The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-12
TO BE A PUBLIC MAN.
A Certain Amount of Advance Adver-
tiscment Necessary.

Boston Transcript.
Senator Lodge has observed that TO be
even a member of Congress one must have
impressed himself upon at least 10000 peo-
pie. A cynical-minded person might cnar-
acterize a politician or aspirant for public
favor who was so equipped as well ad-
vertised" and while being advertised and
being we'll known are by no means the
same. there is between the two a certain
practical resemblance. Two men in public
life may go about the same work, accom-
plishing the same results and yet one may
do 1t In such way that nobody ever hears
of him it. while the other may make a
national name for himself and fame for
the undertaking. This difference of meth
cd is in most cases not the result of con-
scious effort; it is the disposition of some
persons to do things in a dramatic way.
But why does it help a man in politics, it
may be pertinently asked, to be well
known? Why is it that what is cynically
termed advertising contributes so much
to success?
The answer to these questions is prob
ably found in a certain streak of vanity
IT. the everyday voter. Mr.. Blank, for ex-
ample. takes up his newspaper n the even
ing. and in surprise remarks: why, they
have nominated Spriggs for Congress in the
Nineteenth district "And who is Mr..
Spriggs?" asks Mrs. Blank. why, don't
you know? He is the man who vetoed so
many bills when mayor of his city; he
| made such point of opposing any more
| bridges across the river there. that he came
| TO be known 'No-bridge Spriggs.' Then
when he spoke on Memorial day to the
| Sons of Veterans he said things the like of
| which were never before heard on such ar
| occasion. You remember that his compar-
fson of the civil war and the Spanish war
was quoted all over the State
| Now, it has teen source Of great salts
faction to Mr.. Blank TO be able to give all
this information about the new candidate
! for Congress. His pride as a man well
versed in affairs has been rather tickled
with the record of the nominee. His feel
| ings would have been entirely different
had he been unable, when his wife asked
for the informa ton, to name single thing
| about the new man. And so without being
conscious of it he has come to like, other
| things being equal, the aspirant for popu-
| lar favor of whom he has heard much
| and to be correspondingly Indifferent to-
wards the one of whom he knows little.
| Practical proofs of the value of being
| well known are on every hand. Mr.. Roose-
velt who was nominated for Vice Presi-
| dent at Philadelphia with so much en-
| thusiasm as TO make it plain that had the
| convention needed a presidential candi-
4
| nishes a good illustration He has done
| his work in the world in such a way,
| natural and spontaneous, to be sure. that
| the public could not help knowing about It
and of him. 1t is safe to say that even
/ before his recent rise in politics, if the
| question had been asked on an examina-
| ton paper: who have been members of
| the National Civil-service Commission
| since its organization? his name would
/ have been the only one upon half the
papers. He filled that office, not for n
long time but IN fat suen nd "; way as to make
| known. The same thing is true of every
| civil office he ever held. His activities as
| police commissioners of New York were so
| unique as to make his term of service
there we'll remembered. When the Spanish
war broke out he took part in Ii which
gives point to the campaign jibe that his
| book should be called, "Alone in Cuba.
| The Rough Rider idea was rather original:
the regiment included cowboys and col
| legans and interested all classes OF
the community. 1t had distinctive name
and appearances; when the time for fight
| ing came it retained that individuality.
| And Colonel Roosevelt's round robin
| helped to save it from any lapse into OBJ
| security.
The result was that by 1898. or therea-
| bouts, everybody in the United States had
| heard of Theodore Roosevelt There had
| been and were still on the scenes greater
| soldiers, greater civil administrators, great
| er orators, if, indeed, he can be said to be-
| long to the first rank in any of these
| classes, and yet the demand Tor Roosevelt 8
| political preferment was spontaneous and
| widespread. The Philadelphia convention
| was largely a Roosevelt demonstration.
| His campaign tour through the West has
| been a series of ovations. He is plainly the
| coming man, and unless some one else
| arises to steal the chief place in the popu-
| lar eye his nomination for the presidency
I'm 1904 seems highly probable. If the vice
| presidency does not suddenly become an Of
fee of first Importance during his incum-
| bency of it his friends will be greatly sur
| prised.
Another man who is coming into public
| notice is much the same way is Mr. Bird
| S. Coler, of New York. He fills munich
| pal office which does not ordinarily bring
its incumbent into much notice, but he has
| been an exception. and unless all signs fail
| he will be heard from further in the Demo-
! cratic party of New York And there are
| many other men whose experience is so
| similar as TO suggest that a very good
| substitute for actual greatness, far as
| political preferment is concerned, is the
| ability TO do things in such way as to
compel public attention.