The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-02-03

oCes somewhere back IN the century before the last
only twentysix Americans have become President
and not single foreigner.
Doesn't this faskput parents and teachers in
rather an unenvia% position as regards sincerityg
Here we have to-day at least ten million innocent
children in this broad land of ours and nearly every
one has been told that he has chance to become
President if he will only regard his book and be a
good boy and do more right than wrong
For my part, think we ought to take our chill
dren aside and tell them frankly that they have
nightly little chance. Think of a bright boy toiling
on at school, avoiding athletics and burning the mid
night oil and his brain as well-for there's as much
consumption of brain there is of midnight oil in
these nocturnal studyings-thnk of him pushing on
in every State in the Union hoping for the Presidency
while we know that for the next fifty years we can't
expect to put more than five of the children of to-day
into the great position
For my part I'd say to my child: "Roo, there's
the Presidency. It's a lottery. No man ever knew
from the beginning that he was going to get it,
Washington was real surprised, Hayes had his doubts
even after election day, and Roosevelt often goes off
by himself and says, rs it really possible that the
former cowboy and literary man, the hero of thou
sands of young men, is President Of this mighty peo
pie and might be yet again if he to allow his
name to be used? But, as l say, my boy it's a lot
terry and this country of ours is opposed to lotteries
officially.
Emerson" would say, continuing the CONVEX
sation-for you understand that this is a hypothet
cal case and that therefore the boy has got to stand
still and lsten-Emerson said Hitch your wagon to
STAR but you may make mistake and hitch it to
a comet and then where is your wagon?
"There plenty of likeer horses, my son, and
in these days of automobiles it isn't necessary to
hitch your wagon to anything. Just make up your
mind where you want to CO. be you have motive
power enough to get there, and then turn the
rent But put the Presidency out of your mind once
for ALL"
The Presidency am not talking to my son now
but just to you, dear reader-the escaped after
ALL hypothetical though he was-the Presidency is
general rule, equivalent to life sentence Few
there be who survive it's term of Office many years.
There have been solid exceptions, but a general
thing when man has passed through four years of
handshaking and politician shaking he is willing to
wrap the drapery of his couch around him Bryant
did at the age of nineteen. Bryant lived for
seventy years after but former President did
= Not one.
And on the other hand Bryant never became Pres
ident. There's Bryant who could and who did write
"Thanatopsis" at the age of nineteen, and he's the
only man in the history of the United States who
ever wrote it, and he became President,
in his life And there's Andrew Johnson, who at the
same age could neither read write, and he became
President. OF course it's lottery and Pm opposed
to lotteries principle.
There came day in my life when gave up
all thought of being President. | said to myself:
ut will be- hard work to get the attention of the pub
lie in this thing. Many will not know who | am or
where came from, and perhaps if | do get the nom
naton on the independent prohibition labor ticket
l will wake up the day after election and find that
some totally different person has won the prize, and
I'll be extremely mortified and absolutely put to it
to pay my legitimate election expensesto say moth
ing of the illegitmate ones"
So put this possible honor from Heavens!
it wasn't that did not appreciate the honor A man
has right to feel proud when millions of his fellow
citizens, many of them unable to read write
think, elect him to the proudest position in the gift
of any nation. | weighed the whole thing pro and
con and then said, deliberately and firmly mo, sir,
| am going to lead Wagners simple life. Pm going
to get simpler and simpler and perhaps I'll die con-
tented"
Fellowcitizens, there comes time to all of
who have an eye the Presidency when must
make up our mind to give up the contest else
cept the inevitable with calm steadfastness. simply
couldn't bear to be defeated for the Presidency, Do
you suppose that | could read in the papers that |
was showed under in every State in the Union, and
then calmly take poem and try to sell it to edi
tor? No, sir! I'd back streets for the rest of
my life and write under pen name. Cincinnatus
hadn't been defeated for Senator when he went back
to the pillow. The honor of election is great but the
modification Of defeat is greater