The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-09
.DRENNEN AND WARD .
Charscter>Study and Pen Picture of the !:
Mayor That Is and Mayor That is to Be- ]:
BY SEYMOUR RANSOM.

". Melville bremen, The Mayor That
Is. and George b. Ward. The Mayor That
Is To Be, represent in their character.
personality. temperament and attachments
two distinctly different human types.
Their very names differ. The manner
in which the one signs his name differs
also from the manner in which the other
writes his
| The name of the one is a dissyllabic; of
the other. monosyllabic.
The Mayor That Is parts his name in the
middle--"w Melville Drennen' is the
way it runs.
The Mayor THAT is to Be parts his
name on each side-"Ceorge b. Ward"
is the proper thing.
| Each is called by. his given namely
| his friends.
Mel says this and Mel does that
and "Mer intends to do or say some
thing else. TO be more exact, Mel is
inclined to do rather than to say"
What "MeR' intends to do. is, like the
ways of. the Almighty, sometimes past
finding out.
Yet ali. his Intimate associates call him
Mel, and all i'd turn, are called by
him Tom. "Dick' lor. Harry" as the
case may be-. ~.
! An easy. famllinfty-not always as easy
as It might be to be sure, yet none the less
| ;familiarftS2 -inarks' The Mayor That Is
in his dealings with men.
| The Mayor That Is TO Be is approach
! able enough. TO call him George" is not
difficult 10 persons who know him well. In
! deed TO salute him in any other manner
would be unnatural.
! { In this thee two men are smllar-and
4 In this aione.N1n all other respects they
/ are unlike one another. Even In this mat
4 ter Of familiar personal salutation they
are Similar rather than identical.
| If Mel was a woman he might be
called brunette"
If George" wore skirts he would be
pronounced ''bionde"
| George" however, does not wear
skirts. Neither is "Mers" walking ac-
companied with the tantalizing "frou-
frou" sound.
If Mel wore skirts he would be
known as 1.-THE beautiful Amazon"
If George wore skirts all the men
would rubber and whisper: isn't she
cute?"
Both men can smile-if the thing must
needs be done.
"George8s smiles suddenly, abruptly,
giving the impression that he sees more
humor in what he's smiling at than the
man or woman he's talking to can pos
sibly see in it. George" smiles with his
eyes as well as with his lips
Mel smiles warily-a sort of lubri-
Gated smile is "Mel's." He can smile
with his eyes as well as with his lips, but
often when "Mels' lips are curled in
rlslbles, Interrogation points shine in
"Mel's" eyes.
Mel is cunning as well as artful
George is artful rather than cunning.
| There isn't anything ingenious about
either George" or Mel" Each OF them
looks and acts as though he had gone
all the paces-at least all the political
paees-and is ready to go 'em again IL
need be.
The man who picks either George" or
Mel up for fool has a swell chance
to lose his money.
Neither of them is married Each shows
he isn't Both seem to lament it, and
each It's rumored, is resolved that the
cause OF his lamentation shall be re-
moved, and removed speedily
when pressed for an explanation re-
gardfng this incompleteness in his life.
each Will laugh and say frankly: 1T isn't
my fault"
This testimony on the part of each can
1t is said, be corroborated by several per-
sons who don't live a thousand miles
from Birmingham, and who do wear
skirts.
In dress MEL" is conventional; with
him any old color will do so long as it's
black. Something quiet please" is
'Mefs' order to the tailor
In dress. George" isn't conventional
He comes dangerously near being erratic
If not bizarre"
Mel" usually looks as though ne had
been shot out of band box. George
sometimes looks as though he had been
shot into a band box.
'Mef' walks as though he might be
in haste but could never be in a hurry;
George" as though he was surely in
hurry and might possibly be in haste
Mel, physically and mentally, is me-
thodical; George is, physically and men
tally, prompt alert. decisive
Georges mental processes are swifter
than 'Mefs;" ''Mels' more cautious than
Georges"
George" will reach ten conclusions
while Mel" is reaching one "Mers" one
Is likely to be sure. All of Georges
ten are not likely to be sure The chances
are that in reaching his ten conclusions,
George will make a mistal<e-perhaps
several mistakes; but his decisions follow
one another so swiftly that when he does
strike it right, he RECEIVERS Whatever ne
has lost. A series of Observation-Disclosures
of judgment-would be hurtful TO
George The cumulative force of his err
rors might be disastrous
"One of 'Mers'' best assets is his eau
tiousness, but even cautiousness has its
peril. While the cautious man reflects. the
man of action does things. The cautious
man rims two great risks-diatoriness
which is bad enough, and the probability
common to all human beings of making
finally. an error of judgment which is
Infinitely worse. When the cautious man.
acting slowly, reaches an Incorrect CON
clusion' he likely to be stranded-espec-
tally in politics. The ship of fortune leaves