The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-03
THE LITERARY SIDE OF
 AMERICAN PRESIDENTS.

The present President of the Onlteu States is not the first head of the natioi says Charles M. Harvey in The St. Louis Globe Democrat. Several Of Colonei Rooseyelt's predecessors. notably Jener- son and the second Adams, were very handy with the per, pm,sTs None near or so oe many books which have been read by tne general public as President RooseVelt nds done, but at least three of them-JeHer- son. Madison and John Sulncy. .foa1 nd economic literature, which students n those fields take especial pains 10 coisos., H Washington himself had what may pc called literary side; HIS s.S %risius hn 1arad Sparks tWo-thirds of a century ago, some of which are of great importance 70 SUI dents, filled twelve volumes. other eoi- iections of Washington's works which comprised many letters and other mater which Sparks overlooked. In Sparks eol- tion there is a good deal Of sparks. TOT he took liberties in the way of changing words and altering sentences in the org inal such as no editor would assume at the present time. The extent or the H. brary which the appraisers or hls estate most of the standard works of the tims in many fields, showed that the father or his country had literary tastes.
 John Adams wrote book shortly pc
 
 contributed a little to the gayety Of pol. itics for awhile during that perioo. ' was called "A Defense or the ConsItu- tion of Government of the Unted states of America" and was designed 10 snow the advantages which his country's gov ernment had over those of the other na- tions of the world of that age: . Aoams was a vivacious and trenchant writer, principal countries. He was an especial admfrer of a second chamber like the Senate of the United States, put ne ao- mired it for reasons which did not com izens. According to Adams. the rich. the well born and the able will acqulrS an influence among the people that VIII soon be too much for simple honesty ana plain sense in a House of Representa-. lives" These superior persons would naturally gravitate toward the Senate, and the system of checks ana balances between the different departments or me M people benefited. But the phrase WeLl M born" was unfortunate. It excited the ridicule of his political enemies and hu- initiated some of his frlenos: TOT nI5 ene voiced Adams was unmercifuliy lam pooned by some of the Democratic Journ- alists and literary free lances of the tune His life and works. edlted ny ms g rI; oHs sa ten volumes, and some of the letters ana essays which these volumes contain give A clearer light on the political movements of tn etime than is crar2 oontSl1edi writer i ''0
 But with the exception of John l2ulncy Adams, Jefferson was the most Nolulllh- ous writer of all the men who nave ever sat in the presidential chair, though tne greater part of his literary product was in the shape of epistles. In an age Wnet ietter-w writing was pracuced to an extent far beyond that of the present age, Jel- fefson was the most persistent ana pro IEao af on writers. Of ms DOORS, The "Notes on Virginia" the "Anas ana the EManual of Parliamentary PractlGE
 are those which are best known. iis personal letters, though, comprise the greater part of the work of his pen. Jet- ferson's fad was omniscience. He had a fair knowledge of many Of the arts anu sciences of the day and wrote on all of them The circle of his interests ani activities was much broader than that Of any other President, even than or the second Adams, although the 1ormal li aai systematic work of the latter surpassed Jefferson's. The collected works or the third President comprise about dozen volumes chiefly in the shape or letters The labor which he performed m cotLt- iI,t spondence, in those days when typWJlilt- ing machines were unknown, was prong ioEs. One of Jefferson's early blograph- CTS said: "It would be happy clrcumc stance for America and for the mass or mankind if the works or JeHerson c0ulu M obtain A circulation which would place them in the hands of every individual. fTnfnrtunately, the form in which they have appeared is not the most adNd9t- ageous to the accomplishment or tnls oe- sirable purpose. The publication is too voluminous and consequently too expen- siye to admit of a general introducuon among all classes, nor IS the mode ol arrangement the best adapted 10 us rec ception into ordinary use as a work ot reference" ,.,. ,..c..
 This drudgery of letter writing, JeneT- son kept up until near the end or ms life. His good nature was lmposed upo by persons who had not the slightest claim on his time or attention. In a noto to John Adams, in 1917, Jefferson salo tndI in answering the mass Of letters Whcu came to him he usually worKeo ron rtse,, SUI rise to 1 or o'clock in the afternoon' and sometimes followed 1t up rom am ner to dark. A glance over ms letters shows that he must have been pestereo with cranks. busybodies and lunaucs be- vond anything related of any other person in history. His unwillingness to slight anybody who would address nm on any
 thing, made him the Victlm or astrqI3I- istic dreamers and persons with all kinds oF lads and hobbies. The widest sort or fantasies and absurdites made constant demands on his time Ihe ne sno1SSTS 5TSn aboHe I5 f
 on the earth beneath and in the waters under the earth: ,,..,o ,o+o. tho, this. or in 1922. he shows thar ms ms our lighter There is a pathetic ingenious ness in his plaint. T do not know how YsS won m may suffer as do," he said, ,'un- der the persecution of letters of which THci! every mail brings me fresh load They are letters of inquiry, for the most part, written kindly and civilly, and to which. therefore civility requires an- swers. I happened to tprn to ,,In; my ositv was excited to count those re- ceiyed in a single year. It was the year Sefore the last I found the number to of aleNorate research, and | to be an sv- I'd Tritr due attention and consde'- alton. Then he asks. win t9uching To'oleserc~s which rss also dash of thr comic n r; "Is n 79 He answers: At best it Is but the life of mill horse, who sees no end to his circle but in death. TO sucnr, a life that of cabbage is paradise" This terrible brain rac<ing drudgery, as he said, often pre- vented him from getting leisure enough to enable him to read page of a book a week At the time when he was telling of the martyrdom to which he was sub jected Jefferson was 79 years of age. Personal popularity, affability and the common belief in his omniscience carried with them tremendous penalties to the