Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-09-21
TIE WIVES OF GREAT MEN
MANY PUBLIC FIGURES OWE suc-
CESS TO MARRIAGE.

dsuts-0rcas Men - . Rule Are Hap
ply 1Garried-Mmes. Garfield. Hayea
Cisvsiand. Logan, whitney. Carlisie, Etc.
Especial Correspondencel
WASHINGTON, Sept 10.-As one secs
more and more Of the successful men Of
tho times. and learns more and more
about their daily lives, the stronger be-
comes his convictions that the men ON
whom fortune smiles have their wives
as often to thank as the fates. Marriage
Ii certainly not failure among states
men. doubt II it is failure, or any.
where near failure, with the men who
achieve success in any field Of human
endeavor. Though 1t Is easy to deduce
from the divorce statistics that, taking
the country through, ono marriage in q
dozen ends in separation, the faiy infer
ence from this being that for every d.
vorce there are four or five other matri-
monial misfits, giving the startling total
of 80 per cent. Of failures, no such rule
applies to the successful men rs a class.
The man who achieves political or
other success in these days does SO in the
face of fierce competition. II he would
reach the summit, a senatorship, scat
in the cabinet, or on the supreme bench,
or high place among the members Of
the house Of representatives, his life
must be record of successes. A single
failure, one mistake. is often fatal The
race Is to the strong, the victory to the
enduring, and hence the man who makes
a mistake In that most important Of all
undertakings, that most serious Of all
contracts, matrimony, generally finds
himself outrun by his moro fortunate
fellows. A little philosophy like this
makes it easy to understand the fact
which is impressed on tho mind of every
person who well knows many successful
men.
Washington for study Of the influence Of
wives upon the fortunes Of ambitious
men, and it is genuine pleasure to
write down the fact that the wife seems
stronger and more potential the closer
her work is scanned. With surprisingly
few exceptions the great public men Of
today are happily and successfully mar
ried. Not only happily, which means
love and peace in the household, but
successfully, in the sense that they have
life partners worthy of them, partners
who are intellectual as well as moral
helpers. When one sits down and calls
to mind the famous men who owe much,
very much, TO their wives, whose wives
have helped make them, tho number Of
such is soon seen to be strikingly large.
Some Of these may be properly named
here.
There are exceptions to the rule, Of
course, men of power and genius, who
have pulled themselves up, though
weighted down by partnership with wo-
men not their equals, with women who
have little character, small intellects, de-
ficient emotion and bad instincts None
of these will mention by name, because
it would be highly improper to do 10;
but could point the pen toward num-
Der Of successful men who deserve all
the more credit for their accomplish
ments from the fact that their marriages,
though not productive of positive unhap-
piness, havo resulted in failure in the
broader sense.
Another fact which the student Of
sociology will do well to consider is that
surprisingly small number of success
full men are bachelors. cannot call to
mind in congress- dozen men who never
married, though, of course, there may
be more than that, and there are also a
number Of widowers. II appears to be
pretty well understood in this country
that bachelorhood is n positive handicap
to the ambitious man, particularly IL he
is politician. The people look upon q
q,
lacking, suspicious. Bachelors now in
congress say they could DO more easily
reelected, could, with less expense and
effort, hold their own at home, had
they wives to help them. If it is
true that wife of the right sort
is help to a statesman at home, it is
doubly true Of his efforts at the capital.
Here the good wife-the gifted, intui-
tive, intellectual wife--is :. jewel. There
are many prominent public men who
have wives that shine in society, make
friends for them, help them hold the
friends they have; there arc many, too,
with no wife at all is Mt great disadvan-
tage; the man who does not marry joins
those other unfortunates, the misfits in
giving comfort to pcssimists who hold
that marriage Is failure. Samuel j.
Tilden would have been q moro
popular man had he MAJ lied; 80
would James Buchanan; and thS Ugh
Grover Cleveland was elected presidei..
when bachelor, and defeated after be-
coming n benedict, no one will deny
that his marriage TO handsome Frances
Folsom gained him new popularity and
brought him closer to the people.
Davy Burns, whose house, the first
built in Washington, still stands Just
south of the White House, once said
very suggestive and rather impertinent
thing to George Washington. The IA
ther Of his country had been trying to
buy Burns land to build the Federal
City upon, but Burns was obdurate and
irritable, and the negotiations were at
times conducted in bad humor. Finally
the old Scotchman exclaimed "What
would you have amounted to, George
Washington, if it hadn't been for the
widow Gusts" The suggestiveness Of
this remark will be apparent when one
remembers that Washington's marriage
was certainly the best stroke Of good
luck that could have come TO him at tho
time. II is really serious question il
Washington would have become great
man but for this fortunate marriage.
His wife brought him wealth, bettered
his social position, gave him opportu-
nifty, and throughout life was his help
meet and adviser. The wives Of the pres
idents, with few exceptions, have been
worthy partners OF great men. Abigail
Adams was one Of the cleverest women
Of her day, sthe prop, guide, solace and
glory of John Adams life. Dolly Madi-
son was one OF the most popular Amer
lean women that ever lived jefferson