The Washington times., 1921-03-08

tive of Hamon was one or the prih-
cipals. The future millionaire, then
living at Lawton. was SO poor that
he could not dress for the occasion.
He stood outside the door and craned
his neck around to witness the cere-
mony without being seen except as to
his face.
But" remarked the citizen, after
Jake got, hold of money, he was not
at all bashful. In fact. he had vast
self-conhdence. He would go into
the office OF some multj-mil illionaire
smoking q cigarette. sit down, hat
on, and say: I'm Mr.. Hamon, who
are your lake had the nerve to
tackle anything or anybody as soon
as he got fairly we'll heeled."
Nerve" used here not at all In the
slangy sense. was the compelling
characteristic Of Hamon. Possession Of
a few millions of dollars. with con-
troll over more millions. is calculated
to make any man nervy, and when
Hamon got his monetary nestegg. a
rather generous one, his Unborn ag-
gressiveness came to the fore and
fourished nightly. AS his millions
piled up, his visions of personal power
grew more gorgeous, until they pos
sessed the man. causing him In the
epd-or near the end--to believe that
anything was possible in American
politics for the man with money.
There are those in Ardmore and
elsewhere who believe that Jake
Hamon never really was multi
millionaire; they hold that his actual
wealth was very far below the figures
commonly named. Events since his
death appear to favor this view. His
reputed wealth OF more than dozen
millions in oklahoma has dwindled to
about &2.OOO.OOO in appraisement
vSlue for inheritance taxation.
BORROWED sIsoo,ooo.
One prominent citizen who knew
him for years said 20 me: Jake Ha-
mon never saw the time when he ac-
tually was worth 81 900 900"
However, about a month before his
death. he managed to borrow from
the Standard Oil people 81 500 900. at
5 per cent, to finance his new railroad
in the Texas oil fields. A man who
can borrow that amount at that rate
Of interest in these days, his devout
believers argue, certainly must pos
sess either available assets or the
ability to persuade.
Among Ardmore citizens I fnd va
RANT views as to the Hamon political
oHt man NApiCS
sion to the thought that the Presi-
dent-elect must have felt considerably
relieved because OF lannon's death,
after having learned the story OF his
family AFFAIRS.
Some aea here whs claim to be In
the knowing, held that Banon wos
expecting n Cabinet portfolio and
that the Secretsryship Of the Interior
was WHIST he desired mest. Others
believe that Hamon did not want that
Cabinet place for himself but desired
to be in position to name the Secre-
tary OF the Interior" so that he
might be able to manipulate the still
undeveloped oil lands in the west
part Of the Usage nation. Usage coun-
ty, Okla, and profit nightly there
by.
Untold millions reside in that di-
rection. enough to make a super-Na-
poleon OF finance. A close friend of
Hamon has told me that the latter
had given up his Usage oil land long
ings, but was taking an intimate in
terest in the Mexican situation with a
view to acquiring vast concessions Of
hardwood forest on the western coast
OF Mexico. where oil is indicated.
SLATED AS G. o. p. CHAIRMAN.
Nearly everybody here appears to
believe that Hamon would have sue
ceeded Will Hays as chairman of the
Republican national comnittc. That
is accepted by some as one OF his
skillful chess moves toward the Presi-
dency.
Being Of southern Oklahoma. where
things are free and easy, the national
committeeman appears not to have
been aware that the world outside
fails to accept with patient resigna-
tion the local view as to private con-
duct, speaking in terms Of what is
called morals, until he attended the
Republican national conventions at
Chicago last summer and got some
eye openers. 1t was there and then
that the discovery was made that
Mrs. Jake l.. Hamon and Mrs. War
rem G. Harding are second cousins.
l am told by Clara Smith that the
oil mans widow is related to Mrs.
Harding through her mother. Mrs.
Hamon was Georgia Perkins. The
story of the fraternizing OF the Hard
ings and the Hamons at Chicago has
been published generally. Down here
the story goes further. 1t has to do
with certain hints, not to say pieces
of abrupt and direct advice, given to
Jake Hamon by certain we'll known
politicians at Chicago. The gist of
these ACCOMPLISHMENTS may be stated
thus:
"Mr. Hamon, If you are to get on
with the Hardings, and indeed, IL you
are to gain further political prefer
ment of any kind, you must reunite
with your family. People look at
things very differently in other So
tions OF the United States. Don't II
know they don't seem to get he
southern Oklahoma viewpoint at aii?"
Then followed, according to Ard
more acceptance of the, affair, the
announcement that Mr.. Hamon was
preparing to build in the city a COM
modious family residence, such as a
man OF his wealth and political
standing should have, and that in the
meantime an apartment in the new
and modern Hotel Ardmore, half a
block UP street from the little old
Randol, had been engaged for Mrs
Jake L. Hamon and the children un-
til the new dwelling could be COM
pleted.
THEN THE TRAGEDY.