The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-11-25
TOO MUCH NAME.

l
| A committee which was arranging for
a sound money demonstration in New
| Brunswick, N j., the other day, called
| on Vice-President-elect Hobart and
asked him to be present. Mr.. Hobart,
in explaining why he could not accept
the invitation, said that he had about
seyenty-fve invitations to attend din
ners and celebrations on the day set for
the New Brunswick affair, and added
that ''if he did nothing else but write
autographs for the babies he would be
very busy" In answer to an inquiry
of one Of the committeeman as to what
he meant by writing autographs for
the babies" Mr. Hobart said: why, l
have had 800 of them named after me
so far and the end is not in sight" 1t is
an honor certainly to have so many
fond parents adopting ones name for
their offspring, but it entails responsible
tiles and embarrassments that even the
most ambitious man would gladly be
without. Mr.. Hobart has found that
even tie consumption of time entailed
by the Office Of political godfather is
very considerable. When a man has to
write autographs for 800 babies, with
others clamoring for recognition, the
situation becomes monotonous, not to
say tedious. 1t might be matter of
pride up to the twentieth baby. and en-
durable up to the fiftieth, but by the
time Mr.. Hobart has bestowed his auto
graph and his blessing upon the S00th,
it is not impossible that he may wish he
were Mr.. Sewall, persona non grata to
political babies, as well as to citizens of
larger growth. The disposition to name
ones infant phenomenon after some
great or prominent person is not new
manifestation. The Baltimore Sun says
it has its origin in varying reasons and
sentiments. sbme Of them possibly wise
and some of them extremely otherwise.
The most frequent motive is doubtless a
desire to express admiration and to do
honor to man whose name is thought
to represent greatness in principle or in
achievement. A poor man has no money
with which to purchase a present or to
give q dinner to the man whom he de-
sizes to honor. but he is proyerbially
blessed with children, and how can he
better express his devotion than by at
taching some member of his family to
the tribe of the great one, nominally at
least? So in the United States we have
had innumerable Thomas Jeffersons,
Andrew Jacksons, Abraham Lincolns.
Grants, Lees, etc, and now come bril-
gades of Hobarts, and, no doubt, also of
McKinleys, and, it may be, even of Bry-
ans and Tom Watsons, for occasionally
the post-election baby is made to as
sumo the name of the beaten candidate
as a sort of delicate solace for the de-
feated. Often "Raby Bunting is used
with the hope of furthering the political
of the father or with the
idea Of gaining some local notoriety and
perhaps, with the hope that
the distinguished appellation may prove
a name to conjure with and may lend
some of its greatness to the adopter.
Readers of Kenelm Chillingly will re-
member the interesting disquisition in
the early chapters of that book on the
subject Of selecting suitable names for |
babies, and the wise conclusion that eff |
you innict upon a man the burden Of |
one Of those names, the glory of which |
be can not reasonably expect to eclipse |
or even equal, you crush him beneath |
the weight. If poet were named John |
Milton or William Shakespeare, he |
could not dare to publish even SON
net" How many mute, inglorious Julius
Caesars, Napoleon Bonapartes and
George Washingtons have hidden their
heads in utter helplessness,
borne down TO earth by the weight OF
glory infii;.tec upon them in baptism,
who, IL named Tom, Dick or Harry,
might have led happy lives, and even
possibly have attained the distinction Of
going to the city council or the legisla-
lure. There is much in a name, ia spite
IF Shakespeare, or there Is much in too
much name.