New-York tribune., 1919-06-30
3 k s
By Haywood Broun

NHASE S. OSBORN, former Governor
~ of Michigan, records some interes,;nr
judgments Of Americans in public
'.e III MS book "The Iron Hunter" Mac
"ii1an). His frankest comments are com
'ained IN a chapter in which he tells tn.
VARIOUS candidates. who were considered a.
successors OF James Burrill Angel. who
retlred from the presidency of the rr;ver-
sity of Michigan. Osborn was tben ,,o,,
Der OF the state board of regents. Among
the men mentioned for the university most
was David Jayne Hill, United States Am.
bassador to Germany
lie looked like ideal timber" writes Os-
born. II went to Berlin to look him over
1t is proper, l think, to state that maid
my own expenses. Accuracy, at the ex.
pehse OF elegance requires me to record
that | reported to the board of regents
that Mn Hill had taken on too much weight
of all kinds"
Char'es Evans Hughes, then serving his
second term as Governor of New York. was
more favorably considered. and the place
was offered to him tentatively. "Goyernor
Hughes composed the usual gracious. and
often meaningless, phrases of regret. and
gave as his reason that he had a life's
work of reform in the political arena of
New York State. Otherwise he would hava
been made happy by taking up the drec
ton of the parent of all popular universi-
ties. Within a few weeks he permitted
himself to be sidetracked, even shelved. az
1ar as political reform activities were con-
cerned, by an appointment to the United
states supreme Court. In the light of what
ne mad uttered in such a Parsifalian spirit,
was shocked, and in my eyes Mr. Hughes
has worn broken halo ever since"
Woodrow Wilson, according to Osborn.
was among the most interesting candidates
because he gave the regents a distinct hint
that he was a receptive candidate. He was
not invited to Michigan, however, and Os-
born explains:
"At the very first most of the regents
jumped at the shining lure of surface
brilliance. l do not mean to state that
MT. wilson is not profound scholar: only
that more than most men OF erudition hs
possesses an exterior luminescence that is
olstlnctlve More sober consideration
threw another light upon the retiring
president of Princeton. There was a con-
sensus of opinion that he had done good work
at Princeton, but whether he had done mora
good than harm was question that could
not be so easily answered.
He had gone to Princeton with the
unanimous support Of the managers of that
college. and left it with scarcely friend
among them. Practically, it seems he was
dismissed His gratuitous quarrel with
Grover Cleveland was analyzed, and a do
cision was come to that Dr. Wilson was
tactless"
This hardly sounds like parable in
favor of tact, for all the chances are thar
II Mr. Wilson had been tactful person
his address would still be "Ann Arbor.
Mich.," instead of "Washington, D. C.
Please forward"
La Bodega," the latest novel Of Vicente
Blasco lbanez (Dutton), is an argument for
temperance, and yet there are moments in
which the reader can hardly look sourlv
upon the vintages which the author con.
demns
"Ihe luminous golden wines sparkled in
the air, crowned with jewels as thev were
poured into the glass, filing the atmos-
phere with an intense odor of antiquity.
All the shades of amber, from soft grav to
pale yellow, glittercd in these fluids. as
thick as oil to the sight, yet of glisten
ing transparency. A faint exotic perfume
which summoned to thought fantastic flow
ers of supernatural world rose over the
liquids extracted from the mystery of the
casks. Life seemed to expand upon tasting
more quickly through the veins; the sense
of smell, quickened to unknown des;res
grew excited as if scenting new cleo
tricity'
1t is not thus that the thoughts OF man
are turned toward prohibition.