Arizona republican., 1905-01-30
The Penalties of Distinction.

Some of the yellow journals are de
 voting whole page--duly illustrated
 of course-to articles concerning MT
 Roosevelt's exercises in physical cul-
 ture No doubt such articles are read
 or they would not be printed
 One of the inevitable penalties oi
 distinction is an insatiable public curi-
 osity. Once a man mounts the pedas-
 tai or gets into the limeIight the pub
 lie must know all about his pcculiarit-
 ies and peccadillOs. II is not the way
 of his greatness that they seek to learn.
 but the ways and habits that proclaim
 his kinship to ordinary humanity. One
 of Barry's characters tells a budding
 newspaper man that no one wants to
 read his opinions on the cosmic phiIo5-
 ophy. but if he should see Herbert
 Spencer looking into q milliners win
 dow he might write two columns on it.,
 and find a ready market for his copy. Herbert Spencer paid the penalty of greatness. The people read, not his
 cosmic philosophy. but the story of his affection for George Eliot. They know the frugal bill of fare of his early days and can make an inventory of the meager furniture of his apartments
 They know all about his long struggle with i'll health. His cosmic philosophy has only served to make interesting his coming and going, his eating and drinking, his friendships and antipath- iec. and all the varied experiences in which he met common humanity on level ground. People who have never read "In MemOriam" know all about Tennyson's blue cloak. Thousands to whom Sartor Resartus is sealed with the seven seals know all about the do- mestic differences of the Carlyle house. hold. ThOreau is known by the hut he built and the beans he hood at Walden pond. Open the worlds history where we will and human curiosity is the same. King David is revealed to us not in the statesmanship that made a tribe into a nation, but in his nanifes- tations of the strength and weakness of ordinary humanity. It is the same in every walk of life.
 The society leader may entertain her guests with brilliant conversation but the newspapers will tell merely what she wore and how she looked. The public care little about the economic principles and problems involved in the amassing of the Standard Oil mill lions. but they want to know what Mir Rockefeller has for breakfast and whether he is an early or a late riser This is the penalty that Mir Rocke- feller must pay for his fortune. All the private affairs of his life must be laid | bare to an inquisitive public. Some l times the public interest seems to be in | inverse ratio to the public importance | of an issue.
 Often when the personal habits of | distinguished or prominent people are laid bare to an inquisitive public. ordi- | nary mOrtals must feel thankful that | in their own humble sphere they can | eat or drink. rise or retire. come or go ] and be joyful or sad without fear or thought Of the prying eye of popular curiosity. All prominent men seek re- lief occasionally from this unsuitable ! regarding their personal af- fairs. They find some place where they arc not known and where they can be i themselves for a few days without the need of posturing themselves to effect a popular ideal But none can get into the public eye without paying the pen alty of public curiosity. The dinners, the parties. the dances, the receptions all tEe joys as well as the sorrows Of the prominent and distinguished are now recorded and published. Some may like the distinction of the publicity for a time. but it must soon grow weary ing. Yet it is a part of the burden Of greatness that the ambitious must bear. The public have no right to in quire when a distinguished man goes to bed or when he rises. But they will know, and will not rest content till they do know, and there are plenty of m en willing to pay the penalty.