Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1913-01-30

B iilHcelou' Oh tue personality OF the
great political leaders
The John Bright article was really a
version of an Grafton which Wilson
was delivering that month. SO great
had his reputation grove in six
months that there was "A considera BILE
demand from outside the university
! FOR admission. and the occasion was
! thrown open to the public.
At Charlottesville. as at Princeton.
| the student body was divided into two
literary and debating societes-the
Washingtonian and the Jeffersonian-
! In the common tongue, Wash" and
! jeff The fortunes of each alternate
ly waxed and waned. JEFF" was the
stronger in 1870, and Wilson Joined it.
His talents at once won recognition,
but he found a competitor to respect
In another JEFF" man, William Cabell
Bruce, "a young orator of extraordinary
ability.
The chief annual event at Charlottes-
vile was Il debating contest In the
Jeffersonian society, at which two gold
medals were awarded, one for debat-
ing. the other for oratorical ability.
Bruce was given the debater's gold
medal. while the orators prize went
to Wilson. The opinion of pretty near
ly everybody, aside from the judges,
was that the award should have been
reversed. Bruce was ornate in style,
Wilson simple, direct and logical.
In n wholly different vein from his
speeches In the JEFF" society was one
notable effort in which the university's
favorite appeared when he delivered
medals to the winners in athletic
games. Having agreed to make this
presentation. Wilson was very much
exercised as to what to say and i'm
parted his perplexity to an intimate
friend. who ratified off two pieces of
nonsense which he suggested would
about suit the taste of the audience in
the gymnasium. Neither piece contain
ed the slightest allusion to athletic
sports. Yet the orator worked them in
The gymnasium speech represents
one of the few occasions in which the
dignity in public, but in private he
fairly dubbed with humor and wit
and was very much given to monkey
shines.
AS he had done at Princeton, Wilson
at Charlottesville also organized
smaller group of thinking chaps for
debate. A member of that group re-
members Wilson'S unspeakable disgust
when they chose as the subject for one
nights discussion the question whether
there be any fundamental difference be-
tween right and wrong.
The law professors of the University
of Virginia were Mr.. SOuthall, who
held the chair of international and
common law, an easy going and much
beloved man. and DR.. John b. Minor.
who taught everything else in the
course and was in fact the college of
law.
DR.. Minor probably Influenced VIII
son more than did any other teacher
he ever had. He was indeed an able
and forceful man, really great teach
er, who grounded his pupils beyond
all possibility of ever getting adrift In
the broad principles of law
As H. young man Wilson suffered
much from Indigestion, an Ill which
later he entirely outgrew. Just before
Christmas, $50, he found himself so
Ill that he left Charlottesville The
next year he spent ut home In VIII
mington. n c.. nursing his health and
reading.
In May. 1882. Woodrow Wilson
went to Atlanta to enter ON the prac-
tice of law, Atlanta was chosen for
this experiment simply because It was
the most rapidly growing city of the
south. The young man knew nobody
there lie met another young man,
like himself n stranger in the city.
whittier he, too had come to practice
law-Edward Ireland Renick. The
two agreed on u partnership; on mu-
tual inquiry Renick proved to be slight
ly the older. so that the shingle was
lettered "Renick 4 Wilson" 1t was
hung out of the window of a room GA
the second floor, facing the side street,
of the building AZ Marietta street.
Atlanta litigants did not rush en-
huSSe W 10 MaTlelta street. III TACT,
they never came.
Wilson's sole idea had been to use
the law as stepping stone to po-
litical career. Most of the public men
of the south had come from the ranks
OF the law. In eighteen months In At
lanta he learned that it was impossible
for man without private means TO
support himself long enough in law to
get into public life; impossible certain
ly to establish practice without CIV
ing up all idea of study and writing
not strictly connected with the pro-
fession. The law was jealous mis-
tress. He had begun writing book
on congressional government. and he
found the work full of joy.
But the Atlanta experiment was not
without its great good fortune.
During the summer of 1883 Mr.. VIII