The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17

dOND F ROBSON
 started out on a lecture tour on great i educational subject. His friends feared failure, but their fears were soon al layed. He took" from the very start His audiences caught his spirit, as ne spoke out to them tsomewhat awk- wardly at firsD, in a big. but well modulated voice, on a big well modu- lated subject, from a big well modu- lated mind, a big well modulated heart, and a big wei moduIated soul.
 Today he is probably the most success full and certainly the hardest working lecturer on the American platform. While he has been thus engaged in mak- ing living, paying family debts, contri- outing to charity and public enter prises. he has had the opportunity of travelling over his great country. and learning 1t and its people. and of cor rectlng the shamefully erroneous i'm pressions the people had of htmsef; His vastly strenuous student life, his tremendous labors in the past in stead ly storing up knowledge and filling his mind with the essentiol features of the countries he has visited. Europe, Asia and Africa, and the islands of the sea; his keen insight into current condi- tions; his resultant fine sense of pro- portion, by which he is enabled to ap- praise men and conditions at their ex act value; all, combine to make him a great thinker. This was proven, when at the convention at Anniston he made such strong speech on Ala bama's interest in the Panama canal. and even more notably when at the great cotton convention at New Or ileans, he made probably the profound est economic deliverance of any of the great speeches delivered there. It was | also shown in the last national cam paign, by the easy way in which he handled the tariff question, the cor | porations, trusts, etc, both the com mitteemen and the big newspapers of | thesYplaces where he spoke. uniting in i the statement that his speeches were l the ablest of any of the crack speak CTS. of either party. and did the most good for the Democratic. cause. | In Politics.
 | His latest venture is into the field of politics. in which it goes without say ing. he will sooner or later be suc- | cessful (for temporary failure or re- peated failure for that matter, don't | faze him. a particle). and will con | tinue to do things as a statesman. His friends have such faith in him that they are grooming him for the very highest stations.
 How finely does hts habit of doing things dovetail with the second trait.
 
 for such trained mind, heart and soul to see in nearly every case exactly what Is its duty. As young boy un- I der noble training at home and school. he made up his mind that duty was the lsupreme thing. Then he reasoned that lit was his duty to make all of himself | that he possibly could. Assuming that the navy was the best field. he went to Annapolis There he soon had the most terrible test probably that ever befeN a youth in this world. But he reasoned out his duty and did 1t. know | ing what the consequences would be. As a result his sensitive young spirit had to suffer what probably no other young spirit ever suffered. But he never flinched. He held out with high head, firmly to the end, and finally tri- | umphed.
 1 First Small Things.
 He thought it his duty to his family, State and section, to try to stand flrst at Annapolis; and. he did 1t with enor- nous labor. He felt it his duty at Paris to try to stand first and he did 1 it. with a system of such tremen- dous and intelligent work that 1t amounted to a science. Aye, duty kept l him in his own room at work. study ling, plodding. thinking. experimenting, with only enough exercise to keep his | body strong, for sixteen hours per day. while others were enjoying the diver | sions of Europes gayest capital And during his vacations, 1t was still the thought of duty. that made him take 1 long walking trips over the rest or Europe, strengthing his body. and fill ing his mind with useful knowledge.
 Defending Bowles.
 Once at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
 scheming politician tried to put up a
 fab on the Government in a matter | that Lieut.. Hobson had to pass upon. 1 Hobson promptly called him down. The
 schemer appealed to Bowles the Chtet
 in command at the Yard Bowles asked Hobson to desist. Hobson Hat
 lv refused. Bowles insisted. Hobson still more hatly refused. Bowles
 stormed. threatened and commanded. Hobson sternly. almost fiercelv rebuk- ed him. Bowles then reported Hobson | to Secretary Herbert for insubordtna- tion. whereupon Hobson turned upon
 him. before the Secretary, with such righteous indignation, that. instead ot
 reprimanding Hobson, Herbert severe
 ly reprimanded Bowles. A short time | after that Bowles was court t-martialed for malconduct of the Navy Yard. It
 Is a part of Naval Ethics that court
 martialed officer can choose any offi-
 cer he wishes to defend him. Now
 whom did Bowles choose? Nobody
 but Hobson. But Hobson accepted the
 duty cheerfully, spent six days and
 nights without sleep Git is tradition
 there that he did not overlook a sim
 gle screw that har even been put in
 ship at the Navy Yard). and by dint of
 almost increditable exertions, secured
 an acquittal for Bowles.
 BOwles' Treachery.
 Many years after this, Bowles had
 his opportunity to show his gratitude.
 He had now become in the line of
 promotion, Chief Naval Constructor. Hobsen was back from the Orient with eyesight almost gone, trying to get
 retired, and save his eyes. Bowles
 pretended sympathy at first, but soon
 threw off the mask. and giving out
 statements almost daily to the News