The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-08-13
STILL THRESHING
THE OLD STRAW

Straub, of the st. Petersburg
Times, has a talent for splittin g
hairs and then garnishing the hairs
with cute little ironies and sarcasms
supposed to be cuttin2ly severe, yet
perfectly polite and proper, and in
whose construction he feels the fond
pride of the craftsman in the artis-
tic child of his heart. He lays" for
chances to exercise this amiable gift
upon his unsuspecting contempor-
aries, and when he sees his oppor-
tunity he goes for it with the en-
thusiasm of a rat terrier for a ro-
dent.
In the discussion of the question
OF business man for senator the
Telegram used in one issue the
term business man." and in the
succeeding issue in the same connec-
ton, to make it more emphatic, used
the phrase genuine, bona fide bust
ness man. : That was enough for
Straub. He saw the rodent The
dad break" was too obvious. and,
waving his pitiless, well-sharpeneG
hair-splitter aloft, he descended upon
the amended phrase, performed the
operation and exhibiting the divided
parts of the hair, cried aloud in
triumph, so to speak, I've got you,
You said it one way one time and
another way the next All right,
Straub. Get what comfort you can
out of the difference between "a
business man" and "a genuine, bona
fide business man." as fatal flaw in |
the argument, and let us proceed to |
the next bubble.
In this instance the Telegram is |
supposed to issue another statement |
holding that senators of the Aldrich
and Hanna variety were once gen.
uine, bona fide business men, but |
that that was before they were sent
to the Senate-that they were no
longer business men because they
become senator's" This is merely
evading the issue. The original dis
cussion related purely to the ques-
tion of the expediency of the cleo
ton of business men of the Perry
Wall type to the Senate, and, in op-
position to the kilograms position,
Aldrich and Hanna were cited as in
stances Of business men who had
made their way to the front rank in
the Senate. Whether they are bust
ness men after they get into the
Senate is not the issue, although
manifestly they are not, as they
drop their vocations at the door of
the Chamber and are supposed to
become statesmen concerned purely
with matters of State, legislation,
etc.
The issue in the case of Aldrich
and Hanna is whether they were
business men, representative, typi- s
cal business men before their cleo I
ton, and can fairly be cited as in {
stances of high success achieved in I
the Senate chambers by men sent I
here from the business world. We .
1eny this in the case of these two
and that is purely the is
Tue in this little controversy Perry
Wall is admittedly business man,
md to send him to the Senate would
re sending one of that class who is
and bona fide, but in the
sual and recognized meaning of the
ERIN, neither Aldrich nor Hanna >
'as business man, certainly not in
he sense that Mr.. Wall is. for
ute time prior to their election.
hey had both retired from business q
its legitimate sense, and, up to :. :,
heir eyes in the game of high poll :,
cs, for which they were both born, !"
ley were political bosses, pure and b
mple. so recognized by the whole N