The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-02-07
IN MEMORIAM

His magic was not far to Seek
He was so human! Whether strong or
weak,
Far from his kind he neither sank
i nor scared.
But safe an equal guest at every
ooard;-
No beggar ever felt him condescend.
No prince presume; for still himself
he bare
At manhood's simple level. and
where'er
He met q stranger. there he left a
friend"
Agassiz, James Russell Lowell when
he penned 1t, must have had a vision
of the future-he must have had some
premonition of the coming later on of
/ Frank L. Mayes For certain 1t Is
that in those exquisitely beautiful lines
he has left me, and to those others of
us who knew and loved him best, a
/ delineation of his character which Is
/ absolute in It's exactness.
/ knew Frank Mayes,-knew him
!, intimately. l knew him out in the
hurry burly Of the busy world, knew
4
his editorial sanctum, knew him in the
delightful atmosphere of his home.
where love and confidence and COM
partnership reigned supreme. And
knowing him as did, made OF me a
! better man than would have been
had not the influence Of his superb
character been cast upon paths which
have trod, since the magnet OF his
/ tHy ffEY a NJ All
/ me when he came to Pensacola first,
in 1896, an obscure and practically
penniless printer, from far away South
Dakota
Frank Mayes was my friend Indeed
he was more to me than merely friend.
He was my confidant, my chum, and
because of 1t, l loved him as ! would
have loved a brother.
| Again, I knew Frank Mayes,-nct
casually, out intimately. / knew him
because sought association with him
and was with him almost every day
as the weeks the months, and years,
passed into the bygone. I knew him
because had watched critically and
closely every step of his development.
knew him because I analysed his
character in the crucible Of time, by
every test possible to be applied in the
analysis OF character. And thus know
| ing him,-not because he was my
friend, not because he was my conf
dant. not because he was my chum,
not because loved him and was pre-
JUDGED in his favor, but because
discovered it through the cold, emo
tionless processes of character analy-
sis can say In absolute truth, that
/ ha xyfV~f
handicapped with fewer faults, than
any man have ever known.
First OF all, Frank Mayes was. in the
truest and best sense a Christian
gentleman absolutely without cant. He
was an idea1ist, and was utterly devoid
and incapable Of hypocrisy in any
sense. He was frank, direct, and the
very soul Of candor was breathed into
| all Of his dealings and intercourse
with his fellowmen. He was morally
and physically i0rave-unafraid of
anything that he ever did or said,
because he developed in his big and
noble soul q. sense Of justice the most
exact that / ever observed in any
| man. He was as gentle as a
| woman, and by instinct as refined, yet
| he was one Of the manifest men with
whom / was ever thrown. He was as
sensitive as the most delicate flower
to unjust criticism Of his motives and
acts: but the critics Of the principles
or causes which he espoused, whether
moral. social, or political, affected him
less than any man whom have ever
known. Indeed, he never espoused a
cause nor advocated q principle until
he had satisfied his conscience that it
squared with exactness to the stand
ards which he conceived to be right.
But, as Is true with all strong men,
when he charted the course which
he would take upon any question, he
was implacabIe, inmovable: and the
courage Of his convictions never for
sock him.
Frank L. Mayes was born to lead,
and he was q leader of men; but
whatever faults he may have had
whatever debit he will have to meet,
when, at the end of Time, he must
appear before the Judgement Seat
that charge will not be that he ever
led any man astray. Instead, there
will appear upon his record there,
inscribed in letters of purest gold, this
credit memoranda:
"In every moral movement, in every
effort undertaken for the uplift and
betterment of his neighbors and
friends, Frank L. Mayes was one of
the leaders; yea, he was more than
that: he was the one single most
potential moral factor who lived in
the community from whence he was
called here to be judged"
And, in His omnipotent wisdom, the
Great Judge who sits upon the Throne
of Grace, will take into account and
give full credit to him for what has
been written into the record Up There.
Frank l.. Mayes possessed the most
forgiving nature that / have ever
known. Injustice caused him infin
tie pain, and he was resentful of it.
But he harbored no grudges. and vim
dictiveness was an unknown condi-
ton of mind to- him.
Many, many times I have discussed
this phase of his nature with him,
marveling to him that he could for
give and forget-as | have known him
IN, y,aoru RI have dome