New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-22
Depew, at 80, Says
Danish Luxuries
And Petty Cares
Happiness Depends on
Number of Things You
Can Do Without"
Wants Army To Be Fit
Will Tell of Civil War Mis-
takes to Safeguard Our
Soldiers of To-day
Wants Army To Be Fit

"To the individual seeking happiness
I say, banish from your life all en-
ervatipg Injuries and petty worries
"To the nation say, train the Amer
lean soldier so thoroughly before he
GOES into battle that he will not die
from sheer inexperience, as he did at
the beginning Of the Civil War
Chauncey NJ. Depew, as mentally
alert, physically fit and genial as OF
yore, yesterday drew from his three
score years Of active public life these
two maxims as most opportune for
America on entering the European war.
Mr.. Depew will celebrate his eighty
third birthday tomorrow. He and his
wife plan to have a good time at their
home, 27 West Fifty-fourth Street.
Next Saturday night the Montauk Club
in Brooklyn, will give him a birthday
banquet for the twenty-sixth consecu-
tive year.
Sitting in his library, Mr.. Depew
pointed to a shelf on which lay eight
volumes of his after dinner orations.
ave done a lot of talking in my
lifetime" he said, "and I'm going to
do some more now, for think it is
good thing that some of us are still
living who were born before the Civil
War and who knew Lincoln intimately.
We may save the nation from some of
the errors that were committed then.
One of them was sending the Northern
troops into battle before they were
prepared. The result was that they
died off like flies.
Lack of sanitation killed more SOL
diers than bullets. Disease took them
in swarms BECAUSE they were unsea-
soned. II was not until two years
PASSED that the North woke up. 1t
realized that no soldier was efficient
until he was physically trained to be
q soldier and then was safeguarded by
sanitation. That maxim is true for our
soldiers to-day. They should not be
plunged into a battle with the Ger
mans until they are made fit, no mat
ter how long it takes, and when they
go nothing should be lacking to pro-
tect them from sickness.
"The next thing in Importance TO the
welfare of the nation is the welfare or
its citizens. | never had a programme
of living and never read book on
How to Live a Hundred Years But |
have learned a few things. At Yale J
became an abolitionist. When | was
graduated found myself Republican,
in opposition to all my relatives. took
the stump in 1854 in the first Repub-
lican campaign. | got to smoking
strong cigars. They stimulated my
mind. When / wanted to make
speech I had to smoke. They kept me
awake, and / could see they were cat
ing up my energy. One time IN Al
bany on the eve of an important trial
Ilrcmained awake half the night be-
cause | had smoked too much. The
next morning, feeling horrible, | rushed
after another cigar. Halfway to the
court | impulsively pulled the cigar out
of my mouth, threw it at streetcar
and never smoked again. That was
thirty years ago.
"Another evil prevailed among young
lawyers. The story got out that Dan
iel Webster was a great orator because
he drank brandy. am sure that story
sent scores Of ambitious lawyers to un-
timely graves tried the brandy sys-
TEN for a while, but finally gave that
up. As | grew older | found happiness;
depended upon health largely, and
health depended upon the number of
things you could do without.
That's why / say life is made better
and finer by the elimination of the SUI
perfuous. 1t has worked well with me:
| feel as fit as a fiddle. like life and
am glad I've had a whack at it.