Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-10-08

This is the answer of the Presidents friends on
Mexico; and again they ask: "What would yOu
have done?'
ONE more fact about the President-his ESQ
- lation." He is probably the most difficult man
in the world to-day to see. There are Congress-
men and Senators in Washington, many of them,
who have never once succeeded in getting a
minutes interview with him in all his four years.
In this he stands in special contrast to Mr. Roose-
welt, who had a marvellous facility in handling
crowd of visitors without firing himself getting
in the way of his work. The country, | think,
has somewhat resented the thought of its Presi-
dent closeted alone, without confidants, settling
the destinies of the nation behind locked door.
| think the President has been conscious of that
feeling and has regretted it, Yet his isolation
is something for which he is not really responsible.
MIR. o. G. Willard, in recent article, recalled
the experience of Paul Lidau, the novelist, who
visitor to Washington during Grover Cleve-
lands administration. A friend who met him on
the street one day asked him if he would like to
meet the President. Lidau was delighted. He
would go home at once, he said and get into
dress suit.
"Not necessary, not necessary" said his friend.
"Come along"
So they walked over to the White House. past
one seepy-looking policeman, and into the Office
of the Presidents secretary.
HeIO, Sdlu UlaU gentleman WanI 10 seq
the President? Sure Go right upstairs. You'll
find him in his study
Those days are gone. Not because the Presi-
dent does not want to meet the people infor-
mally as any President ever did, but simply be-
of the almost unbelievable pressure of work
that crowds upon the Presidents time and
strength.
Friends of MIR. Wilson say that the thing that
troubles him most is not criticism, not foreign
affairs, but the oppressive consciousness that he
is every day deciding in an instant matters that
really deserve the consideration of a week
Once, to group of newspaper men, he I'M
bosomed himself:
Al tremble to think of the variety and falseness
of the impressions | make-and it is borne in on
me so that it may change my very disposition
that am cold and removed person, who has
thinking machine inside, which he adjusts to the
circumstances, which he does not allow to be
moved by any winds of affection or emotion of
any kind, but turns like cold search-ight on
anything that is presented to his attention and
makes it work.
81 am not aware of having any detachable
apparatus inside of me- On the contrary, if l
were so to interpret myself l would say that my
constant embarrassment is to restrain the emo
tions that are inside me.
II am listening, am diligently trying to collect
all the brains that are borrowable, in order that
| may not make any more blunders than it is
inevitable man should make who has great
limitations of knowledge and capacity. And the
emotion of the thing is great that suppose
must have some kind of mask to cover it. . .
"If you calculated the number of blunders
fellow can make in twenty-four hours If he Is not
careful and if he does not listen more than he
talks, you would see something of the feeling that
| have"
There, in few words, is Woodrow Wilson,
twenty-eighth President of the United States, as
he would like to be seen by his countrymen-as
he Sees himself