Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
By JIM DOYLE
Contributing Writer

NEW YORK. - Twenty five
years ago this month, on August
Is, 1885, an airplane crash at the
northernmoSt tip of the American
continent claimed the life of
probably the most widely known
private citizen of the United
States and certainly the best be-
loved"
He was Will Rogers, a 56-year-
old cowboy turned adventurer, ad-
venturer turned actor. actor
turned newspaper columniSt. He
referred to himself as a come
dian." but at the time of his
death the public thought of him
as a sage. He had an impact on
his time-from World War I until
his death-equaled by few men
not in public Office. His death
brought eulogies from the PreSi-
dent of the United States, from
leaders of both political parties
the one quoted above came from
Joe Robinson, Senate majority
leader.
This was the more remarkable
because practically every man who
praised him with such evidently
sincere feeling had at one time or
another been the subject of his
penetratingly ironic comments.
Will Rogers had the rare gift of
criticizing without antagonizing,
and perhaps the reason can be
found in his own comment:
Il joked about every prominent
man in my lifetime, but I never
met man I didn't like"
On Three Presidents
Some samples, on three widely
different prominent men he liked:
Calvin Coolidge was the only
man in America that saw this
whole thing coming, and got from
under. He just says to himself,
Folks have bought everything in
the world for dollar down under
me, now let them pay for them
under Herbert" written in 1881,
in the depths of the depression.
Herbert Hoover had been elected
President in 1923, after Calvin
Coolidge had removed himself as
a Republican candidate with his
Il do not choose to run" state
ment)
After Hoover had been defeated
by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1892.
Rogers wrote:
Mr.. Hoover, the consolation
you have from the whole Ameri-
can people is no doubt greater
than that ever shared by losing
President. There was nothing per-
sonal in the vote against you. You
just happened to be associated
with a political party that the peo-
pie had just lost their taste for.
We all know that you was handed
a balloon that was blowed up to
its utmost. You held it as care
fully as anyone could, but the
thing just busted right in your
hands. Well. there amt much we
can do in a case like that"
And a few months later, when
Roosevelt was inaugurated:
America hasn't been as happy
in three years as they are today.
No money, no banks, no work, no
nothing, but they know they got
a man in there who is wise to Con-
greSS and wise to our so-called big
men. The whole country is with
him. Even if what he does is
wrong they are with him. Just so
he does something. If he burned
down the Capitol, we would cheer
and say. well, at least we got a
fire started anyhow.
Voices Of the People
In comments such as these,
Rogers spoke with the authentic
voice of the people. He was born
with the common touch and never
lost it. He articulated Americas
distrust of pomposity. Smugness,
and snobbery. whether they were
associated with political eminence,
wealth, or social position. But he
used the needle rather than the
Ratchet and he had the same wry
amusement toward his own wealth
and fame that he had toward
others.
Contrary to legend. Rogers was
not born to poverty; his part
Cherokee parents in Oolagh, In
dian territory Qater Oklahoma,
were prosperous. His family had
interests in oil, ranching, banking
and other enterprises. He at
tended the Willow Hassel School
and Kemper Military Academy.
When he left school, he went
into ranching, but he had an in
durable Wanderlust and after a
short time set out for the Argen-
tina with a pal and $1,000.
They got to Buenos Aires after
number of misadventures, but
there things didn't go according to
plan. The $1,000 melted away
and the pal got homesick, so
Rogers paid his passage to New
York with almost the last of his
money. He then got job on an
Argentine ranch because Il
thought I knew how to rope.
Them gauchos taught me diff
ferent."
After the lesson was we'll