Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-15
Chapter XI-Continued.

Chapter XI-Continued.
few days later while what Carlotta
overlook me walking to the Capitol. AS we
went on together l was smiling to
myself. He certainly did look and
talk like President. He was Of the aver
age height, Of the average build, and of q
sort of average facial mold; he had hair
that was compromise among the average
shades Of brown. gray and black, with a
bald spot just where most men have It,
His pose-I saw that Carlotta was
shrewdly right. He was acutely self-con-
sciOus, and was acting his pose every in
slant. He had selected 1t early in life; he
would wear it. even in his nightshirt. until
death. He said nothing brilliant, but neither
did he say anything that would not have
been generally regarded as sound and sem
sible. HIS impressive manner of delivering
his words made one overvalue the freight
they carried. But l soon found, for /
studied him with increasing interest, thanks
to my new point of view upon him-I soon
found that he had one quality the reverse
of commonplace. He had magnetism.
whenever new candidate was proposed
for Mazarins service. he used to ask first
of all, Has he luck?' my first question
has been. Has he magnetism" and 1
think mine is the better measure. Such Of
ones luck as Is not the laundering blind
ness of ones opponents is usually the result
of ones magnetism. However, 1t is about
the most dangerous of the free gifts Of ma
ture-which are all dangerous Burbank 8
merit lay IN his discreet use of IT. 1t COM
PEELED men to center upon him; he turned
this to his advantage by making them feel
not how he shone. but how they shone.
They went away liking him because they
had new reasons for being In love with
themselves
I foupd opJv two oorto,,. x,,,,l~noc,o. yr1,a
1rst was that he lacked the moral cour-
age boldly to do either right or wrong
That explained why. in spite OF
his talents for impressing people both
privately and from the platform he was
at the end of his political career. The sec
ond weakness was that he was ashamed
OF his very obscure and humble origin. He
knew that his being wholly self-made'
1t accordingly. But he looked on it some
what as the beggar looks on the deformity
he exhibits to get aims.
Neither weakness made him less valua BILE
to my purpose-the first one, II anything
increased his value I wanted an instru-
ment that was capable, but strong only
when / used it.
l wanted a man suitable for development
first into governor of my state, and then
into President. l could not have got
the presidency for myself. but neither did
I want 1t. My longings were all for power
the reality. not the shadow. In republic
the man who has the real power must be
out of view If he is within view, a mil
lion hands stretch to drag him from the
forward his puppets and changing them
when the people grow bored angry with
them. And the Presdent-In all important
matters he must obey his party, which is,
after all, simply the interests that
finance it; In unimportant matters, his So
called power is whitfield down by the
party's leaders and workers. whose require
ments may not be disregarded He shakes
the plum tree. but he does 1t under orders;
others gather the fruit and he gets only
the exercise and the honor"
I had no yearning for puppetship how
ever exalted the title or sonorous the fame;
but to be the power that selects the king
puppet of the political puppet-hierarchy, 10
be the power that selects and rules him
that was the logical development of my
career.
In Burbank I thought had found a man
worthy to wear the puppet robes-one VINO
would glory in them. He, like most of the
little who was behind the throne. provided
he himself was seated upon it. the crown
on his head and the crowds tossing the hats
that shelter their thinking brains.
Also, In addition to magnetism and pres
ence, he had dexterity and distinction and
as much docility as can be expected in
man big enough to use for important work.
In September 1 gave him our party nomi-
nation for governor. In our one-sided state
that meant his election.
AS I had put him into the governorship
after, 1t was necessary to protect him from
my combine, which had destroyed his two
immediate predecessors by over-use-they
had become so unpopular that their political
careers ended with their terms. Protect
him | must, though the task would be
neither easy nor pleasant. 1t involved a col
lision with my clients - square test of
strength between us. What was to me far
more repellent, 1t involved my personally
taking a hand in that part of my political
work which l had hitherto left to Woodruff
and his lieutenants.
One does not in person chase and catch
and kill and dress and serve the chicken he
has for dinner; he orders chicken, and hears
and thinks no more about II until 1t is
served. Thus, all the highly disagreeable
part of my political work was done by
others; Woodruff, admirably capable and
most careful to spare my feelings, received
the demands of my clients from their law
yevs and transmitted them to the party
leaders in the legisla ture with the instruc-
lions how the machinery was to be used in
making them into law. AS i was financing
the machines of both parties his task was
not difficult, though delicate.
But now that | began to look over Wood
ruff's legislative program in advance, l was
amazed at the rapacity of my clients, rapa-
cious though knew them to be. had been
thinking that the Independent newspapers
there were few such, but of small circu-
lation and intluence-Were malignant IN
their alta cks upon my friends In fact,
as l soon saw, they had told only small
part of the truth. They mad not round out
the worst things that were done; nor had
they grasped how little the legislature and
the governor were doing other than the
business of the big corporations. most of it
of doubtful public benefit. to speak tenn
perately An hours study of the facts
and l realized as never before why we are
so rapidly developing breed of multi
milionaires in this country with all the
opportunities to wealth in their hands.
l had only to remember that the sys-
tenn which ruled my own state was In
full blast in every one Of the states Of the
Union Everywhere, no sooner do the peo-
pie open or propose to open new road
into a source of wealth. than men like these
clients of mine hurry to the politicians and
buy the rights to set up toll gates and to fix
their own schedule of tolls.
However, the time had now come when
/ must assert myself. I made radical
changes in that first program of Burbank's
term / contented myself with cutting off
the worst items. those 1t would have ruined
Burbank to indorse. My clients were soon
grumbing, but Woodruff handled them we'll,
plac ting them with excuses that soothed
their annoyance to disconnected silence.
So ably did he manage it that not until
Burbank's third year did they begin to
come directly to and complain Of the