Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-21
WILSON DEPICTS
|NNERMOST FEARS
Laments Lack of Free dom and
Feels Like "a Fraud" Some
times, He Says.


promptu speech delivered In n very
informal way. and was not intended
for publication; but afterward the
President yielded to opportunities and
consented TO release 1t for newspap-
ers. The occasion was "housewarm-
ing" of the clubs new quarters In tho
Riggs building. President Wilson was
introduced by Frank B. Lord, the
president of the club.
The President put his heart Into his
remarks He showed that he chafed
under The restr ctions that surrounded
the President, and would apprecat
1t if he were placed in IA position
where he would be treated more like
human being. His constant embar-
rassment, he said, was to restrain the
emotions that were inside of him.
II was lust thinking of my sense Of
confusion OF identity. sometimes,
when ] read the articles about my
self" Mr.. Wilson said. II have never
read an article about myself In which
| recognized myself. and I have como
to nave the impression that I must
be some kind OF a fraud, because |
think great many OF those articles
are written In absolute good faith.
tremble TO think of the variety and
, falseness in the expressions | make
and II Is being borne In on me 50
that II may change my very dispOsI-
tion-that | am cold and removed
person who has a thinking machine
inside which he adjusts to the cir
cumstances, which he does not allow
TO be moved by any winds of affec-
ton or emotion OF any kind, that
turns like cold searchlight on any
thing thnt Is presented To his utten-
ton and makes II work
Il have mixed. first and last, with
all sorts and conditions of men
there are nj ghty few kinds of men
that have to be described to me. and
there are mighty few kinds of ex-
pcriences that have TO be described
to me--and when think of the num-
Der of men who are looking to me as
the representative of party, with
the hope for all varieties of salvage
from the things they ure struggling
in the midst Of, II makes me lrernble
1t makes me trcmble not only Tn Il
sense of my own inudequacy and
weakness. but as IL | were shaken
by the very things that are shaking
them. and II ! seem circumspect, II
/ Is because | am 80 diligently trying
not to make any colossal plumbers.
Ii you Just calculate the number of
plumbers IL fellow can make in TWEEN
ty-four hours II he IL not careful and
| If he does not stem more than he
talks. you would see something of the
feeling that | have.
Il was amused the other day at q
remark that Senator Newlands made.
| had read him the trust message that
| WAS 10 deliver to Congress some
ten days before l delivered ii, and
never stop 'doctoring' things of that
kind until the day | have 10 deliver
them When he heard 1t read to Con
gress he said: 4 think was better
than 1t was when you read II to me
| said: Senator, there Is one thing
which do not tn nix you understand
| not only use all the brains | have.
| but all | can borrow, and have bor-
| rowed a lot since l read 1t to You
| first
That. dare say, Is what gives
the impress on of clrcumspectness
am listening; | am diligently trying
to collect all the brains that are bor-
more blunders than II is inevitable
that man should make who has
great limitat onS Of knowledge and
capacity. And the emotion of the
thing Is 50 great that | SUPPOSE |
must be some kind of "a mask to con-
ceal II.
Il can hardly refrain every now
and again from tipping the public
the wink, as much as to say, 1t IL
only me" that y Inside this thing.
know perfectly well thnt | will have
to get out presently. know that
then | will look just my own proper
size, and that for the time being the
proportions are somewhat refrat ted
and tnisrepresented to the eye 10y the
large thing I am inside of, from
which | am tipping you this wink.
There are blessed Intervals when
| forget by one means or another
that | am President of the United
States. One means by which | forget
is To get a rafting good detective
story. get after some imaginary Of
fender, and chase him all over
preferably any continent but this, be-
cause the various parts of this CONT
nent are becoming painfully sug-
gtstIve To mt. The post offices, and
many other things which stir remi-
niscence have 'sirklied them DER with
pale cast of thought There are
post offices to which | wouldn't think
of mailing letter, which | cant
think of without trembling with the
knowledge of all the heartburnings Of
the struggle there was In connection
with getting somebody installed as
postmaster.
Now. If | were free | would come
not infrequently up to these rooms.
You know ! never was In Washing
ton but very few times, and for a
very few hours. until | came last
year, and | never expect to see the
inside of the public buildings in
Washington until my term is over
The minute | turn up anywhere |
am personally conducted to beat the
band. The curator and the assistant
curator and every other blooming Of
fetal turns up, and they show me SO
much attention 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 ! am going to come back
| to Washington and see 1t. In the
meantime I 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. II l only knew
an exhibition appearance to assume
apparently | can assume other APP
pearances that do not show what Is
going on inside-I would like to have
1t pointed out, so that | could prac-
tise 1t before the looking glass and
| see IL ! could not look like the monu-
ment. Being regarded as national