Charles Evans Hughes and whiskers — No favored son right

Is there no right to favored son treatment for Glens Falls native Charles Evans Hughes?

In a bold headline, a March 29, 1921 Post-Star editorial bestowed the “champion whiskers” distinction on freshman U.S. Rep. William O. Atkeson, R-MO.”

“The finest set of whiskers that has been seen in Congress for twenty years is owned by Representative William O. Atkeson, who has brought them all the way to Washington from the sixth Missouri district to show what fresh air and a little careful attention will do for aspirants for the whisker record,” the editorial touted.

“The modest chin whiskers of the secretary of state, Charles E. Hughes, or the still more Vandyke of Speaker (Frederick H.) Gillett fade into nothingness beside the Atkeson crop.”

The editors preferred the patriarch look.

“The accurate measurements of Atkeson’s beard have not yet been made by his colleagues, but they are estimated to be at least two and one-half feet long and a foot wide and they conceal the lower part of his face like a party platform conceals what the party really expects to do for the country.”

Atkinson was the first Republican elected in the Missouri congressional district since around 1890.

“Atkeson has been running for Congress so long he has forgotten when he first became a candidate, but it is reported to have been about eight years ago.”