The Washington herald., 1914-03-18
HISTORY BUFFERS.
Blaine's Remarkable Memory for
Faces and Names.
written expressly fer The Herald.)
ny DIR. y. J. EDWARDS,

/
written expressly fer The Herald)
ny DR.. y. J. EDWARDS.
few days before the close Of tn.
state campaign In Maine. In September
1873, l spent an afternoon with Nelson
Dingley In the editorial rooms OF his news
paper office In the city Of Lewiston Mr.
Dingiey had been governor OF Maine, but
was yet to compass his greatest achieve.
ment. which was the drafting of the Law
which has passed into tradition as the
Dingley tariff, eighteen years later.
He was greatly concerned over the re-
suit In Maine, fearing that the combina-
ton between the greenbackers and the
Democratic party would cost the Repub-
lican party certain of the State tickets
and possibly the legislature.
Three or four Of Gov. Dingley's friends
dropped In and In course OF the converse
tion reference was made to the extraor-
cmary ability OF James G. Blaine as
a practical managing politician. Mr..
Blaine was In charge Of the State cam
paign at that time.
l mentioned to Gov. Dingley that / had
heard that one Of the reasons for the pre-
eminent success of Mr. Blaine upon the
field of politics was his ability to re-
member not only faces. but names. and
asked the governor If that were an
accurate statement. He said:
OF course. no one can tell whether
hr. Blaine never fails to recognize a
lace which he has once seen and to
recall the name that belongs to that
face. He could be wonderfully skill
iui In concealing his forgetfulness II
II were necessary to do that. But he
did have, ] think. an unsurpassed abil-
ity-really an unrivaled faculty Of mem
ory-for remembering not only faces but
names. sometimes thought that he
trained himself by a system of mnemo-
MICS whereby he indelibly fixed the face
OF man whom he had once met In his
mind and also the name Of the man.
That belief Is due. perhaps. to some
thing ] once heard on good authority
that Mr.. Blaine said. Blaine spoke of
several of the qualifications which were
necessary II a man were to be highly sue
csssful in politics. One OF them was the
ability to remember not only faces. but
names. He said that almost everybody
claimed to be able to remember a face
which he had once seen without being
able to recall the name. In his view II
would be better for a politician never to
say to any one. 1 can recall your face.
but don't remember your name For.
in his opinion, men took a greater pride
in having their names remembered than
In having their faces recalled. He had
observed. too. that there was one thing
that many men were very sensitive about
and that was inaccuracy in calling a
mans name. As. for instance. giving
him the right surname. but the wrong
name.
But II a man who had met a political
leader only once. and that some yeas
before the second meeting. were greet
ed by this leader. not with the state
nent. i recall your face but with a
hearty and cordial calling of the man by
his right name. then the politician would
be pretty apt to make Of that man a
lifelong friend. His pride or his vanity
was in this manner appealed to.
81 have no doubt that Mr. Blaine cul-
tivated to its highest perfection his ma
D. associating the right names with the
faces. and IL is undoubtedly true that
This accounted not wholly. but in part.
for Mr.. Blaine's popularity"
One Of the men present added to the
foregoing this statement:
II have been told that Mr.. Blaine.
when Speaker. would shut his eyes or
ook away from the printed roll Of mem
hers and call every member of the House
If Representatives by name without
making a single mistake"
Copyright. lelil
Tomorrow, AN Anecdote of Fa-
nous Virginia Priest"