The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-19
az pR. FnANM cHANE

There is { Kind Of man that only comes
to full bloom in meeting.
He is the Meeting Man.
He has the gift Of assemblage
He flows by natdk6b ssttRripss, e sths
rivers ifun to the sea.
I. can see him now, In my minds ere a.
he sits in the lodgerooan from O'Clock ~
half-past midnight, saying nothing dons
nothing, except voting occasionally, fh1nk'
ing nothing, just watching the ponderous
ritual moving heavily along, Listening TO
treasures reports, which he does not I'M
derstand, just basking in the social presence.
feeding inwardly upon the communion vita
his fellows.
3 Instances have been known where men
have gone to the lodge once week Tor
whole year without missing q meeting.
Then there is the political meeter.
The political meeting may be anywhere;
the drearier the place the betters On the
street corner, in the hotel lobby, up over.
Jepson's feed store in a room with two pine
tables. twenty chairs~and one thousand cubic
feet OF tobacco smoke, or In some 'larEp hall
called wigwam or auditorium.
When the plasterer, has finished his days
work, had his supper, wet his hair. and
plastered II down in q graceful sweep over
his forehead, and inserted cigar into his
mouth at an agile Of As degrees. he Iikes To %
downtown and meet.
!, If il IL the planting season In politics. his
self respect is monstrously irrigated. The
judge greets him as a man and brothers tho
smartest lawyer In town actually asks his
opinion on tariff the rich man, who owns
his bank and Is anxious to get his particular
highway robber into the city council. slaps
him on the back Citizenship and somewhat-
ness rolls within his bosom.
There IL nothing like political meeting 10
satisfy the meeting appetite. Churches would
have done we'll to oppose wpman's suffrass.
Prayer meetings, sewing circles and otheg
church affairs had been the main articlAs
offered the meeting hungry female soul. Then
the political dish, go highly havored and
sweetened, was set before them.
Meetings are the wheels of democracy
They are the first elemental functionings
of self government.
Monarchy prohibited them. except for the
purpose of spiritual intimidation, drill. or
fighting
The witenagemote where the early Eneiish
met and deliberated was "the little cloud
no larger than a mans hand" that forst0ld
the tempest that was to overthrow the rule
OF superior classes.
The New England town meeting was the
real beginning Of the American republic.
1t was Maurice Barres who said that tmsn
in meetings put in common nothing but'
their mediocrity."
Very true; but while we may smeer at
mediocrity. we should remember that it ss
the only safe governor of nations.
Genius ability, briliancy, and all axtrak
ordinary powers are wholly unsafe to rulA.
Mediocrity alone is to be trusted.
1t is safe; and what people want in sovs
ernment is security, not dazzling theories
untried ideals.
The instinct of mankind It Is therefore
that leads men usually to select the conn
monplace man to rule them and makes them
distrust the clever.
The Meeting Man, who Is a mediocrity, Ia
the natural head of all Republican, Democrat
ic state and other organizations.
The gifted need not complain. Governing
is second-class business. There is always
room for the superior person, in art. IN
science, in Skill in literature, and in money.
making, which win remain autocratic, prob.
ably for some time,