Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-30

San Francisco, June 80 This is a
little piece to put in one of the maya
zines conducted with the success mo-
tive. 1t is so different that it ought to
be published. l suppose everybody will
admit that Herbert Hoover and Will
liam &. McAdoo are successful men.
One was the leading candidate for the
Democratic nomination for President
while he was Republican. The other
is very likely to be the Democratic can
didate for President.
Both have achieved prominence and
fortune in the business world, one as
an international mining man and the
other as a railroad promoter and now
as lawyer in New York. Both did
distinguished service in the war, Mr..
McAdoo in financing this country's par
ticipation and in administering the
American railways and Mr.. Hoover in
managing the relief of Belgium and
later as food administrator in this coun-
try.
1t would pay to watch the records Of
both in public service and private
achievement. ANY book of successful
Americans would have pages devoted to
this paragraph.
You all know the type Of successful
man in the magazine with the success
motiye-the hero of fiction that stirs
YOU to go and do likewise. make money,
gain power and marry the girl who be-
leves in you enough to wait while you
!. oil hi
sure of foot mentally as a mounnin
goat on precipice.
Never Troubled by Doubt
He makes decisions aS easily as he
draws his breath. He is instant and
certain; he knows what he wants and
he goes after it.
He gets 1t, too. :
One of the maxims of this ,fctional
theory of life is that a man may have
ANYTHING he desires if he only goes after
IL hard enough. And this boy in the
success fiction always does go after 1t
hard enough. That is the quality that
marks him as great man.
Now let us go back over distinguished
and successful Americans. There is
Mr.. Hoover. He had been Repub-
iican all his life. Yet when people
hppnn 10 tulh VI hlHi lOl INV
presidency he could not tell whether he
was n Republican or not. His friends
said he must see the platforms and the
candidates Of both parties first and then
be' could know which one. he could be-
long to this year.
This went on for weeks
Then without seeing candidates or
nlatforms he decided he was Repub-
Econ. hut it took a life long Repub-
Tcan many weeks to make up his mind
whether he was a Republican or not.
people who knew his work as food
administrator during the war and in
France after the armistice always said
Mr. Hoover had one great defect-ih-
ability to make up his mind. 1t was
a frst class mind, but it was slow. 1t
refused to make decisions quickly.
A Slow Moving Mentality
And when you see the mind of
Renublican taking weeks to decide that
# wos the mind Of a Republican, you
hcpin to wonder whether or not there
is not truth in the charge that decisions
come hard with Herbert Hoover. lie
is one great successful and highly ad-
mirable American who cannot say
'.vns' and mo- with the marvellous
nromptness of the hero of success
fiction.
Now, take Mr.. McAdoo.
The ex secretary of the treasury
creates the impression of boldness and
releptlessness. He is an eagle of a
man in the swiftness with which he
sweeps upon what he wants, You can t
think of McAdoo without thinking of
force. We observe Mr.. McAdoo con
fr0nted with the necessity of deciding
whether or not he would be a candidate
for President. Mr.. McAdoo has been
making and unmaking that decision
over and over again for year. Not
even HIS most intimate friends could
tell whether he meant to run or not
To be sure, he was handicapped by
uncertainty about the intentions of his