Life — January 30, 1913 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

JANUARY 3, 1913 “While there is Life there's Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY J. A, Mirenmet. Pres't, Ei lish Offices, € NE of the papers quotes Governor Wilson as saying that he has to have mise hours of sleep every ; otherwise he doesn’t feel just right. Edison has often been quoted as saying that four hours’ sleep is as much as anybody needs, but if the Governor fecls a call for nine, here's to hope he will get nine, for, of course, we all want him to feel just right as much of the time as possible, Nine hours is a long time to spend in bed. The last Democratic President used to work far into the night, doing with his own hand a good many things which, possibly, might better have been done for him. If Mr. Wilson succeeds in delegating enough of his work, and in finding the right men to do it, he may get his necessary nine hours of repose, but he cannot, as President, sleep nine hours a night and still be his own hired man. Mr. Cleveland's early life included some sporting experience. Long be- fore he was either President or Gov- ernor, he had learned to know the small hours and the various uses to which they may be put, and had learned to regard sleep as something to be had when convenient and to be postponed or abbreviated in times of pressure. But Mr. Cleveland was phy: ically, as well as spiritually, very strong, and fit to survive more than most men. Dr. Wilson has no sporting record that we know of. and no train- ing in physiological indiscretions, and seems not only never to have learned to sit up all night and go on the next day, but not to be especially indulgent to that part of the apparatus of life in which such exercises are practised. It MILLER, See'y anit Trews Phirty-first Street, New Vork ns Bldgs, London, EB. C will be recalled that he looked some- what coldly on that part of the social organization at Princeton, wherein, we suppose, proficiency in sitting up late is best attained. Perhaps he will live to tm more a be sorry that he did not le Princeton out of school, but there’s no telling. If he had, the chances are that he would not have attained to use his knowledge in the White House INE hours’ sleep will only leave him fifteen hours a day in which to work, play, talk, shave, dress, eat and receive callers, but that may be enough for a rapid worker. Some kinds of work he takes easily. He is a very good campaigner, talks easily, and can make speeches with less effort than most of us. Since last writing he has made one in Chicago and one in Trenton, besides sending his second annual message to the New Jersey Legislature. His message, calling for specific reforms and improve- ments for New Jersey, to be pro- moted by State legislation, has been much admired and commended. His speeches have been less approved. The gist of each of them was an en- treaty to business men to be eagerly and promptly good without waiting to be goaded into it, and to help the President-elect. to make that cours popular and voluntary, since things. he said, are ill done by compuls results so won are little worth. To our mind that was a worthy sentiment, but for some reason it has not been wel- comed very warmly, perhaps be of the strength of its implication that the Governor thinks that the deport- use ment of American business can be im- proved. But no matter about his speeches. Speeches have done much for him, first and last, and what he says is almost always interesting, though he is just a grain too apt to reach for the birch. But now things have come to the point with him when we are concerned, not so much about w he is able to say, as about what he may he able to do; what leadership he can disclose; what men he can get around him; as to his ability to work with them and get good work out of them, and to get the support and co-opet tion of Congress. When we consider these things the fact that bobs up big- gest is not that he said so and so at Chicago, or this and that at Trenton, but that here is a man who wants nine hours’ sleep every night He must intend to think. think so? And he must wish to think straight and normally. Don't you That is very interesting. Can it be that we are to have a new ideal in poli- tics and American life? From 1808 till about 1910 we had the ideal of the strenuous life; the life of enormous doing; of getting something done; of hitting the line hard and butting down the gates of Gaza. Under the inspira tion of this ideal a great deal hap- pened, thought in some cases preceding action, but more often lagging respect- fully behind it, with a slowly accumu- lating consequence that the men who would do nothing and the men who would do anything came to look about equally dangerous, and enough of the voters turned away from both of them to elect this man who has this long standing habit to sleep nine hours every night for the benefit of his men- tal processes A LARGE Proportion of our popa- lation would be better off and wiser if they stayed longer abed Sleep is the cheapest good thing in the market. It costs nothing but time. and if the necessary time is well se- lected, you hardly miss it. If, follow- ing the present fashion of reforma- comicbooks.com