Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-21
enough things in this world that need te
be corrected
Weight of Responsibility.


Il have mixed, first and last. with all
sorts and conditions of men-there are
mighty few kinds of men that have to be
described to me. and there are mighty
few kinds of experiences that have to be
described to me. and when l think of the
number of men who are looking to me
as the representative of party. with
the hope for ali varieties of salvation
from the things they are struggling in
the midst Of it makes me tremble. 1t
makes me trenble not only with a sense
of my own inadequacy and weakness. but
as if / We're shaken by the very things
that are shaking them, and If l seem cir
cumspect it is because l am so diligently
trying not to make any colossal blunders.
If you just calculated the number of
blunders a fellow can make in twenty
four hours if he is not careful and if he
does not listen more than he talks, You
would see something of the feeling that
l have.
Il was amused the other day at a re-
mark that Senator Newlands made. |
had read him the trust message that L
was to deliver to Congress some ten days
before 1 delivered it, and l never stop
'doctoring' things of that kind until the
day l have to deliver them. When he
heard it read in Congress he said. 1 think
it was better than it was when You read
il to me- l said, Senator, there is one
thing which l do not think You under
stand. l not only use al the brains l
have. but all I can borrow, and l have
borrowed a lot since read it to you first.
That. l dare say. is what gives the i'm
preston of circumspectneSS. l am listen
ing: 1 am diligently trying to collect all
the brains that are borrowable in order
that | may not make more blunderS than
it is inevitable that a man should make
who has great limitations of knowledge
and capacity. And the emotion of the
hippr I ct
be some kind of mask to conceal it. I
really feel sometimes as If l Were masque-
rading when I catch a picture of myself
in some printed description.
Not President Between Duties.
In between things that / have to do
as public officer 1 never think of my
self as the President of the United
States. because l never have had any
sense of being identified with that Office.
l feel like person appointed for GER
tain length of time to administer that Of
flee, ana l feel just as much outside of
it at this moment as l did before / was
elected to it. l feel just as much outside
of it as l still feel outside of the gov
eminent of the United States. No man
could imagine himself the government
of the United States but he could I'M
derstand that some part of his fellow
certain part of it the best he know how.
That would not make him the govern
ment itself or the thing itself. l would
just make him responsible for running it
the best he knew how. The machine is
so much greater than himself, the effice
is So much greater than himself. the
office is so much greater than he can
ever be, and the most he can do is to
look grave enough and self-possessed
enough to seem to fill it. I can hardly
refrain every now and again from tip
ping the public the wink as much as to
say, 1t is only me that is inside this
thing. 1 know perfectly well that 1 will
have to get out presently. l know that
then l will look just my own proper size
and that for the time being the proper
tions are somewhat refracted and mis-
represented to the eye by the large thing
l am inside of. from which l am tip
ping you tbs wink
For example take matters Of this sort:
/ will not say whether it is wise or I'M
wise, simple or grave. but certain prece-
dents have been established that in GER
tain 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,