Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-17
Tongue Bellies the Heart
Canstic Sentences Torment Senator Cdrdwdy and
AfabiLty Crops out; Pinchot Is Sweet
Within Bitter"
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Having written in last Sundays paper
about affability as political asset for
public men, this writer has received
numerous circumstances from readers
who desire to know how he explains the
political success Of some Of our most dis
tinguished and undesirable statesmen
who are much better known as snarlers
than as smilers
When" inquiries one Of these readers,
was Thad Caraway. junior Senator
from Arkansas, affable?"
The answer is;
"Often, only he doesn't let it get away
with him while he is making a speech
or examining witness"
Mr.. Caraway Is pathetic case. His
heart is affable. His tongue is acrid.
He sometimes explains that the excoria-
tons inflicted upon the 1niquitous by his
tongue often subsequently make him
very heart-Sick. His heart repents for
his tongue. His heart, it appears, Is as
tender as his tongue is tough.
Tongue is Fastest.
Nor Is he thus, in fact, misrepresent-
ing himself. His tongue can think OF
a sharp thing to say before any heart
in the world could catch UP with 1t.
Mr.. Caraway simply has the worlds
fastest tongue. He will enter the SEN
ate chamber smiling, perhaps, and with
his heart expanded to grasp the whole
world in a cardiac embrace. Then his
tongue perceiveS a sentence, one short
sentence, that can make Republican
look ridiculous. Just 20 or 30 words!
A small matter! The tongue arises and
does it. Thereupon, though, the heart
begins to work. Mr.. Caraway sinks back
into his chair and glowers. The glover
ing, you must understand, Is not
ic
way is suffering. He is rebuking his
tongue. The tongue apologies and
grovels. 1t promises to amend. Mr..
Caraway looks relieved. He gets up
from his seat and walks over to the Re
publican side of the chamber and con-
verses with Republicans arniably, af-
fably. The affability is not audible from
the press gallery. It is distinctly,
nevertheless, visable. Mr.. Caraway has
conquered his tongue. His true inward
nature is in full outward evidence.
He returns to the Democratic side.
He resumes his seat. He beams. Sud-
denly he looks serious. He looks
wretched. His tongue has thought of
another weakness in another Republican.
He struggles. He loses. Mr.. Presi-
dent" he says. And another Republic
an has an arrow in him. and in Mr..
Caraway there is another heart ache.
This writer contends accordingly that
Mr.. Caraway gets reelected because his
constituents perceive his actual tenn
permanent and know very well that he Is
a considerate, humane and affectionate
man who, as it were, sacrifices himself
in spanking the Republican, By hurting
himself more in his SensibilitieS Aan he
hurts them on their hides.
This writer sticks to the proposition
that almost all successful public men,
snarl as they may in many of their pub
lie manifestations, are inclined, in fact,
in their private and true tendencies
more toward sunniness and cheeriness
than toward gloom and peSsimism.
PeSSimistS could not encounter the ca
prices of the electorate and live. You
have to be an essential optimist to sur
vive politics.
Sweet Within Bitter"
The grandest extant illustration Of
sweet within bitter" in American pub
lie life is perhaps, however, Gov. Clifford
Pinchot of Pennsylvania.
Mr.. Pinchot has been biting the vii
lainS of politics and the varletS of the
public utilities for some 40 years He
has also been biting most regular re
dictionary" Republicans. Everybody
knows this except a certain eminent
Washington hostess who not long ago
invited Mr.. Pinchot and Mr.. Andrew w.
Mellon to the same small dinner party
on the ground that they came from the
same State and would be overioyed to
meet again. Mr.. Pinchot at that dinner
party is said to have been in his best
form.
That is, he was one Of the most ele-
CANT great gentlemen in the world,
grandly hammered. Superbly graceful
and gracious, handsome in look. hand
some in word, the picture of a chivalrous
knight in a novel. and the pink of all
that British dukes should be and fire.
quently are not. Then he sat on sofa,
it is said. and bit the villains and the
varlets and the "reactionariee" with a
voraciouS laugh. He ate them alive with
affability glowing from his every fea-
ture.
He Is the perfected remaining Roose-
veltian. The other day this writer OBJ
served him at his capital of Harris
burg, Pa. 1t was almost impossible to
believe that Mr. Pinchot is now IS years
old. He not only is vigorous and vital
He not only is full of life. He is equally
full of fight. The joy of combat is as
glorious and as elating to him as when
he was one Of Roosevelt's squi-es-at-
arms.
Snaps at Utilities.
He is engaged now at Harrisburg
publicly principally in casting ell the
mean words known to man at the heads
Of public utility magnates. AS read,
those words might indicate that he had
one of the soureSt temperaments in
our history. The truth is that even