The Washington herald., 1915-03-27
The Clean Shirt in Politics.

The advice OF Senator Root to business men
that they again assert their right to participate
in public affairs, is supported by 4 voice from the
past As given in the delightfully."- frank letters OF
the late John Hay Mr.. Hay was an accomplished
diplomat and his State papers models OF dig
nifty and diplomacy, but in his private CORES pond-
cnCc, he was master OF satire and humor. In
OF these letters, now published in Harper >
magazine M. Hay, in 1906 referred 10 tho cant
paign and wrote: "Thc Boy Orator makes only
ono >pcecll-but he makes il twice day There j.
no fun in it. He simply rctcratcr the unqucstion-
cd truths that every MAN who ha, Il clean shirt
i thici and ought to be hargcd that there is no
goodness wisdom except among tho ilIitcratc
and tho criminal classes; that gold j. vile; that
silver l. lovely and holy
Mr.. Hay admitted that Republicans were scared
and that many thought Bryan a winner but he
addcd: UNLESS lie can show a left hind loot OF !.
Stow white rabbit killed in tho dark of the moon.
by a black dog, I not gong to waste my money
betting ON him.
Mr.. Bryan did possess tho white rabbit
loot 1870 and did succeed in hanging all tho
people uh" wore clean shirts: but tho prejudice
against >h,rt> and litcracy has been growing, and
some people arc disposed To- think that Mr.. Bryan
is still campaigning against ihcm, at the
rcu~c OF foreign relations. Some people
Thought John Hay Was aristOcratic but man
who had such intimate association with Abraham
Lincoln could be convicted that charge. But
Hay DID love 4 clean shirt and he could pass the
ltcracy test, and he carried this constitutional
wcak9fss for cleanliness and literary style into the
State department, and made them power in tho
World ct diplomacy Tic persuaded all other ma
tons to recognize tho open door in China, and
his influence with China enabled the powers to
troonS march tIlr
mcnt of China 10 restore order" instead OF re-
gardng II an act OF war. He kept the Monroe
doctrine respected and had no trouble with Mexico
when there clean shirt i'll control down
there. In TACT about the only trouble Secretary
Hay had was with a bandit in Africa who opposed
to shirts on principle. captured American citi-
zen and held him for ransom. Secretary Hay
then illustrated the old saying that brcvity is the
soul OF wit, and logic as well. He sent this cable
to the United States consul general at Morocco:
I'VE want either Pcrdicaris alive or Raisuli dead
The American with clean shirt was released
Secretary Bryan probably believes in clean
shirts now as much as did Secretary Hay. He
has had a trying experience with the other kind
OF shirts down in Mexico and he is not yet through
with them. He might, with profit, adopt Secre-
tary Hays literary style in dealing with bandits.
1t effective under Hays administration OF the
State Department, and it might be effective now.
AT any rate the American people like that kind
OF literature 1t is not capable of being msunder-
stood With the voice of John Hay coming out
OF the past in humorous phrase added to that of
EiIhu Root, there ought TO be little trouble in
making clean shirt again respectable and desir-
able, even in politics. Perhaps President Wilson
and Mr. Bryan will join the movement if it is
kept nonpartsan. a