Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-04-18
;OUTslDE POINT OF VIEW.

Writtcn for the Times Republican.
There is one feature connected with
the death of ex-President Harrison
thnt has been lightly touched upon by
the press and magazine writer's and
that is, he retained UP TO the hour of
the attack OF the disease which ended
fatally the full possession of his men
tai faculties. This will strike some az
a curious statement. All men, unless
afflicted with diseases that originate In
or gravftate towards the brain are sup
posed to retain their mental acuteness1
to their last hour. But this Is far from
being true. especially among public
men. whose wear and tear Of brain
force is tremendous II must be ac-
cepted that the mental qualifications
and activities depend largely upon
bodily health and conditions. Az the
brain qualities grow With the years of
age Of the body, so must the race down
the Hill show decrease In the same
ratio with body and mind.
Individual cases used as Illustrations
prove but little, but they have this ad-
vantage, the reader and writer have
common knowledge of their lives and
acts. 1t is unnecessary to go back be-
You'd the memory of thsee-fourths of
the present newspaper readers. For
instance, Bismarck lived twenty years
too long. His reputation waned from
the day of the death Of HE friend, the
kaiser He said and wrote things that
the Bismarck of twenty years before
would have deemed impossible. Glad
stone. the grand old man, in his public
utterances for period % ten years be-
fore his death gave his political oppo-
nenss much vantage ground And
Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm
felt the mental ravages of time 10 such
an extent that allowances We're made
! for them. thissin degree not accorded
to Gladstone and Bismarck, In this
country the fatality that seems TO fol-
| low eX-presidents has left but little
/ history Of aged ex-presidents. Nature
has been extremely kind in this re-
spect toward our former rulers. There
| is one cad case. however, of promi-
nent man of this country, that of the
secretary of the treasury. who was left
in office all too many years.
sst
And as one turns his thoughts toward
4 his immediate circle of business ac-
quaintances he must see several ole.
/ IIicIl III 5tOIItIVl Oh various enterprises,
whose business growth is much retard-
! ed by such control. To put 1t In ia
milan way, these old men want to do
/ business on the ground floor. not even
climb a few stairs. will not use ths
modern elevator. Not only do these old
linen dislike stair climbing bodily, bu.
they do mentally. All of which goes tc
prove that the mind Of man is yer,
much influenced by digestion, blood cir.
4 culation and sleep. There is reason
i why the old man takes so many "shor,
maps" He Will not admit. in fact does
not know that nature is doing for hin
4 the recuperative work she did say Il
years ago. The writer once played 8
. game of chess with an old man who hat
4 played the game with the same set o.
men for over 80 years. And when thu
old man excused himself at the clos.
of the second game by saying, for tn,
past few years the game seemed to tir,
him more than formerly" he coul,
have added with equal truth the gam
OF life tired him more than formerly
Harrison played the game Of III,
strongly, to within 10 days of his death
So it would seem that worse thing
there are than dying just at the tim
when mind and body are at their best
This assuming that in a future exist
, ence we value the good ojinion Of tn
friends we leave behind.