The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-12
THE MORNING AsToRIAN. ASTORIA. OREGON.

his books by mere touch.
i He loves 10 have book In hil
hands. Whenever he IL being rcat
to he wants TO hold q book himself
! When he IL getting his idea into
shape for a speech he goes off into
d room by himself but takes d bool
to hold. II may not be book from
which he II going TO quote, but II will
be book he cares for, and book
too, that he likes the feel Of; for he Il
especially sensitive TO certain bind.
ings.
His wife says that books are his
one dissipation. He neither smokes
nor drinks, But he goes to book
store as needle TO magnet and
always succumbs to that one temp
iaiion Of buying more and yet more
volumes.
How does he make himself master
of their contcntss There's where
you have hint OF the man himself.
No man who was not thoroughly
likable could ever in this world have
managed TO do what Senator Gore
has accomplished, no matter how
much he might have wanted il. Never
that Is. unless he had been ready to
pay exorbitantly for it, and Gore Is
not n rich man.
A schoolmatc read him through col.
legc. A brother became his lawpart-
ner. Another his secretary. His
wife Is something Of all three, and a
good deal more.
But neither q mans schoolmatc nor
his brothers nor even his wife can
throw in their lives with his 10 that
extent unless there is something
more than sympathy to keep them
going. In this case there is more;
there is admiration and affection
two sentiments which the blind SEN
ator seems to inspire wherever he
goes
Nothing would be further from the
truth than to picture him as a semi
dependent drag upon his friends.
Some imaginative correspondents
have described his wife as his inscp-
arabic companion. going wherever
he goes, sitting. upon the platform
during his campaign speeches, and
either leading or following him
around constantly.
That's all nonsense. The other
day when Sun reporter called at
the hotel where Senator Gore lives
In Washington the Senator had gone
off to New York on business, and ac-
cording to his custom he had gone
all by himself
He almost invariably travels alone
lie has made a campaign tour. Of half
dozen States and done il quite alone
That's the kind OF man he is. A man
who has learned to depend first OF all
on himself--and then on others.
The stories Of his wife campaign
ing with him are not true. She ex-
plains quite simply that she would
have liked to go with him, but that
travelling costs twice as much for
two as for one, and | felt that we
colud not afford IL"
II is not being constantly with him
that she contributes her share to her
husbands success, but by reading to
him. He has the courage and the
will for everything else, but that is
the thing others must do.
Before Oklahoma was admitted,
when. as Mrs, Gore says, Eve knew
Statehood was coming" they spent
months reading and studying works
on economics and constitutional law
and history. When the time came
for the campaign for the Senatorship.
the trained memory of the blind can
didate was stored with facts which
he had at his absolute command. As
a rule, all he needed to do when he
wanted to prepare speech was to
SO into quite room with a book in
his hand and cogitate, as he calls IT.
He is an inveterate worker. When
he is not gaining knowledge through
being read to he is assimilating it by
cogitation. Sometimes, out Of mis-
taken kindness, people rob him of the
time he wants to spend at the latter
occupation,
Another man could surround him
self with books and papers so that
could see that he was oc-
cupied. But they see Gore sitting by
himself on the train or in hotel and
think he must be in need of enter
tainment, which they proceed to sup
=.