Life — April 19, 1900 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ile ( vere is Life there's Hope.” APRIL 19, 1900. No. 910. 19 West Taiery-Finst St., New Yorke. & year In ad. sin the Postal a year extra current copter, cents. “Hack numbers, after three months from date of publication, 25 cents, No contribution will be returned unless accompanied by stamped and addressed envelope. The illustrations in Live are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers, Prompt notification should be sent by sub- scribers of any change of address, Pablished ove ree NE reason for our being in this world is to accumulate experience, and we must not scoff at Admiral George Dewey if he is in- clined to harvest his full share while it isto be had. There 4 is nothing outrageous about his notion that so difficult a job asit is cracked up to be, and equal to og it if the people want him. Any Amcrican whom the American people want for President ought to serve, even if it costs him something to do so. It would cost Cousin George a gool deal. He would lose some sleep, and life in the White House would be almost sure to prejudice, in some measure, the action of his liver: He would also have to give up the rank and pay of Admiral, though, of course, except as to the details of drawing pay and giving the word of command, he will be Admiral Dewey as long as be lives Already, by merely expressing his willingness to be the people’s choice, he has incurred the displeasure of the two large groups of biscountrymen who favor, respectively, the Presidential pre tensions of Major McKinley and Colonel Bryan. But one cannot make an omelet without breaking some eggs, and the Presidency is an omelet of size enough to warrant a considerable preliminary crash of egg-shells, Altogether his can- didacy is an interesting sporting propo- sition, which can't do any harm except possibly a little to himself, and which * LIF Bs has in it considerable possibilities of gocd. Cousin George has set a good example. Until he spoke the Presidential campaign was hanging fire, with no candidates entered except the Major and Colonel Bryan, to both of whom strong elements in both parties object. These two gentlemen have long been advantage- ously anchored inside the harbor, and all other possible candidates have been invited to believe that there were tor- pedoes in the channel ready to wreck all intruders. The Admiral, as is well known, doesn’t mind supposititious ob- stacles of that sort. He bas come hustling in when he wasn’t expected, and has demonstrated at least that the channel is not impassable. Let us hope that his example may be catching, and that other candidates, who fecl within them the possibilities of Presidential usefulness, may make known their willingness to serve, We are entitled to choose our next President out of two groups of good men. We should not be restricted to two individuals, Mr, Olney ought to run; Mr, Reed ought to be considered, and Mr. Root and others. The Admiral has done what he could to encourage good men to come forward. DMIRAL DEWEY has some war- rant for his impression that being President is not so very hard. Where the chief clement of difficulty comes in is in so administering the office as to keep it in the family. That causes almost all Presidents a prodigious amount of pains and trouble. They always want either to be re-elected themselves or to name their successor, and that complicates things, It is not the country that is so preposterously hard to look out for, but the organization. The great complaint about Mr, Cleveland was that he paid too little attention to the preservation of his party; the great complaint about Mr. McKinley has been that he is too so- licitous to identify his fortunes with the eelf-interest of his managers and backers, A President who would confine himself to government and let politics alone would have a comparatively easy time, but it is fair to say that that is something which no President since Washington has been able to do. gt seasa & I" has been gratifying to observe the manly and straightforward manner in which the late George Smith, of New York, London and Chicago, has paid the death duties on his estate. During bis lifetime Mr. Smith got together a vast lot of money, which doubtless afforded him a good deal of contemplative enjoy- ment. That, however, was the only fun he ever tried to have with it, as he lived very simply and avoided society. When he bad finished with bis accumulations, he put them dows in plain sight, leaving his nephew and principal heir to get what the law would leave him. At present the British Government has already taken a million pounds, and the State of New York two million dollars, while the United States Government hopes to collect about five million dollars, There was no reason why very large inheritance taxes should not have been paid by Mr, Smith's estate. Still it seems surprising and very contrary to precedent that he should have made no effort to avoid the claims of either the British or the American Government. What isto be regretted is that so large a portion of his savings should have gone to pay the costs of wars, His estate contributes five million dollars to fight the Boers, and as much more, apparently, towards the cost of Americanizing the Philip- pines, neither of which jobs commends itself very heartily to thrifty men as a good investment for savings. [ Sosy T is a bit of good luck for all the world that the poor creature who fired a pistol at the Prince of Wales did not aim straighter. The Prince has, practi- cally, no enemies, and the only reason why even the craziest fanatic should shoot at him is that any serious mischance that might befall him would disturb society extremely and make England a very gloomy place. The Prince of Wales is proficient at his trade and fills a high place very much to the admiration of observers, Good luck and long life to him. comicbooks.com