Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-07-22
JOHN WORTH KERN.
A SKETCH or HIS LIFE
Nearly SO Years Old.

YerS1sy OIL M1cnlSHu..
Reporter for the Supreme
= 1895-s9-Reporter for the Su- :
preme Court of Indiana. .
1892-6-State Senator. .
/. 1s97-l9O1-City Attorney, In .
!. dianapolis. >
Defeated for Governor. .
Z. 1904-Again detected for Gov .
ernor.
1905 Received complimentary :
vote of his party for United :
. States Senate. :
Denver, Special.-"Gentlemen, you
will have to excuse me, for I must go
and buy a present for my little boy.
I remember that this is his birthday" !"
With this plea, John Worth Kern,
Democratic nominee for Vice-Presi-
dent, left an important conference of
Indiana party leaders here the other
day. = .,.. ). -. >,
only political confab John Kern ever
left until 1t was over" said one Of
his fellow delegates, asnd don't
suppose there is a thing on earth that
could have dragged him away except
some duty or pleasure for his fam
ily."
The plea Of Mr., Kern for absent
ing himself, and the comment thereon
by his close personal and political
friends, well illustrates the two most
striking traits in the character of the
man whom the Democratic party has
chosen to be the running mate Of
William Jennings Bryan. FIRST of
all, Mr.. Kern loves his family. Next
he loves the swirl of politics, and
over in Indiana they tell you he
knows the game as he knows his
alphabet.
There will be hundreds of thous-
ands of voters asking:
"Who is this man from Indiana,
a man who never was in the halls of
Congress in an official capacity and
never had anything to do with Wash
ington affairs except as the rank and
file Of American citizens have to @D
with them7 In his State he has
never held any higher Office than Su-
preme Court. How then, did it come
That he should be singled out to be
The team mate of the man from Ne
braska, singled out from the scores
Of men, some of wider fame, who
were mentioned as suitable for the
Presidency of the United States Sen
ate and as quite suitable to the Chief
Magistrate in case of accidentq"
Probably the best answer is that
Mr.. Kern is, heart. mind, muscle and
soul Bryan Demo erat, and that he
can come nearer carrying Indiana for
his party, in all political probability,
than any other man that could be
named. Every delegate from the
Eoosier State will tell You that when
the long yhiskers Of Mr.. Kern shake
with the fervency of his political
pleading from the rostrum, every toss
ing strand of them is said to lure
votes from somewhere.
Twice he has been the candidate
in Indiana for Governor, and twice
he has polled more votes by $4,000
than any other man on his ticket.
BE failed of election in 1900 and
again in 1904. They were brilliant
failures that have become political
assets and thrust him to the fore as
"the first Democrat of Indiana
With all his fine prowess as a
stump speaker and vote getter, how
ever, it is safe to say that Mr.. Kern
would not have been chosen the NOM
inee for the Vice--Presidency did not
he fit the Bryan program and per-
sonnel like the glove of the debutante.
Not in any sense is Mr.. Kern to be
considered a frequenter of clubs. His
social instincts do not run quite in
that channel, and yet he is credited
with being one of the best mixers and
cleverest tellers of stories in his
State. He has keen sense Of humor
and enjoys the sunny side of life as
much as anybody. In a circle of
friends be is nearly always conceded
the floor and given sway to lead the
conversation. He is a member of the
University Club of indianapolis.
Nobody has ever discovered that he
has any hobby bat politics, or any
recreation but commingling with his
family and friends. He does not play
golf, go fishing or hunting or follow
any game but that which was pictur-
esquely played here in Denver last
week. In that he is a shining light.
He loves his law books and docu-
ments on political economy. In them
he seeks the diversion which the links
or the quarry offers to others.
He is rugged neither in stature nor
in health, but when it comes to cam
paigning he can "make" more towns
and delieverd as many speeches in a
day as the best Of them.
John W. Kern was born December
20, lS49, in Howard county, Indiana.
His father, D. Jacob W. Kern, was a
Virginian, who removed to Shelby
county, Indiana, in 1896, and lived
t,iere until 1S46, when he moved into
the new Northern country.
Mrs. Kern Sorry.
Indianapolis, Special.-Mrs. Kern
wife Of the nominee for Vice-Presi-