The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-10-26
THE PASSING SHOW.

This Is the journalistic veteran. Jo How
ards, description OF Thomas B Reed:
what a hale fellow. jolly, well met he Is!
Large-minded. wide-bannered hearty
hammered and always up to date. What
ever may be his fortune next year. there
can be no doubt of his fast-growing popu-
larity In all the years 10 come. Brains
alone count, heart alone counts, but when
In felicitous combination, brains and heart
pun hand In hand together they become n
potentially with very big L indeed"
May be II Is worth telling. and may be IL
isn't; but us a fact that there are few
men In public life AZ popular az Is Reed
with the newspaper fraternity. lie Il one
of the rare number OF public men who
can be genial and courteous to the news
gatherers without losing Il proper sense
of his dignity or inspiring their critical
souls with contempt II It were left TO
Newspaper Row" In Washington, Reed
would be the next president without a dis
sentlng vote.
Daniel l.. Hart. the Wilkes Barre dra-
matist Is required by the exigencies OF
his present employment to enact a double
role. Part OF the time he travels In ad-
vanc of the Robson company as Lawrence
Hart, distant relative OF the author OF
Robson's play; and the remainder OF the
time, with n change OF costume. he re-
appears on the scene in propria persona,
and receives compliments on his close re-
semblance to the advance man. The rea-
son for this doubling up was humorous
ly explained by Mr.. Hart when In Scranton
recently: II haven't the nerve. you see,
to 40 into n strange town. visit the news
paper offices and say: 'Robson's play this
year IL great: the finest thing he ever did
i wrote IT,, So. part OF the time, am
Lawrence Hart, and In the capacity Of
third cousin to the playwright I can
crack the show up without blushing or
winning the title of the galllest man on
earth"
Count Leo Tolstoy. the Russian novelist
and reformer. Is a vigorous hater OF Eng
land. He says the English and the Zulus
should he herdcd together as the two most
brutal nations OF the earth. HIS chief re-
gret he declares. is that he cannot spare
the time to write u book about the Eng
lsh people.
Discussing the traditional unhapplness
of presidents while In Office Walter Well
man cites both Harrison and Cleveland as
conspicuous recent examples and adds:
Harrison like Cleveland. burdened him
self with details of all sorts which should
have been left wholly to cabinet ministers
and other subordinates, This is one of the
curses Of the presidential bfticc. The
power Is In the executive hands, and he
thinks he must attend pe,sunally to Its
use In order to meet bis responsibility.
Particularly Is this true IN making APP
pointments. Why should not the presi-
dent leave the selection 81 al lpstmasters
to the postmaster general, nf All collectors
to the secretary of the traasury.' OF all
other officers to the heads of various de-
partments? Instead OF that the president
assumes to make decisions himself All
important cases are carried 20 the white
house. Thus the president is overwhelmed
with work and harassed by callers. Worse
still, his confidence in human nature IL
soon impaired or DESTROYED. one hour he
worries because he has been too flexible
L. a. n
him reproachlng himself for having been
too severe upon friend. The presidency
Is too big for this sort OF porsonal admin
istration The government has outgrowr
that method. What would be thought Of q
railroad president who would not trust
his division superintendent to appoint sta
tion agents and freight conductors ~ II
Is noticed that. the unhappiness of heing
president doesn't prevent presidents from
wanting very ardently to hang on to
their job.