Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-02-16

was no sense OF political oppression,
/ but Il consciousness that intellectual
| Independence WAS Not possible for him
III the conquered provinces. He set to-
work therefore. til master the French
language. accepted il position at Re
mircmont in the French Nosges, and
in 1882 went Is Paris, where he en-
tered upon ii successful career as a
minister and literary man. THE
Simple Life is the best known of sew
nal works that he has written. though
Youth and Courage and "The Better
Way" are fairly well known to Ameri-
ran readers
After President Roosevelt spoke in
complimentary terms of THE Simple
Life" such interest in the book and its
author developed i'll America that Rev.
to lecture. One of the first men he call
ed upon was President Roosevelt. and
concerning the visit he wrote the fol
lowing for Success magazine:
II was particularly struck with the
simplicity of the home life of the presi-
dent. 70 one accustomed to viewing
the pomp and ceremony which sur
round the rulers of Europe there
seems to be something. notable in the
entire lack of ostentation in the Roose-
welt family. | was surprised at Mr..
Rooseyelt's habit of inviting TO his pri-
waite dining table those who are doing
good work in the world quite regard
less of what their power or social po-
sition may be- He looks to the man him
self rather than to his appurtenances,
and this is a brushing away of the
superduities which is rare in men of
his position. In Washington | saw his
boys starting to public school and
one of them did not even bother to
Wear 4 hat. This. of course was Il
small matter, but it impressed me- In
Europe the children of ruler with not
one-tenth Of the power of Mr.. Roose-
welt do not 80 to school at all. much
less to Il public school. They have a
/ corps of private tutors and rarely ven
ture into the streets except in elabo-
rate equipages.
The observance of complete sim
plicity in his personal and family life
by the president of the United States.
one of the most powerful rulers on
earth has a wholesome influence not
only upon America. but also upon the
world at large"
When he landed in New York not
long ago Rev. Mr.. Wagner said:
Il love the American people. | want
n 70, COZ IN, fhris. ,t1.x-
and to know them personally TO OBJ
tain that end | learned their language,
and here | am
He referred TO the kind of English
he was about to speak, saying he had
studied the English language only Il
short while ago to tell the American
people of simplicity and that if 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 skyscrapers,
he said. but tell you that it is
1T is possible to live the simple life
on the twenty-fourth floor of New
York skyscraper in the midst of all the
noise and confusion. The simple life
is not Il thing of the first floor or the
fortieth. not of the shoes or the waist
coat, but of the heart.
Once in Paris, that great city of
dust and busy human life, l heard
lark singing in garden. He was
prisoner. it is true. But when | heard
him lifting up his voice to the blue sky
and l remembered the freedom of the
hills and the fields that had been mine
as a boy, the walls and houses of the
great city seemed to fade away. to
stretch out and expand.
Il speak to you here in the center Of
one of the most tremendous cities in
the world sing my song of simplici-
ty like lark in cage-but it is a good
place to sing it, The more | study
your national character here in Amer-
lea, the more | look into the founda
tons Of your government, the more
see of your stupendous energy, the
more | realize that at the bottom of it
all is the simplicity of your national
character
Il visited the White House at Wash
inston. | 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
chief executive was a guest of
your president. l pressed his hand
and | had many long talks with him
upon the great questions Of the day
And again | felt that Il splendid sim
plicity WAS at the root Of your national
character Stay true to your tradi-
tions: be true TO your convictions. The
human race demands it of you.
Or Wagner told how he came to
write THE Simple Life" He was call
ed upon while a pastor in Paris to
marry workman and his sweetheart.
One of the six witnesses was the
daughter of great politician.