The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1918-01-31
Baker Will Not
Be The "Goat"
Secretary of War is Little, But He
Has Always Proved Himself to be
Very Loud.


you bet on this:
That the effort of politicians to
make a "goat" of the secretary of
war, will NOT succeed.
The business of being the center of
big fight is not new to Baker.
AS city solicitor and aid to Tom L.
Johnson and as mayor and Johnson's
successor in the battles to make
Cleveland "City on a Hir," Baker
fought bitter and powerful opponents
and interests for many years.
With President Wilson standing
firmly behind him and his own ability
to dispose of political enemies, Bak-
er's "home town" has no doubt of the
utcome.
Baker has fighting jaw, not un-
like that Of the president and he has
an uncanny habit of being on the
right side of a fight.
"a pacifist who never played with
'oy soldiers as secretary of war!"
'coff his enemies.
But there are pacifists and paci-
fists. Baker is as intolerant of peace
at-any-pricers as he is of inefficiency.
His own statement is: "I believe in
peace and in the proper enforcement
of the laws of peace-by force if nee
essary."
This little man with the strong jaw
and the whimsical eyes is "human
little cuss," but he never has been a
"slap-'em-on-the-back" politician and
he never will be. A Cleveland report
er once asked him. "Why don't you
thaw out? A lot of people don't know
how human you are because you
won't warm up to 'em. Why don't
you cuss once in a while?"
The next time that reporter enter
ed Bakers office Baker greeted him
thus: "Come in, damn it, sit down."
But it sounded so strange he never
tried it again.
Bakers working knowledge of the
English language is SO complete that
he doesn't need cuss words. 1t has
oSSi Saiu Ol iiiiil CidC lie can TALK
longer, more fuently and more con-
vincingly on any subject without no
tice than any man in the United
States" That may be exaggeration.
But he can talk!
Long political campaigning has
sharpened his natural ability at the
art of repartee. Roosevelt, who's out
to get him now, knows something
about his ability in that line, as the
result of the many letters exchanged
by Baker and T. R. when the latter
wanted to lead a division to France.
After he was graduated from John
Hopkins and Washington-Lee, Baker
nracticed law for a while in Martins
burg, W. Va. Previously he had been
secretary to former Postmaster Gen
cral Wilson.
He came to Cleveland in 1897 and
hooked up with Tom Johnson, who
said Of him: "Bakcr is little mental
giant" He was elected city solicitor
three times and fouths az Jchnsons
side throu h The three cent street car
fare fight
He looked ike boy in court, but
he handled the months LITIGATION in
this case so well that the legal lights
arraigned against him-some of the
best in the country-first sat up to
take notice, then went down in de-
feat.
Baker was first elected mayor of
Cleveland in 1911 by the biggest ma
jority ever given a mayoralty win
ner.
AS mayor he fought for and won a
municipal electric light plant that
sells current at maximum of three
cents killowat an hour and forced
down the private lighting and power
company rates.
He won the lake front Casa
battle with the powerful railroad
interests that involved thirty million
dollars worh of property. And then
he turned around and got the rail-
roads he had beaten to agree to build
magnificent Union depot for Cleve-
land. The war has held up this
project.
Nope, Bakers friends are not trou-
bled. He has come out on top many
times in fights just as bitter with op-
ponents just as powerful, if the stakes
! weren't so high
So much better is the French Ian
guage than the English for long dis