The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-18
LAYS WAKE O'NIGHTS
STUDYING HARD TASK
Way Tells Of the Inoonveniences of High -Dsnter
ested Men Are Those He Must Tie To For Counse-Tes
Why America Is For Peace.

did not conceive that he had been
elected President 10 do as he pleased.
IF / were, It would have been very
much more interesting" he said.
Impressions of public men as q class
were given frankly by the President,
with the comment that some grew
and some sweiied. He also discussed
the relations of the newspapers to the
| affairs Of the nation, and sounded
warning that false information about
foreign affairs was more than likely
to lead to trouble.
The Presidents remarks as original
ly delivered were read by him cure
fully before being made public, but
no important portions were eliminat-
ed. and the wording was not changed
substantially.
In beginning his speech, the Presi-
dent made reference to his previous
visit to the club and to his statement
at that time that he felt constantly
personal detachment from the pres
idency.
Inconvenience of ONCE.
II am constantly reminded as I go
about. as I do sometimes at the week
end" he said in that connection. "of
the personal Inconvenience of being
President of the United States, If
Z want TO KNOW now many pcoplS iiNV
in a small town, all l have to do is
to GO there, and they at once line up
to be counted might, in census
taking year. save the census-takers
great deal of trouble by asking them
to accompany me and count the peo-
ple on the spot Som etimes, when
am most beset, / seriously think or
renting a pair OF whiskers Or OF do
ing something else that will furnish
me with an adequate disguise. be-
cause I am sorry to find that the cut
of my lib Is unmistak ahl and that
I must fy under false colors If I am
going to sail incognito.
Yes, as I have matched by expe-
rience with my articipations I. Of
course, have been aware that I was
taken by surprise because OF the
prominence of many things TO which
/ had not looked forward"
The Strain OF Things.
When dealing with domestic affairs
he continued. we are dealing with
things that to Americans are more or
less calcuIable. but when the fortunes
OF the country are subject TO the in
calculable winds of passion that are
blowing through the other parts OF
the world" there is no knowing what
turn of the wheel of fortune may wrest
control from the guiding hand
1T makes no difference how dsep
the passion OF the nation lies" said the
President that passion may be so
overborne by the rush of fortune In
circumstances like those which now
exist that you feel the sort of had
almost said resentment that a man
feels when his own affairs are not
within his own hands. You can
imagine the strain upon the feeling
of any man who Is trying to interpret
the spirit of hts country when he feels
that that spirit cannot have its own
way beyond a certain point. And ore
Of the grea test points of strain upon
me, If may be permitted to point It
out, was this:
There are two reasons why the
chief wish OF America Ia for peace
! One is that they love peace and have
nothing to do with the present quar-
rel: and the other is that they believe
I the present quarrel has carried those
engaged In II so far that they cannot
be held 10 ordinary standards OF re-
spon 81 hility. and that. therefore. as
some men have expressed it to me,
since the rest OF the world ts mad.
why should we not simply refuse TO
have anything to do with the rest OF
the world in the ordinary channels OF
action Why not LET the storm pass,
and then, when II Ia all over, have
/ the reckonings?
America Decidedly for Peace
Knowing that from both these two
points Of view the passion of America
was for peace, was. nevertheless,
aware that America is one of the ma
/ tons of the world. not only, but one
OF the chief nations Of the world-a
nation that grows more and more pow
erfuI almost In spite Of herself; that
i've
| tial even when she Is not aware of
| IT: and that II she is to play the part
which she covetS II La necessary that
she should act more or less from the
point of view of the rest OF the world.
Muscular Christianity Needed.
If l cannot retain my moral in
fiuenca over a man except by occas-
ionaliy knocking him down---if that
Is the only basis upon which ne will
respect n,e-for the sake OF his soul
i have got occasionally to knock him
down. You know how we havc read
in--fsn't It In Ralph Connor's stories
of Western life in Canada that all
his successful sky pilots are ready for
a crisis at any time. and how the uli-
mate salvation of the souls Of their
practitioners depends upon their using
their fists occasionally. II man will
not listen to YOU quietly in a seat,
Stt on HIS neck anu Juake MIN ilSleHf
just as have always maintained. par
ticularly in view of certain expert
ences of mine. that the shortest road
to boys moral sense Is through his
cuticIe. There IL a direct and. II
may be permitted the pun. a funda-
mental connection between the sur
face of his skin and his moral con-
seriousness You arrest his attention
first in that way. and then get the
moral lesson conveyed to him In mild
err ways that II he were grown up,
would be the only ways you would
use.
Must Do What We Don't Want To.
$50 I say that ] have been aware
that in order TO do the very thing we
are proundest Of the ability to do,
there might come q time when we
would have to do 1t in q way that VIC
would prefer not to do Il: and the
great burden on my spirits. gentlemen.
has been that II has beon mp to IRE
to choose when that time came. Can
you imagine a thing moro calculated
to keep n man awake at nights than
that? Becauec, tsfst because I did not
feei that I was the whole thing and