Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-09-13
STEWART PORTRAYS IOWA SENATOR
AS ROUGH-AND- TUMBLE CHARACTER
WHO LOVES FREE OR-ALL DEBATE
BY CHARLES p. w
Central Press Staff Writer

WASHINGTON. Sept. 10. "A sup
er-slugger Is not necessarily q brainy
lighter, In the prize ring.
Still. he is exciting to watch.
Senator Smith w. Brookhart OF
Iowa furnishes the finest exhibitions
OF pure smuggling among all the So
czaateu progressive in congress.
Tfhe most experienced spectator
can tell In a minute that he lacks
the headDlece OF Senator George w.
Norris of Nebraska. for instance. the
champion Of the whole progressive
outfit.
Plenty Of senators. progressive and
otherwise. can run circles around
the Iowan-for points.
However. Brookhart certainly does
wade In and fight.
When the gong sounds. the Hawk
eve senator bounces from his corner
as If he were on springs. already
letting loose n perfect hurricane O.
hooks. jabs. swings. uppercuts and
miscellaneous wallops even as he
flies through the ar.
Naturally any experienced antag-
onist, seeing him coming. gets out Of
the way. frequently sideswiping the
IOwan as he hurtleS by.
Much Brookhart cares for that.
He can take It." too.
To watch Senator Norris in action
is an education.
He also has a knockout in each
fist, but he wastes none Of them.
Every time he strikes. he lands. in
stead Of failing the atmosphere
eight r0nine times out OF 10. like
the fighting Iovsan. Meanwhile he
sees TO it that his opponent never
hits him.
Brookhart has no notion OF self
defense. He requires none: his skull
Is too hard TO fracture. and the rest
Of him seems to be made OF vulcan
lied India rubber.
Smitten. he never knows IL: hence.
always Is ready TO stop a dozen hay
makers. fer G chance to plant
where 1t will do the most good.
The Iowan is nj safe person for
an even mVch clever man TO swap
punches with.
He may get in his deadly work
only once in the course Of a pro-
longed entertainment-but nee is
enough. Possibly the victim OF his
handiwork already has piled up a
score running into six figures: what
good Goes that do him?-as the at
tendants carry him out feet first.
In plain terms. as an orator, de-
batter and all-round influence on the
senate floor. Brookhart emphatically
is a rough-and-tumble character;
yet anything but a joke.
He not only is nj joke to the in
dividual he especially Is after. Oc-
c~aSionally he is no Joke to some un-
lucky non-combatant who happens
to get in tire way Of one Of his
ruSheS-
For example. who would have
thought that Governor Franklin D.
Roosevelt Of New York would catch
II behind the ear when the Hawk
eye senator took a sock at wet sentl-
ment the other day?
Brookhart halls from a dry state.
For him TO be dry Is okay. But how
must Governor Roosevelt have felt
considering Manhattan's well-known
viewS-to find the senator quoting
him CFranklin d. as a dry. too?
Brookhart is rockies that way.
The Iowan's next big fight-soon
% be staged-wil be to put a farm
debenture clause into the tariff bin.
AS IL it will not be a mean enough
issue againl The instant Brookhart
rumpus without dragging in tat
starts IL. the referee and all hands
who will like nice. clean fighting.
will jump on him and try 10 smoth-
er him If they can.
Which probably will make It worse
than ever. He loves a free-for-all.