The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-27
A CLOSE PERSONAL VIEW OF THE .
 VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

are in sympathy Wltn hila 0i'- ., need to be enlightened in''fespeet to tne matters nresented to them. For the most mart he talks in a conversational tone, but rises above it with interest In his theme and then comes back gradually and naturally to the lower key Thirty years ago, as a young man, ne was re garded as a prodigy of oratory, put the times have changed, and today he would be classed among the cogent speakers or the country, possessing happy oenVery' which reinforced by logic and at times by fervent appeals to duty, gives 10 ms utteranees a strength that, were the same things said by another. they might not possess. 4.4
 Home Life Unpretentlous.
 Probably the home life of the Kern family could not be more simple or un- pretentious. There is no evidence Of dis- play and no apparent anxiety to De measured by the world by a standard that is fictitious. With his friends he Is plain "John," and In his home life he IS the same unpretentious person that he IS in his office. He is happily married to his second wife Mrs. Kern Is plain, unassuming though intelligent and com panionable, woman. She is regarded py her neighbors as good housekeeper, and that is interpreted to mean that she gives her home her personal attention, which she does She would be pained 1T she were called beautiful or talented, put there Is much warmth in her nature and a strong pride fin her family of two sons and an adopted daughter.
 Probably the sum of her talents Is in- cluded in the statement thai she Is a wo- man of strong character. domestic In her tastes devoted to her family, and con- tented to live in a modest environment She did not look upon her husbands nomination to the vice presidency with favor when it was first discussed In the newspapers, and news that it had occur red found her sorry rather than glad. She appreciates the honor. but she is not oblivious to the worry that attends such a campaign as that before her husband, and she would willingly have foregone the one to escape the other ...s.
 Neither MT. Kern nor his wife is an optimst in politics, and his two unsuc- cessful races for governor have made her somewhat chary of political honors But if her husband feels it a dutyato respond to his party's call she has told her friends that she Is ready and willing to make any sacrifices the response to that call may bring. A Total Abstainer.
 Though MT. Kern has been avery busy man for years, he has always found time in which to cultivate the members of his family, and he is emphatically a home man. And when his presence Is required out of the city he invariably writes to Mrs. Kern every day, apprising her of his whereabouts and of the time of his prob able return home In the family he is a boy with his boys, and romps and plays with them and seems to take as much interest in their sports as though he were himself a boy. This characteristic has naturally endeared him to the members of the family, and it is not uncommon to see Mrs Kern. his daughter Julia and the two little boys run out to welcome him home though he may not have been out of town for more than a day. The Kerns have never been known as entertainers, but there is hospitality about their home that all their friends appreciate and immensely enjoy. Their companies are never very large and they do not dignify the social gatherings at their home with the name of function, but they are always hospitable, and on several occasions have entertained dis tinguished visitors to the city. MT. Bry- an has enjoyed their hospitality and has complmented Mrs. Kern upon her ability as a housekeeper and the homeIike ap- pearance of her surroundings. MT. Kern i is a total abstainer and wine Is never | served at his table, no matter who Is the guest.
 That Fairbanks Cocktail.
 Since the vice presidential nomination at Denver, republicans who attended the Fairbanks dinner to President Roosevelt on May 30, 1907, have commented on the fact that MT. Kern was the only man who sat down at table that day who did not drink the cocktail provided by the host, which later had such disastrous effect upon the candidacy of MT. Fair banks for delegate to the quadrennial conference of the Methodist church at Baltimore. It is said that when MT. Fair banks raised his glass and declared that .'The democrats here are getting mpa- tient," following the statement with the draining of his own glass, Mir Kern pushed his cocktail aside and did not touch it.