Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-10-31
A NEW POLITICAL CREATURE
BY Frederick. Haskin

-
BY Frederick Haskin
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31:-Not so
long g as to be forgotten by any
n who is not a victim of amnesia in
its worst form Clifford Pinchot set
about getting himself nominated and
elected governor of Pennsylvania.
His plans in that connection ran
counter to the plans of certain
leaders who constitute what has
long been known as the G.. o. P.
machine in the Keystone state. and
some of these leaders made the mis-
take of regarding them lightly.
One OF them, in fact, INDUCED HIM
self in a facetious moment in which
he allowed that he would be 1.-The
guy who put the pin in Pinchot."
That was good for many a laugh
during the preliminary campaign,
but 1t ceased sI1denly to be mirth-
| provoking when those leaders awckn
to the fact that Pinchct had the
gubernatorial nomination nailed
down, or wrapped up. or in what
ever shape he wanted IT. 1t was
realized then that If anybody had
stuck a pin into Pincho: 1t had mere
ly psodded him To rsdoupled activ-
ity and made OF him q Wild, rearin'
tearin' candidate who couldn't be
beaten.
And just now there are leaders
outside Pennsylvania as well az in
who would like TO have q few min
utes alone with the guy" no mat
ter who he may be, who really
started Pinchot on his rampage, for
the Pennsylvania executive has been
dot - n htAr ~ NIa+ IL II.
to the party chieftains. In fact, one
might draw the conclusion that
again he has plans that run counter
to the plans of men who want what
they want when they want 1t, and
are accustomed to getting it.
=
Among those present at a recent
conference of governors was one who
said that Pinchot was "a mustard
plaster on the back of the Republi-
can party" Another gave ven to
his emotions by remarking that
"Pinchot is a hellbender and always
has been!"
Now, everybody knows that a mus
tard is an irritant. 1t is supposed to
be efhcacious in many ana divers
ailments, and ti1eIe are those who
hive said that 1t will cause a man
to fol get all his other troubles. A.
corGingly it dill not appear that Gov
etno Pinchot vas being upduly
inaligned or traduccd WHEN he was
iiIcned to a mustard plaster. But
when he was called a 'hellben6er,"
h a was something else again!
Recourse was had to the dictionary
but without avail. Possibly it was
not a good dictionary, but at any
rate it included no such word as
'hellbender." But that only made It
more necessary to find the answer to
the QUESTION as to just what a hell
bender" Is. II the word were a bit
OF profanity. 1t was something to be
avoided. If it were something new
In political nomenclature, everybody
would want TO know all about it and
be able to use it in%telligently DUR
Ing the long campaign months that
are at hand.
Whereupon an excursion into en-
cyclopedic realms was organized
with almost immediate results of a
satisfactory character. The hell
bender" 1t was learned, is a large
salamander found chiefly In the
streams emptying into the Great
lakes and those draining the west
ern slope of the Appalachian noun.
tains, and it is described as an ami
NAL active chiefly at hight, when
Its voracity causes great ANNOYANCE
to fishermen whose bald and fish it
d%evours.'
With that definition in mind II Is
readily Understandable why Cover
nor Pinchot might be called a hell
Assuredly he has been
causing great annoyance to fisher
men-those gentlemen who are anrl
ing for the Presidency. To date he
mas not got away with the fish. but
he has certainly been raisin,7 hob
with the bait! In just one respect
he may not be altogether comparable
with the a lamander-he- is not ac-
tive chiefly under cover of
On the contrary. he seems to be bi,sv
aii n time and to give no thought
Whatever to concealing his activities.
When the strike was on in the
anthracite coal field there was much
ak to the effect that the man who
could bring about a settlement NJ
ina controversy would do much to-
ward landing the presidential prize.
Ihereupon Governor Pinchot prompt
" stole that bait He
nlmself into the situation in such a
way nat 1t was put up to him ia
settle the strike, and then he went
u and liz that little thing.
More recently the PENNSYLVANIA
soVernor has manifested a purpose
TO gobble up the prohibition enforce
ment bait in similar fashion.
- Is NOT one OF the traditions of
the disciples of Isaac Walton that
prohibition and fishing go hand in
hanu' or even have anything in
In fact, it has long been
held that to insure success and pleas
ure on a piscatory expedition there
should be an abundant supply of
balt thai would never be approved
under the provisions of the Volstead
act. However, when it comes to the
presidential fishing in 1924 it, seems
that prohibition must be reckoned
with.
The question Of why a nation il
not bone-dry when it has a bone-drv
law Is n that will not down, but
the collateral issues as to what Is TO
be done to enforce the Volstead act.
and who is to do it, promise To be
even more persistent and trouble-
some.
Governor Pinchot apparently has
reached the conclusion that a policy
or strict enforcement of the prohib-
ltory statute will be good bait for
A.e presidential fishing, and as has
been said there are indications that