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Show phrase "Public office Is a public trust He never said that In so many words. Tbe nearest he ever came to that was variations on tbe statement that "Public officials are the trustees of the people," made at different times while be was sering ss mayor of New York city and governor of New York. Tbe Idea was an old one. Ed mund Burke had stated It In a slightly different form as bad Thomas Jefferson Jeffer-son and John U Calhoun. And on May 81, 1872, Charles Sumner declared de-clared "The phrase 'Public office Is a public trust' has of late become common com-mon property." It was common property, too, it tbe opening of the campaign for President In 1884 when Cleveland's managers compiled a campaign document giving his official achievements. Desiring a short, striding title for tbe outside cover of tbe document, they bit upon "Public office Is a public trust," placed It In quotation mark and printed it over his signature on tbe cover. Two men William CL Hudson, a reporter on tbe Brooklyn Dally Eagle who helped compile the campaign document, docu-ment, and Daniel 8. Lament are credited cred-ited with having selected the title By ELMO 8COTT VVAT80N t S UEItBEltT HOOVEH about I to take bis place among the Presidents who bave been , makers of historic phrases or mm coiners of epigrams which bave caught tbe fancy of the JrjL people and bave been Inex-fyil Inex-fyil trlcably associated wltb their JkL names? Although It la never safe to predict what Is Ukely mmmJ to survive and what will soon be forgotten, it would seem that some of Mr. Hoover's apt express! ans which are now part of our current speech have better than an even chnnce ol being permanently enrolled In the list ' .of "sayings of the great." Becently In a letter to Dr. W. O. Thompson, president emeritus of Ohio State university, President Hoover referred re-ferred to critics of tbe administration as "those tfhose dully toll Is to mix mud pies." Almost Immediately newspaper news-paper writers gave that phrase wide currency and pluced "mud pie mixers" In the sa.nc class with Itnosevelt's "undesirable citizens" and Wilson's "little band of willful men." But this was not the first of the Hooverlsms which drop easily from the lips of Americans and bave a fumlllar ring to tbelr ears "A noble experiment" has become a synonym-for prohibition since Mr. Hoover called It that during dur-ing tbe President campaign of ti)28. And It has become tbe fashion to assure as-sure ourselves and our friends" that almost anything under discussion la "basically tiund" since tbe President 4 reassured tbe country that "business t " 'i if I iV'"- ! f i1 : .r'h I I I '.: . ' 1 ' : 4 ' ' : -'Aj - Those whose daily toil is to mix mud pies." "Buiin.is is basically sound." "A noble .ip.rim.nt." Ilcnn ranks and the formation of the Progressive party, be declared tbat be felt "like bull moose." Thus was new party symbol created and that animal Joined our national political soo, along with tbe elephant, the donkey don-key and the camel. . Earlier In 1912, while passing through Cleveland, Ohio, he was ssked whether be would but 1 find there are some that do not choose to have their eyes opened. The campaign of Coolldge's predecessor pred-ecessor In office. Warren 0. Harding, gave currency to at least two expressions expres-sions which enjoyed considerable vogue at the time but wblcb bave already been nearly forgotten. One was his "front porch campaign" at bis home In Marlon, Ohio, and the other his declaration that he was summoning to his assistance the "best minds" In bis party. But the Harding expression which apparently has the best chance for survival Is one closely akin to the Hoover "basically sound." If Harding did not coin the word "normalcy," at least he made It familiar to many Americans, who did not suspect that such a word existed, In characterizing the period after the upheaval of the World war as "back to normalcy." Next to Roosevelt, perhaps, the most prolific maker of unforgettable phrases was Woodrow Wilson. He began as president of Princeton university uni-versity and his reference to the "main tent" In college education in distinction distinc-tion to the "sideshows" Is still frequently fre-quently quoted. "America first" has become the property of the whole nation na-tion since Wilson first used It In a speech' In New York early In I91fl, but Its misuse as a slogan by dema-i dema-i i "Twisting the lion's tail." Be that as It may, the public accepted the phrase as a verbatim saying of Cleveland's, It became an effective