Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-04

From Chicago I, with other
newspapermen, had gone di-
Mr.. Timmons, who hos q Washington
news bureau serving q number Of
newspapers in Texos and other
Stotes, today observes his 50th
anniversary os q Washington cor
respondent. This is his backward
look across holt q century.
rectly to Baltimore, where, aft
er more than a week Of steamy
day and night sessions, the
deadlock between Champ Clark
and Woodrow Wilson was brok-
en-. On the afternoon of July 2,
on the 46th ballot, Wilson re-
ceived the two-thirds majority
then necessary to nominate in
a Democratic National Conven-
ton.
And there was an incident
which made that Fourth of
July a pleasant one for me.
At approximately 2::30 in the
afternoon of that day I got a
job on a Washington newspa-
per. A Washington newspaper
friend helped me celebrate the
occasion by taking me for a
drive around the city in his
secondhand Pope-Toledo au-
tomobile.
4S-Star Flag
He drove down Pennsylvania
avenue to where the flag of AZ
stars floated over the Capitol
Dome for the first time-Ari-
IONA and New Mexico having
been admitted as States since
the last independence Day. My
misunderstanding friend did
not negotiate the Washington
street intersection circles very
expertly.
He had been one of the hold
out horse and buggy men to the
last but he told me the high
cost of horse living had de-
cided him to buy gas rather
than oats. He predicted that
the then remaining horse popu-
lation of Washington would go
down rapidly and automobiles
increase by leaps and bounds.
He proved true prophet.
had always wanted to be
Washington newspaper man
and now at the age of % and
with six years of writing ex-
perience was.
Shadow Of Change
Fat William Howard Taft
was President Of the United
States that year. but the shad-
ow Of change, as always, hung
over Washington. Mr.. Taft was
in a three-way Presidential race
with Theodore Roosevelt and
Woodrow Wilson and there was
no doubt that will Mr.. Roose-
welt and President Taft divid-
ing the Republican vote Mr..
Wilson would surely be elected.
There were some eminent fig
urs among the newsmakers in
Washington in 1912 as there
have been in the five decades
Of pageant since. There were
no press handouts. press con-
ferences, press relations men or
professional image makers
then. A reporter dealt directly
with the great men themselves
and got to know them all.
Edward Douglas White, who
had been a Confederate soldier,
was Chief Justice Of the United
States and on the Supreme
Court also sat John M. Har-
Ian, Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Charles Evans Hughes, Joseph
McKenna, william r. Day,
Horace H. Lurton. Willis Van
Devanter and Joseph R. Lamar.
3 Greatest Senators
In the Senate were Elihu
Root Of New York, John Sharp
Williams Of Mississippi and
Charles A. CulberSon of Texas,
who I think are the three
greatest Senators I have
known. There were also John
H. Bankhead and Joseph F.
Johnston Of Alabama, Martin
and Swanson of Virginia. VIII
liam E. Borah Of Idaho, Shelby
M. Cullom of Illinois, Albert B.
Cummins of Iowa. Henry Cabot
Lodge of Massachusetts, James
A. Reed Of Missouri, Isador
Rayner and John Walter Smith
of Maryland, Boies Penrose of
Pennsylvania, Benjamin R.
Tillman of South Carolina, Jo-
seph Weldon Bailey of Texas,
Robert M. LaFollette of Wis
consin and Francis E. Warren
of Wyoming.
In the House of Representa-
tives Champ Clark was Speak
er and Oscar w. Underwood of
Alabama was the Democratic
leader. There were also Henry
D. Clayton, j. Thomas Helm
and Richmond Pearson Hobson
of Alabama, Joseph T. Robin
son of Arkansas, Joseph G.
Cannon and James R. Mann of
Illinois, John Nance Garner of
Texas, Victor Murdoch of Kan
sas, Joseph Ransdell and Ar