The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-03-31

4
much outside Of it as / still feel out
side of the government of the United
States.
mo man could imagine himself the
government of the United States; but
he could understand that some part
Of his fellow citizens had told hin. re
go and run a certain part of it the best
he knew how.
THAT would not make him the gov
eminent itself or the thing itself. It
would just make him responsible for
running it the best he knew how.
Office So Great; Man So Small.
THE machine is so much greater
than himself, the office 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.
Il can hardly refrain every now and
again from tipping the public the
wink, as much as to say, 1t is only
me that is inside this thing. ! know
that l will have to get out presently.
I know that then l will look Just my
own proper size, and that for the time
being the proportions are somewhat
refracted and misrepresented to the
eye by the large thing l am inside Of,
from which l am tipping you this
wink
For example, take matters Of this
sort. ! will not say whether it is wise
or unwise; simple or grave, but GER
tain precedents have been established
that in certain companies the prest
dent must leave the room first and
people must give way to him. They
must not sit down if he is standing up.
Finds Customs Embarrassing.
1T is a very uncomfortable 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 | get
guests in my own house and the pub
lie is shut out, | adjourn being pres
ident and take leave to be a gentle
man. If they draw back and insist
upon my doing something first l firm
~ decline.
There are blessed intervals when |
forget by one means or another that
| am president of the United States.
One means by which I forget is to get
rafting good detective story, get
after some imaginary offender, and
chase him all over-preferably any
continent but this-because the vari-
Gus parts Of this continent are becom-
ing painfully suggestive to me-
THE postoffices and many other
things which stir "reminiscences have
'3icklied them DER with pale cast
of thought There are postofices to
which l wouldn't think of mailing a
letter, which 1 can't think of without
trembling with the knowledge of the
heartburnings of the struggle there
was in connection with getting some
body installed as postmaster.
Knows Little of Capital Sights.
Now, if l we're free, l would come
not infrequently up to these rooms.
You know l never was in Washington
but very few hours until l came last
year and l never expect to see the
inside of the public buildings in Wash.
ington until my term is over.
THE minute l turn up anywhere,
l am personally conducted to beat the
band. The curator, and the assistant
curators, and every other blooming Of
fetal turns up, and they show me so
much attenAion that | don't see the
building / would have to say. Stand
aside and let me see what you are
showing me-
Some day, after l am through with
this office, l am going to come back
to Washington and see it. In the
meantime, l am in the same category
as the National museum, the monu-
ment, the Smithsonian institution, or
the Congressional library, and every
thing that comes down here has to
be shown the president.
IF l only knew an exhibition ap-
pearance to acknowledgements other
appearances that do not show what is
going on inside would like to have
1t pointed out, so that l could practise
it before the looking glass and see if
| could not look like the monument
Being regarded as a national ex-
htbit, it would be much simpler than
being shaken hands with by the whole
United States. And yet, even that is
interesting to me, simply because l
like human beings.
1T is pretty poor crowd that does
not interest you. I think they would
have to be all members of that class
that devotes itself to expense regard
less Of pleasure in order to be en-
tirely uninteresting. These look so
much alike-spend their time trying
to look SO much alike-and so relieve
themselves of all responsibility Of
thought-that they are very monoto-
nous indeed to look at! whereas a
crowd picked up off the street is just
a jolly lot-a job lot Of real human
beings, pulsating with life, with all
kinds of passions and desires.
Plain Citizen, His Ambition.
ct would be a great pleasure if, I'M
served and unattended, l could be
knocked around as l have been accus-
toned to be knocked around all my
life; if l could resort to any delightful
quarter, to any place in Washington
that l chose. l have sometimes
thought Of going to some costumer-
some theatrical costumer-and buying
an assortment of boards, rouge, color