Life — February 1, 1912 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

‘While there is Life there's Hope.” No, 1827 VOL. LIX, FEBRUARY 1, 1912. Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY JA. Mevcntent, Prert, A. MILLER, Sec’y and Treas, 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York EORGE, Dis-port- ing with Henry MDB and Others, in the Pool of Politics, spied Woodrow in his School Clothes pass- ing by. “ Woodrow!” he cried. Come in! Come in! fine!” Surprised Ly Example into na-ta-to- ri-al In-cli-na-tion, Woodrow hung on a convenient Limb his Academic Gar- ments, and was quickly Swimming and Diving with George. But presently, becoming thor-ough-ly in-ter-est-ed in the Sport, he said: “ You are riling the water, George; I must ask you to Get Out, but you may sit on the Bank.” So George, being of an Obliging Dis- po-si-tion, got out of the Pool, and put on his Shirt again, which made Henry get out, also, saying that Woodrow was not a Considerate Boy. “Woodrow ! The Water's Politics is a pretty rough game, and the gridiron players at it are so apt to be damaged in appearance, and even in a measure disabled, that there is a per- petual temptation to look to the bleach- ers for candidates for office. Leading a protected life, the folks on the bleachers don’t get disfigured as the regular players do, and much less is necessary to be said in extenuation of their candidacy. Offices of secondary importance have often been well filled by this method, but for the Presidency, it doesn’t often work. Ample experi- ence of the rough and tumble of the political game seems indispensable to the acquirement of the hardiness and readiness that must distinguish a successful Presidential player. The bleacher candidates are apt themselves to be fooled about their own powers. oe babe Judge Parker, lassoed out of a most re- spectable court to be a Democratic can- didate that no fault could be found with, immediately demonstrated the great fault of not being able to get into the game. Governor Wilson, en- ticed from the honored and protected seclusion of a college presidency to be a Presidential possibility, has, to be sure, been an interesting player, but his game does not look just now like the game of a winner. In his eagerness not to make mistakes, he has managed to make one of a remarkable and rather dangerous, novelty. It looks as though he had had bad advisers and had committed the error of heeding their counsel. But every candidate has bad advisers, and almost every can- didate is misled by them at times or goes wrong on his own hook. No can- didate can hope to avoid mistakes. His chance lies in his ability to survive all mistakes. For Governor Wilson at this stage of his game to make a mis- take that demolished his chances would be altogether a novel exploit, but it may be that he has done it. To be sure, a while ago, Champ Clark also put himself far back in the run- ning by exposing his mind on the.sub- ject of the annexation of. Canada, but that was a different sort of a blunder. That was natural to Champ Clark. But perhaps this seeming blunder of Governor Wilson’s is natural to him. 'ONTEMPLATION of the effect produced by these curious occur- rences, and attempts to forecast the re- sults of them, drive one to try the car- pentry of saws and adages on his re- flections. That “a man is known by the company he keeps,” seems;to: have been the saying that daunted thé Gov- ernor of New Jersey. It was hurting him in Oklahoma, to be known as the political companion of a Colonel, whose companions worked in Wall Street! But, after all, there is nothing in poli- tics that is worth to a grown man the bother of being careful for appear- ance’ sake of the company he keeps, and there is nothing in politics that is worth having that such care is much helpful to obtain. A man of the Presi- dential quality has need to be all things to all men. He cannot afford to tie up to any limited group of his brethren, and stand off the rest. He should be able to hold his own—to be, that is, himself—in all company; to handle himself in all company and, if neces- sary, to handle his company. There should be that in him that makes him at some point a fellow of every other man. It is not the company he keeps that matters, but what he finds and likes in his companions. If it is the good that is in them that finds affin- ity with something that is in him, then, for him, all company is good, and all is bettered when he is in it. E guess no restricted group of political folks is going to elect the next President by itself. “ Wall Street” can’t do it; the Progressive Republicans can’t do it, nor the Ortho- dox Republicans, nor the Bryan Demo- crats, nor the Conservative Democrats, nor the Oklahoma Specials, nor the Prohibitionists, nor Bourne’s Referen- dumites, nor even the tariff reformers, because there is going to be a good deal of tariff reform on both sides. It takes all kinds to make the world, and it will take a considerable number of kinds to make a majority for our next President. Exclusiveness is not going to do the trick. So much of it as Governor Wilson has shown will hurt him. La Follette won’t do. He has not breadth enough; not heart enough. Roosevelt is our most com- prehensive citizen—a great fisher of men—but there are pretty serious con- siderations to deter him from running, and we believe they will prevail. Mr. Taft has great merits as well as very considerable defects. He is tolerably comprehensive, too. It will be hard to beat him for the Republican nomi- nation, and if he gets it, it will take the whole of a first-class man to beat him at the polls. No cry of “Ware Wall Street!” is going to do it, for the man who does it must sufficiently inspire a general confidence to get his share of the “ Wall Street” vote. comicbooks.com