Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-01

! He went from Strassburg to Got
! tingen I'm 1875. aud from there he re-
! turned to Alsace and became assistant
! pastor at the foot OF Ste. Otlille noun
tain. His native place had been taken
| into the Prussian territory. his pastor
| ate was within the new German from
tier, and for the first time the political
change began to weigh on him. There
was No sense of political oppression.
but u consciousness that intellectual
Independence was not possible for him
In the conquered provinces. He set 10
work. therefore. 10 master the flelca
language. accepted Il position ut Re
miremont. in the French NoSSes. and
in 1882 went II Paris. where he en-
tered upon Al successful career as
minister and literary man. The
Simple Life is the Lest known OF sew
eral works rli.it lac has written, though
Month and Cos.race" AMI The Better
Way" are fairly well known 10 Aine-i-
can readers.
After President Roosevelt spoke IN
complimentary terms OF The Simple
Life such interest in tie boCi, and its
author developed in America that Rev.
Mr.. Wagner came across the Atlantic
to lecture. One of the first men lie cGll-
ed upon was President Roosevelt, and
concerning the visit he wrote the fol-
lowing for Success magazine:
II was particularly struck with tie
simplicity OF the home life Of the pre-.
dent. To one accustomed to vieTi-,:,,
the pomp and ceremony which sur
round the rulers of Europe there
seems to lie something notable III the
entire lack of ostentation in the koose-
welt family. l was surprised at Mr..
Roosevelt's habit of inviting TO his pr'f-
vate dining table these who ;re a0ics
good work in the world quite regard
less of what their power or social pc
sition may be- He looks to the man Kim
self rather than to lis appurtenances.
and this is brushing away of the
superfuities which is rare in men %
his position. In Washington saw lis
boys starting TO a public school. ana
one of them did not even bother TO
wear hat. This. of course was Il
small matter but 1t impressed me. In
Europe tie children of ruler with not
one-tenth of tie power of Mr.. Roose-
welt do not go to school at all, much
less to a public school. They have 4
corps CT private tutors and rarely ven
ture into the streets except in elabo-
rate equipaSeS.
TIE observance of complete sim
plicity in his personal ana family life
by tie president of the United States.
one OF the most powerful rulers on
earth. has wholesome influence not
only upon America. bat also upon the
world at large"
When he landed IN New York not
long ago Rev. Mr.. Wagner said:
Il love the American people. l want
ed to see them in their own country
and to know them personally. To OBJ
tain that end learned their language
and here l am"
He referred to the kind of English
he was about to speak. saying he had
studied the English language only a
short while ago 20 tell the American
people OF simplicity, and that il any
accidents" occurred it would not be
by generalization.
Il know that You are saying in your
hearts that it is not possible to live the
simple life In this great city of rush
ing thought and energy. this city of
tremendous activities and skyscrape-s,"
1T Is possible to live the simple life
on the twenty-fourth floor of New
York sliyscraper in the midst OF all the
noise and confusion. The simple lie
is not thing Of tie first floor or the
fortieth. not Of the shoes or The waist |
coat. but of the heart
Once ia Paris. that great city OF
dust and busy human life. l heard Il |
lark singing in II garden. He WIS u |
prisoner. ii is true. But when l heard |
him lifting up his voice to the blue sky |
and remembered the freedom OF the |
hills and the fields that had been mine |
as boy, the walls and houses of the |
great city seemed to fade away, to |
stretch ont and expand.
Il speak to you here in the center of |
one of the most tremendous cities in |
the world. / Sing my song of simpiici- |
ty like a lark in Il caGe-but it is Il good |
place to sing it. The more | study |
your national character here in Amer |
lea, the more i look into the founda |
tions of your government, the more / |
see of your stupendous energy. the |
more l realize that at the bottom of it |
all is the simplicity of your national /
character.
II visited the White House at Wash /
ineton. L found there nothing Of the /
grandeur of the homes of kings and |
kaisers, but the pure simplicity of /
great people expressed in the home Of L
chief executive. / was guest OF |.
your president. l pressed his hand, /
and had many long talks with him Il
upon the great questions of the day. II
And again l felt that splendid sim 1
piicity was at the root Of your national Il
character. Stay true TO your tradi- II
lions; be true to your convictions. The
human race demands it of you
DIR. Wagner told how he came to
write The Simple Life" He was call
ed upon while n pastor in Paris to
marry a workman and his sweetheart. II
One of the six witnesses was the
daughter Of great politician.