Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-11-17
E. NJ. HOUSE POLITICAL POWER.
BUT DIGNIFIED AND RETIRING
Not the Silent Man in His Home Town of
Austin, Tex, That He Is Pictured to
Be by Accounts Of His Doings.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
AUSTIN. Tex, November 14.-Here
in E. NJ. Houses home town he is not
the silent nan he is pictured to be by
accounts of his doings. Neither is this
special ambassador. who is at the head
Of the American war commission now
in England. a man Of mystery to the
people Of Austin. While he Is not what
is commonly called a good mixer in the
sense that he is a hail fellow. well
met, even among his more intimate
acquaintances, he is anything but ex-
elusive when there Is gathered about
him a crowd Of his own liking.
To the men in Austin and other parts
Of Texas who have had a long and
close acquaintance with Col. House, his
remarkable rise to the official leader
ship of important affairs Of the ma
development of his career. For many
years before he became identified prom
nently with national democratic poll
tics, he was the quiet and little known
dictator of the party's affairs in Texas.
Although the part that he took in
naming men for governor and in di-
recting the operation of the machin-
cry OF the party in other respects was
not generally known to the masses of
the voters of the state. he was the
recognized power behind the throne
so Tar as the men who went into Office
and enacted the laws of the state were
concerned.
Abhors Publicity.
Col: Houses modesty was proverbial
long before he came into the limelight
Of the campaign and administration of
President Wilson. In the first place
he has natural adherence of publicity
Of any character. During the years
that he was active in quietly but effec-
lively directing the campaigns that re-
suited in the election of three COVER
nors Of Texas and one United States
senator. all of his own selection, his
name probably did not appear in the
newspapers half dozen times. He
was never seen about campaign head
quarters. He was never known to at
tend an Inauguration ceremony Of a
governor. He probably was never in
the Office of a Texas governor more
than five or six times in his life. and
SO far as memory serves the veteran
habitues OF the state capitol building
I'Col. House entered the portals of that
granite structure only at intervals of
probably three or four years. During
his more than thirty years of residence
in Austin he never was seen in a
political gathering of any character,
either local or state.
Notwithstanding his innate modesty
and distaste for notoriety, he claim
ed as among his friends practically
every newspaper correspondent and
editor of prominence in Texas He was
wont to talk freely of political affairs
and other matters to these repre-
sentatives of the press but invaria bly,
he enjoined them not to use his name
in connection with anything that was
published Of what he had told them
Many an inside political story has
come from Col. House, but never in a
single instance. SO far as his Texas
record is concerned, was the public
made aware of the fact that he was
the source Of the information Per-
haps no man who has dealt in politics
Is a better reader of men than Col
House. His possession of this valuable
faculty has contributed largely to the
success that he has had in putting
through whatever he has sought to ac-
complish. He believes in close and eff
ficient organization, and rather than
attempting to run the details himself,
he selects his assistants and then goes
into retirement SO far as the general
public is concerned. 1t is through
these assistants that he carries on his
work, and SO unselfsh is he tina: he
never seeks to claim honor and dis