Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-03-07
CHAIR TO THE PRESIDENCY
Schoo|maSter Who Laid Aside
His Cap and Gown For Ma.
tion'S Highest Honor.

tion's Highest Honor.
of them said that Lincoln had been
I elected and there would be war; The
| other incident concerned the arrest of
Jefferson Davis. who passed through
Augusta Oh his way to prison.
At Augusta the boy destined to beat
William Howard Taft and Theodore
Roosevelt had his first schooling. He
was not Il boy prodigy who began talk
ing about political economy as soon as
| through wearing dresses. Nothing of
the sort. On the contrary. he did not
begin school till he was a good chunk
of a lad. his father not believing in
teaching the young idea how to shoot
too early. When he did enter school
he was just an average scholar. He
read a great deal. but had no frills as
a student.
His father was perhaps his real
| teacher. The two took long walks
about Augusta. visiting the factories in
the vicinity. There the man explained
industrial processes to the boy in way
that made the lessons stick. He also
teaching him that any thought clearly
comprehended could be put in words
| so that others could comprehend. 1t
is too bad that more of our statesmen
do not have fathers like that. Take our
! platform makers. for example. They
say things that the country thinks it
understands. only to find out after cleo
| ton that the authors meant something
else.
Carried Out His Platform.
Wilson showed his training In exact
expression when he was governor Of
New Jersey. He interpreted the plat
form on which he was elected In the
manner that the people thought they
understood it. He also carried it out.
When the legislators hesitated he call
ed them in and talked to them like
father. This was such novel proce-
dure that the voters elected him presi-
dent. Promising has become a grand
old art in politics, but performance. II
It Ia an art. is one Of the lost arts.
/ A few years after the war the Will
sons went to Columbia. 8. O.. and
while here Woodrow. or Tommy. as
he was still called, entered Davidson
college. Now. Davidson was one of
those grand old institutions of learning
In which the boys swept their 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 turn
about getting up at o'clock In the
morning to ring the bell. ! do not
know whether the future president Of
the United States had to take his turn
at early morning bell ringing or not
but hope he escaped that particular
form of punishment. He spent but one
year at Davidson. III health compelling
him to quit. During that one year he
did not make any particular mark. He
In remembered as peasant 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 a good
ball player If he were not so lazy.
That sort Of story makes interesting
newspaper reading. whether 1t ever
happened or not ! do not know how
to verify this particular one without
Trailing up Governor Glenn on the long
distance or wireless and probably he
would deny it. Calling president
elect of the United States lazy does
not sound nice Unless he belongs to tho
other political party. Then 1t Is to
MID
The Original Wilson Man"
1t was at 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 few years was back in
the pulpit. Before the son returned
from Davidson the family had moved
to Wilmington, n. c., where the lad
spent a year at home. recovering bis
health and being tutored for bis en-
trance into Princeton. 1t was at this
time also-so runs the story-that q
prophecy was made that he would one
day be president of the United States.
A similar prediction 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 man.
You know how 1t Is. Whenever q
man is elected to high Office there To
not only the II told you So brigade.
but the regiment Of the originals"
who doomed him for this particular
job before anybody else. There were
OCT Of these original Wilson men at
last accounts. and the returns were
not all In. Strange as 1t may seem.
many Of the originals were looking for
Jobs under the new administration.
|