The Washington herald., 1921-07-17

He has carried the most weight the farthest
distance Of any Of his various compatriots.
He has Travelled nearly all his life In the
interests Of his public and now he IL about
to retire from q life on the "rattlers'-as
the travelling salesmen and the sports writer's
know the modern railway train-and take
bis place on the bench Of the Nations
highest court, q position more 10 his liking
than the Presidency Of the United States.
he il pilgrim who has toilsd over long
rVads since the days Of youth. He has trav-
eed on steam cars, electric cars, automo-
biles, steamships and Electrically driven
ships. Horses, donkeys, even balky mules
have been the Alpha Of the entourage Of
which he was the conspicuous Omega Once
he got stuck on q Western hillside In q
muddy slough. They retrieved his stalled
motorcar only after he had climbed down
into that adhesive Iowa mud that sticketh
closer than . brother, but the mud was not
altogether to blame, for he Is what the fol-
lowers Of q Dempsey or q Carpentier call q
heavyweight
In his pilgrimage from q Cincinnati law
ehce to the mountain top Of fame's immortal
glory be has witnessed the evolution of the
facilities Of travel. In his day the airbraks
OF Westinghouse, the giant steel steed Of
Baldwin and Rogers, the palace car Of Pull
man with all Its comfort aud convenience
and finally the smokeless, high powered elec-
tric train made possible by q Steinmetx or
an Edison, have come to supplant the anti
cuated wooden coach "crawler' Of yester-
day. The steamship on which he sailed
to Europe on his honeymoon Is q pigmy
compared to the giant leviathan on which
enc now travels to the far corners Of the
earth.
The only modern means Of conveyance Of
which he has not ayailed himself Is the swift
canvas winged eagle of the clouds-the air
plane, but as be says, my style Of srchi-
lecture is not adapted to the flying machine
II would capsize the stablest Of them"
OTHER public men In the national life OF
Othese United States have Travelled long
and far, but they are also rams In the
lists Of long dime, long distance touring
champions in the tournament of Uncle Sam.
Theodore Roosevelt made pigrimages into
the heart Of the African and South Ameri-
can jungles. Woodrow Wilson essayed
boldly forth across troubled waters to tbs
peace tables Of Europe. William Jennings
Bryan for years has moved hither and thither
over his native heath with the bell ringers
and the giee clubs Of the Chautauqua cir
cult.
But all Of them yield the palm to this
most Travelled man In American public life,
who has carried the most weight the farth-
.st distance Of any Of his various COM
p.triots in avoirdupois. Now you have
messed his name Yes, William Howard
T,ft ,x-Pr,ddent of the United States.
the newly appointed Chief Justice Oh me
United States Supreme Court.
volIov through this chronicle OF his peri
..,.t,c perambulations here and there In
.n.st of-not gold, for he is not ricn man
:. the world measures treasure OF oron-e
= .,tx.r The only bronze he has ever
,,I.t,d il n number OF medals ne mas
=. 80 away where neither moth nor rust
". .orrupt them that his posteritJ may
- them with pride The only silver
conn. his way in any quantity
.,.r increasing silver lining TO the c,o"u
a. o,n busy life. Not rich In golo-
-. nh ever so rich IN the imperI'D
s-..,,.s Of memorJ-service In Densn "
others
e., h. escaped the mater in hand that
- .r.dl. of the world. Some astrol-
,x.r would probably discover tnat lne sl
rndsr which this roly-po oaoy was w"
50, IN. swift flying meteor OF Aoranam I'm
80. fsvorite poem-and 1t must nave
..,v.l;n. q million miles q secono -
A.. Nv Taft baby was ushered ln'o .n
-...rt.l universe, where. as wa.
., -. are all travellers In tne
that
n,,,., .h;s little road zoe frare'
g-ad,d for the Land OF Do0"
60, GOOD and scratching gravel
B,,s today, tororroU gone.
NR TAFT tells it-and this II ne
"A way he told it to the writer the otneI
S.y in the quiet Of his New Haven horary-
b. has been on the move pretty mucn all DIS
Hfe.
"In childhood I started my travels" said
the ex, President, as he sat looking out over
the historic green that fronts Yale campus
.sMy mothers old home was Millbury, Mass.
wa. born in Cincinnati. Every summer
i Travelled with my mother from Cincinnati
to Millbury for the vacation period. AFTER
graduating from Woodward High School In
Cincinnati / went away to Yale-and that
meant four more years of travel between
Cincinnati and New Haven. After two
years in law school in my old home town l
settled down to the practice of law, but
not for long was to tarry In Cincinnati.
Three times / made trips to Europe In
NV earlier days. The first trip was in 1883
vben my father was serving as United
states Minister to Vienna. That summer
! toured England, France, the italian lakes
and Berlin. In 1886 I was married and
Mrs Taft and I went abroad on our we'd
dins trip, visiting the English cathedrsls.
Paris, London and Holland. In 1883 !
made my third trip, this time visiting Rome
and other points. 1 haven't since been in
England or France, but I've done lot OF