The Washington times., 1915-02-03
Assistant Secretary Of Treas.
ury, Dogged Through the
Years, Admits Authorship.
LONG OOOGED ACCUSATION
Haunting Lines, Ascribed to
Others, at Last "Come
Home to Roost."
BY J. r. HILDEBRAND.


Eyron Il. Newton. is that you can live
murder down. YEARLY. sadly. patheti-
| cally, the Assistant Secretary Of the
Treasury will tell you that lie believes
| he could redeem himself from homicide.
but jean Vatican couldn't have es-
| capped the consequences Of committing
poetry. Mr.. Newton considers himself
] a veritabIe Jimmy Valentine of the
poetic muse.
Just Fails To Escape.
lie has made valiant attempts to es.
cape. He never quite attained to homi-
eide. but he did make phoney money
| once, Just to be able to get the goods
| on gang of counterfeiters. and tho
| first thing he did when he entered the
Treasury Department was to look up
the old vouchers paying him a $50 re-
| ward for that exploit.
But that incident did not discount the
poetic ofense. Nor did his work in
| covering" Santiago during the Span
| ish- h-American war. nor sending home
scoops about Colonel Roosevelt s
Rough Riders. nor getting the first
pictures of the Wright brothers first
experiments at Kitty Hawk. n. c.. nor
playing his way home, minstrel fashion.
| on violin. when he was stranded in
Canada, nor managing the Moissant
| aeroplane flights, nor being the first
man to fly out over the Pacific in an
| aeroplane, nor belping william G. Nc
Adoo In the construction of the Hudson
tunnel.
But at every turn the public over
looks these achievements. aerial. cross
country. and subterranean. and points,
with an accusing finger, at these lines !;
Vulgar in manner, overfed.
Overdressed and undcrbred;
Heartless, Goddess. Helrs delight
Rude by day and lewd by night;
| Bed&arfed the man. o'ergrown the
brute,
Ruled by Boss and Dissolutc.
Purple robed and pauper clad.
| RaN1ng, rotting, money mad.
sIuirrning herd in mammOns flesh.
\ wilderness Of human flesh:
SIrazed .Iaa WI Win ava avarice. lust and rum: >.
Told at Press Club.
And when the Assistant Secretary
| arose, last week at the *" night at
| the National Press Club. and in re-
| signed fashion told Of the latest form
these haunting lines had assumed to
| taunt him. 1t was his final admission
that he had succumbcd. and had de-
cided, not to claim. but to admit them.
| as his own.
Their first publication was not in
the New York Herald but in the Little
Herald. a satirical sheet gotten out in
| imitation Of the Herald at that paper $
| Herald reporter. had just returned from
| "A grucsome murder assignment. and.
| exhausted. was asked to write few
lines for the annual issue. In dour and
| discouraged mood he penned those
| lines.
To his surprise they later began to
crop up in various State papers, var
iously credited; Newton smiled and
| that special peculiar to Gotham news
| paperdom. who brings ideas into an
| office for other men to whip into a
'story.' dropped around with a thrill
linS story Of suicide
teresi touch to this bit -oi verse
scrawled in the mans own hand, found
| beside him. the news vendor concluded
as he produced penciled copy OF New"
| tons Toast TO New York"
| This was little too much for New
| ton. Either you arc Il liar. or he was
| and is searching for 1t now he shout :
! ed. Get out.'
Message From Boston.
Not many months later Newton re-
ccivcd a'telegram from New York
| dramatic editor who had been attend.
| ing a dinner of his fraternity in Boston,
The MESA &c read. Rush verification of
your authorship Of Ode to New York .
Newton forgot about the request until
after midnight when another more i'm
perative message arrived. SAY old
| man. wire me you wrote that poem. I'vo
| been iugGcd for calling man a liar
who claimed them
Newton attended Il dinner himself
When globe trotter. who had b"cn in
N,ted to relate his experience, reached a
reroration with the ode" and told in
| detail how he had written the lines in
cclved the verse. and how they had sent
| It forth to be copied all over the Con.
| tinent Newton was more discreet than
his pugnacious friend and satisfied Him
sclt win asking numerous questions
about the composition Of tho lines.
BY this time Newton $ authorship had
been proclaimed widely, and his friends
shook their heads. put their tongues i'm
their checks. and warned him that he
| concerned.
But Newtm hcured othr rrwisc uav-
! Ing observed tho willy trick of many
| statesmen who simply break forth in a
new place to make the public forget un
pleasant Incidents he decided he cpuld
outstril. tho poem about every third
| lap.
| NoWt"nS experiences in Santiago his
! adventures with the early successful OK
! pcrmcnts IN aviation. how he "discov
cred William G. Mcksloo and Wrot,,
| the first feature story that made New
York take his Hudson tube project seri-
| ously. how he handled the publicity for
| that project. how he came to Washing
| ton at a financial sacritic" just to ..sec
| this thing through" with Secretary Me-
| Adoo. how h. hes to his den and Sc
| crctly INDUCES In violin playing and
verse making as a relaxation. all would
make the sort of feature article that
Newton used to write, II only he, would
tell thcm.
Holds the Original.
In his trunks of clippings and rcIi"s.
| letters from public men. and journals
| kept by himself is unwrittcn history in
abundance. There. for example. are the
copies of the iGinal dispatches mcnt i,v
himself and other newspaper men from
the feet off Santiago. There arc highly
interesting letters, memoranda, and
papcrs connected with his work during
| the Wilson campaign.
It Is in this same den that music
! rack and violin arc always within
rcacE. and where. when :Scuatu? Bris-
| ,cy who lives next door and who's,
| library is wall-to-wsll with this den.
| he 9 ins to r-hVaTs,' TOO loudl- his ora .
| toricsl assaults upon TIA, D"morrati,.
MARTY. Newton picks up hi. lioIiu snd
browns ont th" ,tatCsmsn's TRADES in a
wealth Of impro, ised melody
Rut those are other Htories and snv