Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1912-12-18
SSeh|}qa|mass ttt88ff1::fho Laid Aside
! His Gap and Gown FoE Na.l I
tio1s Highest H6n0I.

tien that the authors meant something
else. ~. -:z, >: z SZ:-,* '.::.:f
Carried Out His PLATFORM: Is
wilson showed his training in exact
expression when he was. governor Of
New Jersey. He INTERPRETED the plat;
form on which. he was elected III the:
manner that the people thought they
it, He also carried it out.
When the legislators hesitated he call
ed them IL aud talked to them; like a
fatheE 'rhis was such "a novel proce-S
dlre3 fhatcthc voters alectedshim presi-S
dent. Promising has become q grand
old art IN POLL ties but pertormanee. II
It Is an art. is one of the lost arts.
=, A. few years after the war the VIII. !
sons = went to- Columbia, S. a. and '
while here Woodrow. or Tommy. as
he was still called. entered Da wilson
college. Now Davidson was one: of
those grand old Institutions Of learning.
ich the boys swept theh own. ,
rooms, made their own fires. carried
their own water and generally made
themselves useful. have certain
shivery memories of that sort Of SCHOOL
myself. IN which the boys took u1rn'
about getting up at 8: O'clock In the
morning t. ring the bell. 4 do not !:
know whether the future president OF !.
the United States had to take his turn
ut early morning bell ringing or not.
but hope he escaped that particular
form of punishment He spent but one
year at Davidson. Ill health compelling
him to QUIT: During that one year he
did NOT make any particular mark. He
Ia remembered as a pleasant spoken
young man. who was good in his de-
batting society: Former Governor
Glenn of North Carolina was his class
mate and is reported to have said to
Wilson that he would make Il good
ball player If he were not so lazy.
That sort Of story: makes interesting
newspaper reading whether it ever
happened O. not. do not know how
e. verify this particular one without
calling up Governor Glenn. on the long
distance or wireless. and probably he
would deny it. Calling a president
elect Of tho United States lazy does
not sound nice unless be belongs to the
other political party. Then it Is too
mild. i
The "0riginal Wilson Man."
1t was ut about this time that Dr..
Wilson pere became. himself college
professor. holding the chair Of theolo-
+gy.- He did not like the change, how:
ever, and in a few gears was back in
the pulpit. BEFORE the son retnrhed
from Davidson the: family had moved
to Wilmington. y. C.. where the lad
spent u year at home. recovering his
health and being tutored for bis en-
trance into Princeton. 1t was at this
time alSo-so runs: the storX-that u
prophecy was made that be would one
day be president Of the United States
A similar prcdiction>is made for many.
boys. but the interesting thing about
this one is that it came true. Another
valuable feature of the story is that it
determines the identity of the original
Wilson ulan. az
Avn AAO" III" IL lS W u'lctct u
man is elected to high office there Is
not only the u told you so brigade.
hut the regiment OF the "Originals'
who doomed him for this particular
job before anybody else. There We're
9G7 of these original Wilson men at
last accounts. and the returns were
not all In. Strange as it may seem.
many of the originals were looking Tor
jobs under the new Administrations
They were not office seekers. you
know nothing so vulgar as that-but.
felt that they owed their services as
patriotic duty to the country. ;.
At one time Thought about trying
to qualify as the original Wilson man
myself bnt the dream was shattered,
by this story from Wilmington. Ac-
cort'ing to the tale, Mrs Mary Russell
taught Woodrow. or ''rommy"-always
getting those names mixed-when be
was ten years old. She then predicted
that tie, would be president: This set
tied tile question not only for yours
truly. but for all the rest;.of the 1aHst
boomers. The original Wilson man
was not a man ut all. She was wo:
man She Is dead now and eyens ii
alive would probably not be looking
tor an Office i -, ',..- -
An 1ndulgent Brother. j.
AS Wilson was born In 1855, this"
must have happened in 1866. which
knocks my chances of being the ortgf:
nal Wilson man sky high. That was
three years before Twas born. so they
would have DO tro,lble in: proving an
alibi on me- But hold on a minute! This
WAS supposed to :have happened in;
Wilmington. and Wilson did not go to
Wilmington till long after he was fen
years ~~fff,>~e~ tt1at=
story. There may be Il chance for lit
tie Willie after all. s:sss-asess 49, - - -
Il Ii sthis connection 4sGa vesshem an.
article by Joseph K:=5Rfiso ia stroth
erxorthe president 'eleet~ htoh sbegh5
as follows:
MY first distinct recollection of my
wilson college early IN June, 1874. We
were then living in Wilmington. N. c..
having moved there from .COiumbia
the; previous year was eight years
old Tommy. "a my brother was then
called, was eighteen"
Yet the newspaper item telling Of
Mrs. Russell says distinctly that she
taught I'M the ''Tfleston school IN vii:
mington.'. So it must have been that
the excellent Mrs. Russell taught: Joe