New-York tribune., 1918-03-15
Hoosier Hays
By SARAH ADDINGTON
~ NE might have known that Rennh

can Chairman VIII II. Havs
from Indiana By his name Wbo..
but frugal Hoosier parent would ~
cast aside the dignity and prestige of w;n
lam for just plain VIII? And Havs -.
Could such simple agrarian name h..
lasted this long in sophisticated New w.,
or aristocratic Charleston, S. c.?
But, of course, you can't prove thinos l.
names, and so it is only when Won c,
across the Republican chairman h;ns.,.,
that the theorem is proved, Q. f. D
and for all. The theorem is that Will Hsss
is the best Hoosier you could find in dav,s
march through the state itself, and ~.
proof is in his walk, his talk, his hand
shake and the neckties that he wears
He swung suddenly into the room at ~.
Manhattan where the newspaper men wex.
waiting for him, and what were his fret
words? Good afternoon, gentlemenp .,
something decorous like that? Not ri,
of it. Will Hays is Hoosier, and he deals
in the Hoosier dialect.
"By gosh, fellows, | didn't know Won wo,o
here" he greeted them afTaby.
Now, "by gosh" may be the coin of all
the world but it's the special currency a.
Indiana. They don't say "by heck" ont
there, although George Ade pretends tb.,
they do. But they do "by gosh quite
Auently through life, and by that ouenr.
remark of Chairman Hays he set the 600.
of his native state on himself forever
"The Hoosicrs are friendly lot Cod
wot,' somebody paraphrased the garden
poem once. Chairman Hays has the Indian,
way of being hospitable; he is y yerv
friendly lot himself. His handshake maaa
one hand ache for ten minutes that after.
noon, and he grins at people and calls them
folks" in a way that makes an Indiana
native think Of Main Street, ANY Town in
Indiana, for the rest of the day.
The Hoosiers are honest. They tell vor
what's what, and then they trust YOU mt
to gossip it all to the ncighbor next door
Hays has that habit. He's exceedingly
frank, will answer any question, but he ex.
poets his friends to keep the confidence
"That's the way he works with reporters
said friend Of his that day, "and it's also
the way he works in politics"
The Indiana people have found that it's
pretty good way, in general. People are
very apt to be square out there So thev
teach the habit to their sons, and, apnar.
emily, the sons seem to think it works too
But, of course, Hoosiers aren't angels
and they will commit occasional sins. Thew
won't pronounce their "g's" for exampe
Nothing in the world could induce man
Indiana bred and born to say going" when
he knows that "goin'" Will DO just as well.
Chairman Hays renounces "g's" Does it
in an open, unashamed way too as if he
| liked to lop them off, the true son of the
father that named him Will and said "that
was enough-nobody'd call him William.
anyway"
And, then, Hoosiers somehow have a
taste all their own about ties Mind thew
are sometimes very pretty ties that Indiana
men buy at the leading emporia on Main
Street but they are essentially Indiana ties.
Will Hays had one on. nice wall paper de.
sign, beautiful futurst colors, really A
handsome tie, that made one of his callers
homcsick for certain Richmond (sixty.
eight miles from Indianapolis), almost "a
the point of tears
And that's the Republican chairman Go
out to Indiana to any county fair this sum.
mer and see him in numbers; 90 to "the
hotel' in any town in Indiana and talk To
him. several of him. around The cigar stand
step IN the courthouse and meet him in the
clerks office-hc'l take his feet off the
table and be very kind and pleasant to YOU.
He's most refreshing person. You'll like
him, and be calling him By his first name
before long. And because he is so pleasing
and refreshing let us hope that the Repub.
lican chairman will never depart from his
Indiana ways. Let him make up with every
Progressive in the United States, but al
ways hold haughtily aloof from the unes
sential "g'; let him acquire any habit in
the world except that Of deleting the
picturesque "by eoshes"; let him work in
dustriously for New Yorl,s votes, but never
wear one of its cravats.
For East is East, and so forth and
Indiana is Indiana, and the rest of the
world ought to be glad that this newest
national figure is a politician instead Of a
writer, just for change