The Washington herald., 1909-08-08
By JA,rEs b. MORROW.


no more than an incident in a long IN
terview, may contain all the light need
ful for the comprehension Of a charac-
ter
"You have spoken Of the habitual idle
ness OF the rich?" I had said 10 Frank
lin Macveagh, Secretary Of the Treasury.
The fugitive sentence you quote" he
replied fails to recall either the time,
place, or statement"
You doubtless mean, I answered.
casting another net into the water. that
the vagrant millionaire is as full of guilt
in his bad citizenship as the vagabond
who hasn't dollar"
Perhaps" Mr.. MacVeagh said with a
smile. but ! am sure I gave the idea
with more measure and with less pic
turesqueness and vigor."
Like a thermometer. the question,
saw at once, had caught Mr.. MacVeagh's
low. even temperature Words with him
are neither above nor below their actual
marketable value. He began his life as
a wholesale merchant. by specializing in
credits Thus. would it be prudent 10
let Brown, OF Kankakee. have 500 worth
OF sggar2
Test of His SRERclty.
Analysis and then conclusion is the
most important function or the credit
mans occupation. Placidlty, uncon-
sciously. becomes a fixed habit. Never
theless. human nature and a democracy
OF the mind increase the gross sales and
the annual net profits Financially.
Brown might be a speculation: morally,
ne might be the soundest sort OF an in
vestment. a sour. skeptcal man would
dry up his establishment An optimlst,
credulous, eager 20 get his goods in mo-
ton, would herald the red flag OF the
sheriff.
The test of Franklin MacVeagh Is
his success as a merchant-iirst IN cred
its. and then as master and principal
owner Of n large business And yet he
Is lawyer and a politician. In personal
Z. pcarance he Is prosperously profess
sOnal-an ideallzed literary celebrity. in
contradistinction 10 the real writer. who
is often pudgy and bald-headed. As I
talk 90 him ] observe that he Is a living
harmony In one color OF various shades
Clothing. shirt, necktie. hose. and even
the ring on his little finger are blue. He
Is tall and slender and his kindly and
animated eyes are dark gray. Were he
20 try, he could not conceal his natural
benevOience and cheer.
Our conversation drifts into the even
ing. long after the government day is
done. He stops. suddenly remembering.
20 tell a clerk. waiting. and perhaps fret
ting. in the next room. that he need not
stay, but may go home SO there is light
IN a spontaneous little act as well as
in tho sentence 7 have noted.
Where did the MacVeaghs come from.
Mr.. Secretary" I asked in starting the
conversation.
scotch and Irish
The MacVeaghs were scotch he
answered. taking up an atlas and turning
10 The map OF Great Britain. They came
ecross the North Channel" he went on
10 say. following the supposed course
Of their ship with his index finger. TO
the County Of Donegal. in ireland. and
settled near the Derryve1gh Mountains
Some Of them remain there 20 this day.
Ny own forbears. however. emigrated
20 America within a generation"
"Wiu YOU tell me about the farm IN
I
1T was Just at the edge of Phoenix
vile. I'm Chester County. and contained
about one hundred acres"
Did you plow, pitch hay, and split
rails?''
Il worked. but not so hard as most
BOYS who live In the country Nearly
all of my time was spent at school Your
reference 10 rail-splitting reminds me
that my mother was related 20 Abra-
ham Lincoln. At a dinner in Chi
coGo not long ago Robert T. Lincoln
who has been a friend Of mine fer al
most forty years, spoke Of me as his
kinsmau. Ny mother was n Lincoln in
all but looks. being more comely than
any OF the other members OF the family
I think I am Lincoln myself, although
my ewes are not dark. and I am neither
SO tall ncr gaunt as the LincOlns 1 know
IN Berks County. which was the home
Of Mordecai. the great-great- grandfather
OF the President. / heard Abraham Lin
coin speak in New Haven while I was a
student NJ Yale and wrote home that he
bore a striking resemblance 70 the Lin
coins who were our relatives.
Prominent I'm Community.
But agriculture. returning to your
question. was not the actual business Of
my father. However, he always owned
some lard I suppose he might have
been called the first citizen Of his little
community. He was a lay lawyer and a
squire and his counsel was constantly
sought by his neighbors. The village OF
Phoenixville was incorporated at his sug-
gestion, and he became postmaster and
the owner Of the hotel He lost his for
tune by indorsng the promissory notes
OF an uncle. but at his death left consid-.
erable property TO his family
often away from home, going frequent
" 70 Philadelphia, and nearly every week
to the county seat In his wheeled
sulky. he would bring back the news
o. the outside world, and relate 1t TO
evening crowds at the village drug store
He moved about a good deal and pos
sessed the gift Of describing what he had
seen. nv brother Wayne. afterward At
used to follow him to the drug store
that we might hear him talk"
Were you compelled to help yourself
through Yale University
The whole cost Of my education was
paid out Of my fathers estate WAYNE.
who could learn anything by simply
looking al IT, was prepared for college
by a man from Harvard. He went 10
Cambridge. passed his entrance examina-
ton. and was duly registered as a stu
dent Then something took him TO New
Haven He liked New Haven better than
Cambridge. Undergoing the customary
examination. he matriculated at Yale.
and withdrew from Harvard Coming
along nine or ten years later, I also en-
tered Yale"
''Was law I'm your head?"
Prepared for the Law.
MY father never thought that Wayne
would be anything but a lawyer. and. I
suppose, he had the same feeling as to
myself. Wayne and I grew UP in a legal
ofrnognhprp with lawepife hoForo -