Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-27


fit, inherited money was in the nature Of
a trust fund, to be divided without favor
among members OF the family.
Having always lived within my income,
] was entirely out of debt. had house
in town and had recently bought the his
toric home Of the family, which had been
in its possession for $50 years, and there
l intended to spend my summers. l owned
a library of more than 10000 volumes
OF Americana, especially relating to Penn
sylvanis, which in some respects was uu-
equaled in the world
No Political Ambition
was president OF the Historical Society
Of Pennsylvania and trustee of the
University Of Pennsylvania, and these were
to DO the diversions and activities outside
of my professional work. In "a twinlilinE.
within period covering lew weeks Of
time, all of these conditions, pans and pur.
poses were cast into the rubbish heap and
I was out upon the broader sea Of public
affairs. AS an illustration OF how far was
1 from thinking of such a career, it may
DO told that just at this most inappropriate
time | resigned my membership in the
Union League, which had held for fifteen
years, upon the theory that it meant moth
ing in the pursuits of my life and was an
unnecessary expense.
A long time ago, in the Far East, in
the land where tho bulbul sings and the
roses bloom and scatter fragrance, the
soothsaycrs gave warning that upon Il GER
tof, ;ntr fbo bp ha t,S
to see the sun rise in its glory was des-
tined to be king. Upon that day all Of
the people gathered upon the plain and
each man with neck stretched and eyes
fixed upon the Far East, intent and eager,
watched to catch the first glimpse OF the
coming dawn. But there was one among
them who, too proud and Indifferent to
enter into the contest, turned his back
upon the sun and fastened his eyes upon
the mountain tops of the Far West where
stood the hut in which he was born and,
behold when the sun rose its earliest
rays glinted along these peaks and he was
the man of destiny vino first caught the
light. 1t is true story. Men never Sc
cure the great rewards of life through
eagerness. Fortune, like a woman, de.
spises those who crouch at her feet Clay.
Webster and Blaine hunted the presidency
with great ability and unwearied zeal, only
to fail. The only man who ever set about
to get It, sacrificing old friendships and
present duties in his thirst, who met with
success, was Woodrow Wilson, and the
fact that he reached i. was due to entirely
different causes. Ckicf Justice Edwin NJ.
Paxson besought the politicians to let him
have the governorship Of Pennsylvania as
r. climax TO his career and found their
hearts hardened against him. Josiah V.
Thompson, reputed to be worth $3o,000,0OO.
hoped that the weight Of wealth would
secure it. John j. Elkn sought it as the
reward for long and efficient politica!
service. In each case the effort was II
dreary waste. II came to me without the
lifting Of a finger. the expenditure Of
dime or the utterance OF n sigh.
The Foundation of Success
IL would be the expression OF Il super
fetal thought to say that this outcome was
the result OF accident In the play of
forces and the working Of the laws OF
nature there is no such thing as acci-
them perish early, but if they once get
rooted in the ground, then they grow.
Men gather strength and facility by that
which they do, and if a man can do any
thing we'll he is presently in demand. To
every man certain opportunities come in
the course Of his life. Fortune occasionally
knocks at his door. The difference in men
IS that some see and listen, and 10 Others
failing to heed, she comes no more. |
was a Judge, but something more than u
Judge. bore part in the affairs Of the
city and the State beyond tho performance
Of my mere professional duties. Through
the years had been slowly collecting the
out-of.the.way books relating TO the State
and these gave me information which other
men did not possess, utilized in papers
and addresses until had come to be
representative, and even champion. of its
cause in literature and history. For In.
stance, July 16. 1902, the State of New
York dedicated its State Park at Stony
Point, and invited me to deliver the grafton.
1t was a hot day, there was q great crowd
with much noise, a sufficiently long pro-
gram, In the course Of which Governor
Odell made an impromptu address. and. as
q result, my formal paper was not listened
to with eagerness, but 1t was a careful
study Of the event. and of Waynes relation
to IL, and II has had a permanent effect.
And now the time had come when the
politicians OF the State. in an emergency,
needed man Of a type different from that
of the ordinary partisan. The politician,
upon the whole. does his work on some
what higher plane and with a little more
regard for its appearance than does the
business or professional man. This is not
dua 20 fba fact that ba ts NJ n aieSa-o-.