notorious rec
ord for absenteeism with his prodigal display
OF holier- than n-thou-ism It surely accounts
for the noticeable acerblty of temper dis
played by members who upon the rare occa-
sions OF his presence in the House, point out
to Mr.. Hobson his delinquencies in the matter
his critics is the fact that Hobson attends
sessions Of Congress only after he has elabo-
rately set the stage for a sensational en-
trance and then does a turn" which he
uses to boom his lecture engagements.
For 1t is fact that, besides being a notori-
our absentee Hobson is fiagrant offender
in the matter of abuse of the franking priv
iIege
1t has been told, but do not recall now.
how many hundreds of thousands OF copies
of his prohibition speeches made in Congress
ne has franked to boom his prohibition lee
lures; how many of his speeches on the
floor attacking his opponent for the Ala
bama senatorship Oscar W. Underwood he
franked to boom his own campaign for the
senatorship Underwood beat him handily
without making any campaign simply be-
cause the voters resented Hobson's insinua-
tion that Underwood represented In his can
didacy, ''the liquor interests"
KindHearted Clark