The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-14
Thomas Jefferson ana s,mnlic,.y

AAotbaS bttAtEHVA anu SImBlAcAtt
For long years many people accepted as
real history the legend about Thomas
Jefferson riding to the capitol on horse
back unattended, hitching his horse TO
the fence and being inaugurated without
any ceremony whatsoever, but now every
school boy knows or should know that
tJeffersonian simplicity was myth and
that the story about jefferson hitching
his horse to the fence was invented by an
English tourist named John Davis, who
published book on his experiences in this
country. Davis did not attend the in.
auguration, but he narrated much absurd
gossip which he picked up at boarding
house.
A recent issue Of the Christian Advocate
of New York publishes an interesting and
instructive sketch entitled, "Jeffersonian
Simplicity" by Henry Wade Rogers, dean
of the law school of Yale. The distin-
guished jurisconsult was delegate to the
Baltimore convention. He is a Methodist
1ayman. He was at one time president of
the Northwestern university, and he par
ticipated in the general conferences of the
Methodist Episcopal church in 1908 and
1912, on each occasion serving as chair
man of the committee on judiciary. Dean
Rogers in his reflections upon current po-
litical phases criticizes Governor Sulzer,
who overdid simplicity when he was in
augurated recently. After narrating the
Thomas Jefferson myth the dean says:
"The truth is that jefferson was inaug
lrated with as much pomp and ceremony
as the conditions OF Washington at that
time permitted. He was living in board
ing house not far from the capitol, in
which he resided during his term as vice
president. He vas escorted from there to
the capitol by a battalion of soldiers ON
foot, while a salute of honor was fred
by a battery from Alexandria. President
Adams did not attend him, having left
the city in a pique and to avoid doing so.
But Jefferson walked between Mr.. Dex-
ter, the Secretary of the Treasury, and
Mr.. Stoddard, the Secretary of the Navy,
the only members of Adams cabinet who
had remained in the city for the cere-
mony. It will thus be seen that suffers
simplicity fairly outdid Jefferson's sim
plicity.
'There is no doubt however, that JEFF
ferson carefully avoided display during his
official career as President. 1t amounted
to an ostentation of simplicity, and there
were reasons for charging that it was an
affectation ON his part and his critics al
legged, with some justification, that it was
a part of his political policy to dress bad
ly, as he did not adopt his simplicity until
he became President As minister to
France, he had lived in great elegance,
and as Secretary of State he maintained
an elaborate establishment, with a French
butler and men servants in livery. But
whatever we may think of Mr.. Jefferson's
simplicity as practiced a hundred years
ago, what is to be thought of the sim
plicity of Mr.. Sulzer as practiced in 1913?
Conditions have changed since the day
when Thomas jefferson, standing in slip
pers down at the heels, and with trousers,
coat and underclothes indicative of utter
sloveniness received the British minis
ter, Mr.. Merry, in audience for the first
time on his presentation by Mr.. Madison,
the Secretary Of State However, it may
have been in that day. 1t may be taken
for granted that in this day the Amer
lean people demand than their governors
as we'll as their Presidents shall be at
least gentlemen. In saying this / should
be sorry if anyone should imagine that
think Mr.. Sulzer's conduct was not that
of a gentleman. But it is perfectly evil
dent that Mr.. Merry had a right to feel
that he had been insulted by Mr.. Jeffer-
son. The Jeffersonian simplicity ON that
occasion was decidedly overdone. I am
a Jeffersonian democrat, but that does not
mean that 1 approve of all that Jefferson
did"