South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-08-10
Statesmen Real
and Near.
By Fred c. Kelly

WASHINGTON.-Rep. Jose...
CART OF Kansas Is a philosopher, and
even in the most casual sidewalk con
versatiOn he is fairly certain TO do a
bit OF offhand philosOphizing AS a
rule he does SO more or less epigram-
matically.
Not infrequently Taggart's remarks
about things in general lead him to the
subject OF Edwin Markhams poem.
The Man With the Hoe. No mat
ter what the original conversation IS
abOut-baseball, cabbages, barbed wire
or what not il is likely TO shift about
TO the Markham poem. which Taggart
regards as grossly inaccurate. The
poem is about a man, bowed with the
weight OF centuries who puts on old
clothes and goes out in the field to en-
gage in honest toll. Taggart's notion
is that the man himself had no kick
coming on account of his lot in life,
but that his neighbors, and likewise
Mr.. Markham, wasted a great deal of
maudlin sympathy over him. simply
because he wore shabby clothes while
az work
"A great many people have an idea.
declares Taggart, that in order TO
dignity labor the laborer should wear
plug hat and a frock coat"
On another point Taggart remarked
the other day: This is a material
world and material things have always
made the biggest hit. The people like
a man who can give them more food
or more creature comforts better than
the man who offers merely spiritual
uplift Did you ever stop TO think
that Of all the miracles ever perform
ed by the Savior that of the loaves and
fishes. when he fed 5000 persons. is
the one we hear the most about?
"A great many politicians succeed"
says Taggart, because they are smart
enough TO stick to more or less mys
FERROUS subjects to talk about. That
is. they propose brand new lines OF
remedial legislation. and they get
following because the scheme they
propose has never been tried and no
body knows whether they are right or
wrong. 1t is pretty hard TO disprove
an untried theory And the people like
to hear about things that nobody
knows anything about. You may have
noticed that political speakers have
comparatively little to say about
things that are subject 10 absolute
proof. The trouble with thing that
is logical and can be proved is that
one can't get up any argument about
it, Did you ever pause to note that
the great mathematicians never dis
agree"
Taggart can go on in similar philo-
sophie vein by the hour.
Sen. Miles Poindexter of Washing
ton attended a preparatory school
down in Virginia, and it vas an eXcep-
tiOnal thing in those days for twenty
four hours 10 elapse without the fu-
ture senator starting something.
Whenever anything happened the
principal of the school adjusted his
glasses and looked in the direction of
Miles PoindeXter.
There came TO the school one day
tall pupil several years older than
the other students. He wore lavender
trousers and a long black coat. So
PoindeXter. who was aged about Is,
saw that something would have TO be
done. He put various propositions up
to the other pupils. but they feared
the newcomer, who was larger than
any of them, might give trouble, un-
less treated with kindness and con-
sideration Miles PoindeXter was
obliged to look after the stranger
alone and unaided. He went to him
and told him that he desired TO eX-
tend to him friendly tip AT one
OF the classes so Miles told him, ii
was customary for each pupil, on
entering, to pause at the threshold
and repeat a verse of Scripture, be-
cause the instructor was a oft or
crank about things spiritual. If the
newcomer would repeat verse, cas-
ually. the first day he appeared in
that class. il would make a tremen-
dous hit with the professor, so young
Poindexter suggested The tall pupil
tried To think of a suitable verse, but
none occurred TO him and Poindexter
even went so far in his hospitality
as TO provide him with one.
An hour later, when the class was
gathered together, the tall pupil en-
tered the doorway, paused, gave a
military salute. and declared, meekly
enough. but in a loud voice:
blessed are they that expect moth
ing, for they shall not be disap-
pointed"
Taat night Miles PoindeXter was
obliged to stay in the class room after
all the others had gone. and commit
TO memory THE Wreck of the Hes
erus."