Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-02-17
INTIMATE VIEW OF HuGHEs
Presidential Possibility Owes No
Man Anything.
Republican Party Will Have 10 search
Elsewhere n II In Looking for n
"Compronisc" Cnndidatc-Ioy-
al 10 Taft In 1912.

~
word the most striking characteristic OF
Charles Il. Hughes, the very sincerity of
whose preference for his place on the
Supreme Court Of the United states seems |
TO strengthen tn probability OF his nom
ination against his will for the presidencs'
next June. that word would probably he
clarity, writes A. V. &. in the Boston |
Transcript. man Of positive convic !
tions. he does not have to think twice Of
the subtleties OF phra seoloey he will need
in putting them forth. Every idea he has
on the great issues OF the day would as
we'll bear instantaneous photographing az
does his face. which the camera can por-
tray without the loss of a phase of its
expression. People who nave heard him
speak comment on his wonderful vocab-
ulary. But this is only half the story;
the clearness of his presentation of
subject Is due primarily to the clearness
Of his thinking on it. and its effectiveness
is doubled by the clearness Of his enuncia
ton. which makes every word stand out
at its full value. Even the luXuriant
whiskers. which have given some of his
foes much deep concern, are kept under
such discipline that they never get In the
way Of his vocal organs,
has left him owing no man anything.
From his father. a Welshman by birth and
q Baptist clergyman of modest income, he
doubtless inherited his basic gift of self
expression. while from his mother, an
American of Dutch stock. he drew his nat
ural aptitude for mathematics. This he
reditary combination, fitting him for the
Interpretation Of problems which puzzled
mere boy, he decided that the methods OF
the school he attended were Improbable
FOR him. and laid before his parents dia-
gram for a course Of study which would
do him more good. Examination con
WINGED them that he had hit upon a most
sensible plan, and they consented to his
following 1t.
MADE HIMSELF ROBUST.
He was of delicate physique In those
days. and the simple habits and fare a.
the parsonage proved the making of him.
AS he grew in stature he increa sed in ro-
business, till he was able to compete
successfully with the cleverest Of his
classmates at Brown University without
undermining his strength. ana to-day,
midway Of his 9th year, he has an elias
,icty of step, a vitality of manner and
mental alertness which many man of
40 would envy. The only visible mark
that time has laid upon him is tell
tale sparseness of the hair above his
temples. where it once grew bushily.
The self-coniidence of his youth kept
pace with his manhood. 80 that lie did NOT
hesitate to take charge of the two great
1 Investigations which made his name a
household word all over the countryside
probing OF the gas trust which was hold
ing New York city by the throat and the
ripping IN OF the abuses which had made
life insurance a by-word and a mockery in
business circles and to maintain through
out these overhaulinGs calmness Of tenn
| per that was at once the admiration and
the despair Of his adversares. And it
came TO view again when, after he had
made his great reputation in these cases
and the republicans had turned to him to
lead forlorn hope for their party in the
approaching State election of 1906 he ac-
cepted their proposal only on condition
| he should enter office free Of any pledge
or obligation 10 any man or organiza-
/ ton of any sort whatever. He was taken
a. his word, and as he was the only
candidate on the ticket, as far as known.
who had exacted any such concession.
so he was also the only one who pulled
through al the polls.
HIS RECORD AS GOVERNOR
His administration AS governor made
good the portent with which it was ush-
cred in, his acts being free from all faint
of observation-disclosures, and even his mis-
takes, such as they We're, being obviously
due to an effort to be too Independent
4 hx- h.,
ance and banking reforms, the creation
of an efficient system of State control
for public utilities, the enforcement Of
the constitutional prohibition of race-track
gambling. and the prompt converting Of
tho Legislature in extra session when It
had shirked its duty at the regular ses-
sion-these were a few items in the pro-
gram he had made out for himself before
entering on his task. He lodged none Of
them. however apparently unpopular, and
il he found the Legislature refractory he
went straight 10 the people with his APP
peal, which uniformly met with a cordia.
response, Once during a legislative recess
he even descended from the executive
chair and went TO the western end of the
State to conduct alone the campaign for
reelection OF member OF the upper
'"dlHpeT VINO fau indue enenneS OF INC
local machine" by standing firmly for
the right.
second term was matter Of course
Even the most tne-tried politicians dared
not oppose him openly. for fear OF the
vengeance OF the people. and to run again
was an obligation laid upon him by the
fact that some parts of his program still
lacked fulfilment His triumph wac equal
ly a matter of course, but President Taft
cut the second term a trife short by call
ing him to the position no now nils
Meanwhile. he had been widely discussed
as presidential possibility. and would
have stood fair chance of being nomin-
ated in 1905 but for President Roosevelt 8
resolve 10 compel the nomination of Taft
BY the time another quadrennium had
rolled around. his party had been hope
lessly split by the progressive secession,
AT the regular republican convention he
was mentioned ON all sides as a man
whose candidacy would compose the quar-
rel, but his old friend and country neigh
bor, Rabbi stephen Wise, acting as his
mouthpiece, declared that under no cir
cumstances could he permit his name to
be used.
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS IN 1912,
The rea son attributed 20 him then was
that his position as an associate justice
made him unavailable. The fact is well
recognized by both Mr.. Taft and Mr.
Roosevelt. however, that Mr. Hughes
faced then a very different set of condi-
tol l,;,,