The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-29
A CANDID CANDIDATE.
From the \. Y. World.

From the n, Y World.
Mr.. Greeley has never shown any special
coyness upon the subject of the next Presi-
dency. Cesar made proper pretense of
refusing thrice the crown which was offered
him upon the Lupercal. But Mr.. Greeley,
wiser in his generation, knows full well that
if he were to refuse it once it would never be
proffered him again, and accordingly makes
frantic clutches at its distant CLEAN. The
first formal campaign document he has pro-
mulgated is in these terms;-
NEW YORK TRIBUNE, New YORK, May 81, 1871.
Dear Sir III know Of nothing IN my habits that
deserves public attention. 1 was formerly called
tGrahamite;" :" that is, rarely ate meat; and It is
still my conviction that meat should be eaten very
sparlngly. eat, however, like other folks not
having time to make myself disagreeable to every
body by insisting on special food wherever go,
since travel much and eat in many places In the
ceased to drink distilled liquors January l, 1924,
when Twas not quite thirteen years old. L occa-
sionally drank beer four or five years thereafter,
when abandoned that also. l cannot remember
that ever more than tasted wine. ..
/ stopped drinking cefee about 1884, because 1t
made my hand tremble. am opposed TO nerves.
ing in 1861 when had brain fever and very i'll.
My doctor insisted that should drink either elaret
or tea, and chose the tea, which (black) have
generally used since, though not uniformly.
EMy favorite exercise is trimming up trees In
forest with an axe, cutting out underbrush, ETC.,
distant and my family scattered. 1 sometimes lift
weights at the Lifting Cure. l have only lifted 265
pounds since became sixty years Old February Sd
j. A. Beecher, ESQ.,, Trenton, N j.
1t is not necessary to deny the collective
existence" of 81. A. Beecher" to see the
transparency of the address. There may be
such Beecher, and he may really have made
the inquiry which is thus answered either
collusively or with an actual and imbecile de-
sire to know the personal habits of Mr.. Gree
ley. But it is clear that the sage of Chappa-
qua has wisely selected his habits with the
view of conciliating all classes of his country
men. He drinks neither distilled nor malt
liquors. which insures him the rapturous sup
port of the tal-abstinence people; but he did
drink both, which ought to conciliate for him
the kindly consideration even of the liquor
dealers association. That he was reformed
inebriate at thirteen we may attribute to the
direful effects of the rum of his native region,
which partly accounts for the vindictive hatred
he has ever since borne that beverage, and the
persistencywith which he includes allspirituous
drinks under its odious title. But he con-
tinued to apply to his bruised spirit the balm
of ''beer" with a prophetic provision in 1880
of the Importance of the German vote in
1872. To the rural voter the most deeply
interesting portion of Mr.. Greeleys confess
sion will be that his ''favorite exercise" is
what to the professional agriculturist is the
dismal drudgery of trimming trees" and
''cutting out underbrush." A philosopher of
sixty who bows the woods beneath his sturdy
stroke and pretends to like it will be an OBJ
ject of wonder and worship to the fiy-gobbling
clodhopper of twenty-five. The imminence
of woman suffrage fully accounts for Mr.
Greeley's taking tea, and he is to be con-
graduated upon mot having time to make
himself disagreeable to everybody" and hav-
ing some habit to please everybody. If any
stubborn skeptic declines to be allured by
this artless and autobiographic statement of
the winsome ways of H. g., it is the fault of
his own hard heart.