The Washington herald., 1914-03-21

masquerading when catch a picture of
myself In some printed description. When
you fellows stand around me on Mon
day mornings and Thursday afternoons
and ask me questions, know what is in
the back OF your heads and INcould. tell
you sometimes more than / do tell you.
but do not tell you any more than
am sure of. I try TO keep a grip on
myself. The other day. the last time we
we're together, the natural man got to
the front Of the stage and ! had to talk
to you as an Individual and not as the
President of the United States / wish
there were more occasions when I could
do that. because / have this feeling.
gentlemen. In between things that I
have to do as a public officer never
think of myself as the President of the
United States because I never have had
any sense OF being Identified with that
office.
Must Look Grave.
II feel like a person appointed for a
certain length of time to administer that
office, and / feel Just as much outside of
it at this moment as / did before / was
elected to IL. / feel just as much outside
OF 1t as still feel outside of the govern
ment of the United States No 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 ii the best he knew how. That would
not make him the government itself or
the thing itself. 1t would just make him
responsible for running 1t the best he
knew how. The machine is so much
greater than himself, the Office is so much
greater than himself; the Office is so
much greater than he ever can be. and
the most he can do Is to look grave
enough and self-posscssed enough to seem
to fill II.
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 perfectly
well that will have to get out presently.
l know that then ! will look just my
own proper size, and that for the time
being the proportions are somewhat re-
fracted and misrepresented to the eye by
the large thing 1 am inside of. from
which 1 am tipping you this wink.
For example, take matters of this sort:
will not say whether 1t is wise or un-
wise, simple or grave, but certain pre-
cedents have been established that in
certain companies the President must
leave the room first, and people must
give way to him. They must sit down il
he is standing up. 1t is a very uncomfort-
able thing to have to think OF all the
other people every time I get up and sit
down, and all that sort of thing. So that
when l get guests in my house and the
public is shut out, I adjourn being Presi-
dent and take leave to be a gentleman.
If they draw back and insist upon my
being something first, l firmly decline.
There are blessed intervals wnen for
get in one means or another that i am
President of the United States. One
means in which / forget is to get a
rattling good detective story, get after
some imaginary offender, and chase him
all over-preferably any continent but
this Because, the various parts of this
continent are becoming painfully suggest
i've to me. The postoffice, and many
other things which stir "reminiscences
have 'sickled them DER with a pale cast
OF thought" There are postoffices to
which l would think of mailing a letter
which l can't think of without troubling
with the knowledge of all the heartburn
ings of the struggle there was in conncc-
tion with getting somebody installed as
postmaster.
Conducted .'to Beat Band"
Now. II I were free, would come
not infrequently up to these rooms. You
know l never was in Washington but a
very few times and for a very few hours
until / came last year. and l never ex-
pect to see the inside of the public
buildings in Washington until my term
is over. The minute / turn up anywhere,
I am personally conducted to beat the
band. The curator, and the assistant Gu
rators, and every other blooming official
turns up and they show me so much at
tention that don't see the building. I
-
me see what you are showing me-
For example. / took a short cut
through the Treasury Department the
other day, going in this door just Oppo-
site here and cutting through, and there
was a great scamperinG of custOdians
and what not up to the Secretary Of the
Treasury's office crying The President is
in the building'-as II some menagerie
animal or something that had to be at
tended were loose. The Secretary Of the
Treasury a few days after said. I un-
derstand you visited the Treasury. Not
at ALL / said, I took short cut
through it and escaped as soon as L
could Everywhere 1 go I have that
Some day after 1 am through with this
office ! am going to come back TO WASH
ington and see it.
..In the meantime. am In the same
category as the ational Museum. the
Monument. the Smithsonian Institution.
or the Congressional Library, and every
thing that comes down here has TO De
shown the President. II l only knew
an exhibition appearance to assume-ap-
narently / can assume other appearances
that do not show what is going on in
side would like to have it pointed out
90 that 1 could practice ii before the
looking glass and see if could not look
ill., the Monument. Being regarded as
na+5r6aI exhibit. it would be much
simpler than being shaken hands with
nv the whole United States.
Likes Human Beings.
"And vet even that is interesting to me
siunIy because / like human beings. II
is a nretty poor crowd that does not IN
terest YOU. I think they would have TO
he au members of that class that devotes
itself TO expense regardless OF pleas
ure' in order to be entirely uninterestrng.
These look so much alike-spend their
time irving to look so much alike-and
so relieve themselves Of all RESPONSE
biIity of thought-that they are very
rnonotonous indeed to look at; whereas a
crowd picked up off the street Is Just
ioIIy lot-a Job lot of real human beings,
pulsating with life. with all KINDS OF
passions and desires.
''It would De a great pleasure II, unoo-
served and unattended, 1 could be
knocked around as I have been accus-
.-aa 60 haipp knocked around all nv