The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-01
Former Presidents Hold "Most
Wretched Situation in World
When Mr.. Taft Leaves White House Many Lu-
cratfpe Positions Are Sure to Be Offered to
Him-What His Predecessors Did,

When Mr.. Taft goes out. he viii be sur
for the rest OF his life OF an income no
much less than that which he has en-
joyed while occupying the White House
1t pays to be President; there is money Il
the Job. Which statement does In nc
wise refer to the salary the government
pays him, but to what awaits him In tbs
way Of lucrative emolument after he ha.
again become a private citizen
Merely to have held the ONCE is there.
after worth $4,000 year to any man
Take the case OF Mr.. Roosevelt. for ex.
ample. Before leaving the White HOUSE
he was beset with tempting offers from
publishers and other business concerns
He was invited to name his own price fol-
his services. The Outlook's proposition
was most attractive, and he took It.
Work? Nothing OF that kind was really
required Of him. He was to be at liberty
to write as much or as little as he
wanted. II he .never chose to produce q
line. his employment as contributing edi-
tor Ia brand-new species of job. by the
way was worth his pay as an advertise
ment Of the magazine.
Engaged I'm Politics.
AS a matter Of fact. politics have occu-
pied most of Mr.. Roosevelt's attention
since the outlook engaged him, but his
salary has gone on just the same. He Is
a skillful writer, but II was his name that
counted Mr.. Cleveland, after he be-
came an ex-President, did a good deal OF
writing. at huge prices. Magazines paid
him from $500 to Sl,000 an article. What
he wrote was dull and uninteresting; Of
fered by anybody else. Il would have beer
rejected with thanks" He had nc
knowledge Of the literary art, but his sig
nature was worth the money.
Mr.. Cleveland had not been a verJ
successful lawyer up to the time wher
he entered the White House. But, wher
he went out at the end Of four years
one Of the biggest law firms in New
York City was eager to employ him al
an enormous salary as advisory coun'
sel," for the sake OF the business he
was expected to attract. 1t is doubtful
whether he really did attract much. but
he drew his pay Just the same. He ar.
gued one case before the United States
Supreme Court, and lost it-though sew.
eral members OF that august body had
been appointed by himself. Later or
his legal work was mainly in the line
Of lucrative refereeships.
Benjamin Harrison was a lawyer. and
had never managed to earn much money
In the business But after he left the
" LAOASC MS eCtNACcb "GEG sOukul
by corporations which paid him huge
fees-often as much as $1,000 in q single
case. The government gave him 800. OOt
In a lump for one piece of work which
he would have been glad to do ten years
earlier for one-twentieth Of the amount.
Leland Stamford University, in Cali
fornia, put him on its roll as non-resi-
dent professor. at $1,000 a year. TO de-
liver a dozen lectures annually. He
wrote also. A well-known women's
magazine paid him $1,000 a page for a
series Of exceptionally dry and unen-
tertaining articles.
"Most Wretched Situation"
1t was Grover Cleveland who said thai
the most wretched situation in the
world was that of an ex-President "
What he had in mind was that a mar
occupying this position is supposed "a
be laid away on a shelf, and condemned
to hopeless retirement. But he was
surely unregardful of fits manifest adj
vantages. He forgot that there had
been ex-Presidents who, as in the case
Of John Quincy Adams made useful and
active careers for themselves after their
departure from the White House And
for himself was reserved the good for
tune, unique in American history, OF
leaving the shelf aforesaid to become
President again.
James Buchanan was saddened and I'M
happy. After leaving the Presidency he
became almost a hermit, living for eight
years Che died in 1859 at Wheatlands.
near Lancaster. Pa. The same thing
might be said of Franklin Pierce, whose
last sixteen years were spent at his home
in Concord, n. II. He saw a good deal
Of his friends, however and liked ~ talk
politics. making no secret Of the fact
that he was a Southern sympathizer
B. Hayes, tired of taking part
in national affairs, went hack to Ere
mont. Ohio, where he dwelt in what he
called delightful retirement"
Six Went Back to Soil.
Six ex-Presidents became farmers.
Hayes was one of them-though his pur-
suit of agriculture at Spiegel Grove was
rather ornamental than otherwise. An
drew Johnson went back TO his farm near
Knoxville. He also owned a mill and
a country store. The estate Of Andrew
Jackson. called the Hermitage" near
Nashville, gave him farming occupation
during the last eight years of his life.
He was visited there by many prominent
men, and retained much influence in the
councils OF his party.
James Madison's estate. in Orange
Va, on which he lived for the
last nineteen years OF his life, was of
size. His predecessor in the
White House, Thomas Jefferson was
likewise a farmer. though not a very
successful one. He entertained at Mon
ticello" on a most profuse scale, his hos
pitable roof often sheltering as many as
fifty guests at one time. Maintaining a
constant correspondence with political
leaders, he continued to take an active
interest in public affairs, and one of the
important achievements of this later
part of his career was the founding of
the University OF Virginia.
On the 9Th day of March, 1871, George
having surrendered the
ares OF State, left Philadelphia (then
he Federal capitaD for Mount Vernon,
accompanied by his wife and Nellie Gus
is. Nellie wrote a few days later to
Ter friend, Mrs. Oliver Wolcott: Grand
papa il very well and much pleased
With being once more Farmer Washing
on" There is no question Of the fact
hat his refusal Of a third term was
lue largely to the fact that he was
weary of public life. He had then (as
he event proved less than three years
o live, and he spent them in superin-
ending the management of his farms,
which produced blooded stock, grain. and
Obacco of such superior quality as to
a fancy price In the market.
Four eX-Presidents have taken to the
aw. OF these Cleveland and BENJAMIN
harrison were two. James Monroe, on
eaving the White House, was in debt,
nd, being anxious to recruit his finan-
es, went to New York instead OF going