Evening star., 1933-04-23

hours, days. weeks, months and years
of study. It is no eXaggeration to state
that when Cordell Hull sits down with
the other statesmen of the world, to
reverse the worlds tariff policy. he will
have brought 20 years of intensive study
Of that particular subject to the task In
hand.
In the first place. Hull is and always
has been a natural student and looks
the part From being a natural stu
dent in his earlv life he has become a
scholar in maturity. Reference has
been made to his fine head. 1t is more
than that. 1t is the head Of a scholar
hut not a dreaming scholar devoted
wholly to theory. Practically stands
out all over him. He has no interest
in theories as theories-only in theories
that can be made to work. This shows
in his face, his figure, his speech and
actions-all vigorously real, masculine
and American. He is tall. slender end
straight as an Indian. His broad shoul-
ders are square, his waist tapering, his
limbs muscular. His back Is as fiat as
a board across his shoulders and he
carries his head proud and high. with a
direct, honest gaze out of his eyes. In
figure, he looks as If he might have
stepped out of a Frederick Remington
drawing of typical" American plains
man or of seasoned artillery sergeant
Of the old Army. but his features,
strongly chiseled, show quick feeling.
sympathy. understanding. wisdom and
high intelligence. In an etching, his
head would be styled beautiful" by an
artist And he has the slender hand
and gracefully tapering fingers OF a
painter.
Shining out of Hulrs eyes and in his
patient. courteous inclination OF the
head to give attention to anv one ad-
dressing him. as we'll es in his manner
when talking on his favcrite subjects.
tcrin and taxation. there comes to any
one in mis- presence strong, definite
impression of character A review OF
his life and an examination Of people
who have known him best and longest
confirm the impression. HUI was known
as the "honestest" man in Congress and
here, again, he looks the part. There
is e bit of the countryman about him
and he has always been modest to and
beyond the point Of self-injury For
80 years he has seen men vastly his
inferior leap into prominence and lead
ership in Congress, by virtue of self
assurance and a knack for grabbing the
spotiight He could not do it If he
would because of his innate mcdesty
and good taste. He believes that man
should advance according to his dem
onstrated ability but he has little flair
for making that ability known. He
will not advance it, 1t must be DIS.
covered. However. at the end of almost
30 years in Congress it has been dis
covered by a great many members. with
the result that upon his retirement
from the Senate he was pretty generally
reckoned in Washington as possessing
the finest mind in either house.
Two Famous Exemplars.
The careers of two famous Americans
exercised a deep and significant influ-
ence on the life OF Secretary Hull.
They. perhaps. more than any other
influence in his life, set his mind in
the direction it has taken and caused
him to work increasingly toward its de-
velopment. These two famous Amert-
cans were Andrew Jackson and An
drew Johnson, Tennesseeans both, like
himself Andrew Jackson was his boy
hood idol, as he was the icol Of so
many boys of Tennessee Old Hickory
had been dead only Is years when
Hull was born, while johnson was still
alive. fighting stubbornly for his demo-
cratic principles Tennessee reeked
with traditions of both and young Hull
was reared on them.
Andrew Johnson" says Hull, was
one of the finest and strongest char
acters in American history, and one
of the least understood. AS a boy I
learned the true facts about his life
and accepted his philosophy Of democ-
racy, which never changed throughout
his career"
What might be termed the congenital
influence of Jackson and johnson upon
Hulls life was supplemented by other
strong, Democratic influences in his
young manhood. Born in 1871. his boy
hood came at a period when Tennessee
was struggling out of reconstruction
and re-establishing its own govern
ments. State and local. These were
Democratic and the people. under the
spur of necessity, took a vigorous, ac-
tive part in public affairs.
ITO be ignorant of public affairs.
either local or national, was mark
of shame and reproach when I was a
young man." says Hull. Everybody
studied and thought about public
questions and everybody was intelli-
gently active In politics. We read
everything we could get hold Of; We
listened to political speeches and we
attended public debates, of which there
were many In my State there was
a general and active interest in poll
tics, which translated itself into con-
troll and direction of public affairs by
the people under democratic princi-
Piles and institutions something which
we. as a Nation. need today"
At about the time when Hull won his
joint debate at the age of Is, another
great Democratic figure was in the
ascendency and Hull became his ar
dent champion. This figure was
Grover Cleveland. From Clevelands
attention drawn to the tariff. It was
q subject which thrilled him and cap
tured his imagination.
Hull has never wavered on this
early tariff foundation. All through
the intervening years, when one Dem
ocrat after another in Congress Gas
Hull believes) betrayed his party BY
voting for protective schedules, Hull
has stood firm and preached tariff doc
trines in season and out. with dogged
determination During the long pc
riod of what the country believed was
prosperity under the protective theory,
Hull inveighed against the system and
declared we would have greater prosper
ity under Democratic tariff principles,
but nobody would listen to him. He
knew his facts were correct and his
theory sound, but they were hard to
prove in the face of prosperity. To-
day he feels that his principles and
predictions have been proved by
events of the past three years and he
is passionately determined that they
shall be given trial.
Has Chronic Modesty.
Hull's chronic modesty has long been
a familiar characteristic to his friends
and followers In Congress. They have
regretted what Is apparently an tnabil-
ity to "sell himself" to Congress and
to the country. For example, nobody
ever heard him mentioned as Capt"
Hull, although he could have worn the
title legally and proudly ever since 1898
had he desired to do So His credita-
BILE record as captain of National
Guard company from Tennessee In the
Spanish American War is practically