The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-03-26


pacity. And the emotion of the thing
is so great that / suppose | must be
some kind of mask to conceal it. !
really feel sometimes as if were mas"
querading when l catch a picture of
myself in some printed description.
In between things that have to do as
a public officer l never think of my
self as the President of the United
States, because never have had any
sense of being identified with that Of
fee. feel like person appointed for
a certain length of time to administer
that office, and feel just as much out
side OF it at this moment as did be-
fore was elected to it. l feel just as
much outside of 1t as still feel outside
of the government of the United
States.
Office the Greater.
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 go
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 respon-
sible for running it the best he knew
how. The machine 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 tipping the public the
wink, as much as to say, 1t is only
me. that is inside this thing. l know
perfectly well that will have to get
out personally. l know that then
will look just my own proper size, and
that for the time being the proportions
are somewhat refracted and misrepre-
sented to the eye by the large thing
am inside of. from which l am tipping
you this wink
For example, take matters of this
sort: l will not say whether 1t is wise
or unwise simple or grave, but certain
presidents have been established 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. 1t is a very
uncomfortable thing to have to think
Of all the other people every time get,
up and sit down. and all that sort of
thing. So that when get guests I'M
my 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 some
thing first, I firmly decline. There are
blessed intervals when / forget by one
means or another that I am President
Of the United States. One means by
which I forget is to get rafting good
detective story, get after some imagi-
nary offender, and chase him all over
preferably any continent but this.
Because the various parts of this con-
tinent are becoming painfully sugges;
tive to me. The post offices, and many
other things which stir Renaissance
have 'sicklied them DER with a pale
cast of thought There are post Of
fees to which I wouldn't think of mail
ing letter, which I can't think of
without trembling with the knowledge
Of all the heartburnings of the strug-
gle there was in connection with get
ing somebody installed as postmas-
ter"
The President talked entirely inform
ally. He wore sack suit and stood
With his hands in his pockets as he
spoke. VIE was in happy mood and
his remarks were constantly punctu-
ited with laughter and applause. Mr..
Wilson is member of the Press Club,
having been elected as an author long
before he became President. Mem
oers of the Cabinet, Speaker Clark
md many officials also were guests of
he newspaper men.