The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-08-17
WHY NOMINATED COL. ED LAM
BRIGHT FOR GOVERNOR
(Peter Stanley
Pine. Fla, Aug. Ia. 1917.

To the Editor Ocala Banner:
of grave responsibility, or in any man
ner given broad authority to act for
the common masses of the people,
they should be men of strong and
properly cultivated minds-minds
that are not servile to environments,
but which possess that rare quality Ga
power within a power) to master en-
viro1ments. Such minds have the
faculty of grasping things in a broad
tom of what is best, and then power
to put such conclusions into practi-
cal effect regardless of personalities
or petty influences.
The range of the human mind is
wonderful. and widely at variance.
There are some very strong minds on
certain specified lines of procedure
which if transferred to some other
hard task are not qualified for it, The
mind of child-perfect mind of an
inflnt--is so very delicately con-
structed and so very susceptible to
impressions that even an evil thought
passing through it may leave traces
of injury which will never be abso-
lutely obliterated After the physi-
cal man has been developed the mind
isn't so easily thrown out of adjust
ment by the ordinary influences, but
many are wholly unable to withstand
the thunderbolts of evil and other in
fuences.
The vOcatiOns, pursuits and callings
of men have a great deal to do with
their fitness for real craftsmanship.
Oratory is one of the greatest of mis-
leading influences for Judging men fit
for the very responsible positions OF
real power and responsibility. The
writer knew Mr.. Cats personally and
as fellow minister of the gospel be-
fore he possibly ever thought of being
governor of Florida He is indeed
an orator il the pulpit He is a very.
very strong preacher. He possesses
strong personalities and the faculty
of swaying the minds Of his congre
cations when it comes to pulpit
work. | am sincere when | say that
believe he made a mistake when he
gave up the pulpit even for the gov
ernOrs chair. Il don't mean. how
ever that he has literally and abso-
venture to go further and say that
sincerely believe that after a man $
mind has been nodded into the groove
of pulpit and ministerial work for
years and has been, as it were, so or
dered into this line OF thought, pro-
cedure and action, that he is to a
large extent disqualified for the work
of craftsmanship. which is almost the
reverse in many instances to that
which he has been trained to.
W. j. Bryan. with his magnetic
powers of oratory, swayed the minds
of the American people to the extent
of securing twice the nomination for
president of the United States Yet,
his desertion from the cabinet in a
most trying and critical moment,
when the very best brain of the coun-
try was needed absolutely disqualified
him for the position he so earnestly
sought, and shows that should he
have been elected the people would
have been misguided into a most Sc
riOus error. 1t is very probable that
! Billy Sunday would be a complete fail.
ure as a statesman Oratory is an I'M
safe guide, as unsafe men as we'll as
some of the very greatest may pos.
sess it-along certain given lines. at
least. The difference between just an
orator and statesman is that the
public speaker sometimes develops
into a rapid firing machine gun"
while the statesman is the heavier
artillery with a given purpose to
accomplish and no ammunition to
waste Sometimes the machine gun"
hits the mark, but many shots go at
randOm-and the random shots often
do mischief to innocent interests.
Trained editors of large and infiu-
entail periodicals are often safe men,
provided such editors are unhamper-
ed and free to write as they see and
think, and no forced into certain
lines and policies by some personal
interest or influence. Frank L.
Mayes of Pensacola (the Pensacola
JournaD, was universally considered
a deep thinker. People came to this
conclusion mostly from reading his
editorials They made no mistake.
and he truly qualified for governor in