The Alaska citizen., 1914-04-20

How it feels to be President o.
| the United States was explained t,
the members of the National Pres
club of Washington, d. c.. by Presi
dent Wilson recently. The Presi
dents talk was of confidential
nature, and at first he refused to
have it published but consented wher
the members of the club urgentl,
requested that privilege,
In part the Presidents talk was
as follows:
81 was just thinking of my sense
of confusion of identity, sometimes
when | read articles about myself,
have never read an article about
myself in which | recognized myself
and | have come to have the i'm
preston that l must be some kind
of a fraud, because | think a great
many of these articles are written in
absolute good faith.
Il tremble to think Of the variety
and falseness in the impressions
make-and it is being borne in on
me that it may change my very
disposition-that l am cold and re
moved person who has a thinking
machine inside which he adjusts tC
the circumstances, which he does
not allow to be moved by any
winds of affection or emotion of any
kind, but turns like a cold search
light on anything that is presented
to his attention and makes it work
| am not aware of having any de-
tachable apparatus inside Of me. On
the contrary, if | were to interpret
myself | would say that my constant
embarrassment is to restrain the
emotions that are inside of me.
in between things | have to dc
as a public officer l never think OF
myself as the President of the Unit.
ed States. DeCduSe never hau any
sense of being identified with that
office | feel like person appoint
ed for certain length of time to
administer that office, and feel
Just as much outside Of it at this
moment as l did before l was elect
ed to It,
mo man could imagine himself
the government of the United States
but he could understand that some
part of his fellow citizens had told
him to 20 and run a certain part of
it the best he knew how. That
would not make him the government
itself or the thing itself. 1t would
just make him responsible for run
ming it the best he knew how. The
machine is so much greater than
himself, the office is so much great
er than he can ever be, that the
most he can do is to look grave
enough and self-possessed enough tC
have filled it.
Custom Causes Discomfort
"For example. take matters Of this
sort:
81 will not say whether it is wise
or unwise, simple or grave, but GER
tain precedents have been establish
ed that in certain companies the
President must leave the room first
and people must give way to him
They must not sit down If he is
standing up. 1t is a very uncomfort
able thing to have to think Of all
the other people every time l get UP
and sit down, and all that sort OF
thing. So when l get guests in my
own house and the public is shut
out adjourn being President and
take leave to be gentleman. If
they draw back and insist upon my
doing something first firmly de-
cline.
There are blessed intervals when
l forget by one means or another
that l am the President Of the Unit
ed States. One means by which
forget Is to get rafting good de
tective story, get after some imagin
ary offender and chase him all over
preferably any other continent but
this, because the various parts OF
this continent are becoming pain
fully suggestive to me. The post
offices and many other things which
stir "reminiscences have 'sicklied them
DER with pale cast of thought
There are postoffices to which
would not think of mailing a letter
which l can't think of without
trembling with the knowledge OF
the heartburnings Of the struggle
there was in connection with getting
somebody installed as postmaster.
Has Little Freedom.
Now. if l were free I would come
not infrequently up to these rooms
| You know, I never was in Washing
ton but a very few times and but q
very few hours until I came last
| year, and I never expect to see the