The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 198
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
lack of actual cash, disinclination to work and the big head are all
attributed to local atmospheric influences.26
He voiced the average person's suspicion of politicians.
The ancients thought this world was square. If they had lived in
Washington and had my chance for observation, they would have
come to the conclusion that there was nothing square about it.27
He was critical of Congressional investigating committees.
The first thing the chairman of the investigating committee did was
to make sure that the accused senator was really guilty, although
there was really no occasion for it, as almost all suspected senators
are that kind. Being satisfied that he was really a crook, the investi-
gating committee proceeded to whitewash him.28
He ridiculed the "plain folks" technique of some officials.
Here in Washington an official is not considered a man of the
people unless he spits on the carpet, and he don't attract the atten-
tion of the foreign ministers unless he has got his feet on the desk.29
Snort also added to the folklore that no one works in Wash-
ington. "If a barrel of cider was appointed to a clerkship, no mat-
ter whether it was a male or female barrel of cider, it would stop
working right off."30
Like Jack Downing and Petroleum V. Nasby before him, Bill
Snort was an ordinary citizen, who (thanks to the reach of a
humorist's imagination) found himself in high political circles.
As such, he was representative of the average American. Even
though Snort possessed many roguish traits, readers of Texas
Siftings probably liked to imagine themselves in his place; with
their feet on the President's desk; giving him advice and telling
him stories; calling prominent men by their first names and being
so addressed in return; telling off cabinet members and foreign
diplomats; and speaking frankly on all questions. Snort was pop-
ular because he was no respecter of persons; he made politics
simple by reducing it to personalities. He helped bring the
26Ibid., X (April i3, 1889), 4.
27Ibid., XXI (June x6, 1894), 5.
28Ibid., XXI (June 23, 1894), 5.
2I9bid., X (March So, 1889), 8.
3olbid., XI (August 31, 1889), 8.198
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/228/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.