campaign slogan and has come down to us as Uls own coinage. Most picturesque of all the Democratic Demo-cratic leaders and a great orator, William Wil-liam Jennings Bryan, although he could not be elected President In three attempts, could and did enrich our language wltb some unforgetable phrases. One of them occurred in the speech wltb which he stampeded a convention and electrified the country In 1S9Q when he decla.ed "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thonik: you. shall not crucify mankind upon a iross of gold." This was In answer tJ the demand for a gold standurd by the "Gold Democrats," Dem-ocrats," for the question of coinage was tbe principal Issue In this campaign. cam-paign. "After this wonderful outburst out-burst of oratory," says one writer, "be took as his slogan 'sixteen to one.' Was there ever such an anticlimax T One might as weli have for a slogan the rule of three, the multiplication table or the fourteenth theorem of Euclid I No wonder tbe people repudiated re-pudiated him I" But even though "10 to 1" was a poor political slogan, It "1 do not choose to run for President Presi-dent In 1928." Is basically sound" after the stock market flurry last year. "Cautious Cal" as a nickname, "Keep Cool wltb Coolldge" as a political slogan and "Coolldge economy" as a nations) policy may soon.be forgotten but "I do not choose to run for President Presi-dent In 1028," or more simply "1 do not choose to run," seems destined to have a permanent place among the historic American phrases. Perhaps one reason why It has become so famous fam-ous Is because It caused so much discussion dis-cussion as to Us real meunlng. Cor months there had been widespread speculation as to whether President Coolldge would defy the third term tradition and be a candidate to succeed suc-ceed himself In 192& Then In August. 1927. at conference with newspaper correspondents In Rapid City, S. D., he handed out a little typewritten slip of paper hearing those ten words. But instead of definitely settling the question which wos uppermost in the minds of so many Amerlcnns, his statement state-ment only caused more simulation. Did It meon that he would not seek the nomination but that be might accept ac-cept If It were forced upon blmi Or did It mean that he would not be a candidate under any clrcumstaneest Opinion was divided. Some declared that this was bis canny way of declining de-clining to make the race but leaving the way open for his being "drafted" for a third term. Others declnred that "choose" was a distinctively New England Eng-land term and that when a Yankee says "I do not choose" It meant positively posi-tively and Irrevocably "No 1 1 will not!" Later events proved tbat their Interpretation Inter-pretation was the correct one, but It Is doubtful If any single word In onr if Si - ; 1 i i ... . w i 1 rft j "Yon shall not crucify mankind upon a croaa of gold." be a candidate for President. He e-plled e-plled "My hot Is in the ring. You will have my answer on Monday." Tbe "hat In tbe ring" was not original wltb Roosevelt. It was the frontier formula for entering a fight and T. R., familiar with the vernacular of the frontier, made apt use of It and added It to our political lexicon. History credits to Qrover Cleveland at least six historic phrases and the record as to five of them Is clear. In a letter accepting the nomination for President on August 18, 1884, he declnred de-clnred that "Honor lies In honest toll." In his annual' message to congress con-gress on March 1, 1880. be suld "After an existence of nearly twenty years of almost innocuous desuetude these laws are brought forth." That expression, expres-sion, "Innocuous desuetude," Is often said to bave been original with Cleveland Cleve-land but It has been traced back to David Hunter Strainer ("Porte Crayon"), Cra-yon"), a popular writer In 1849. However How-ever It did not become familiar to most Americans until tbe President used It In his message. In' Cleveland's annual message to congress In 1887 he wrote "It Is a condition con-dition which confronts us not a theory" lo reference to the tariff, which may have been an original Idea with him. Or he may have read the declaration of Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of England, thnt "Free trade Is not a principle, It is an expedient," ex-pedient," and got his Idea from that. In his veto of the dependent pension bill on July 6. 18S8, Cleveland declared de-clared "I have considered the pension "Innocuous desuetude." "Public office la a public truit." goglc politicians has detracted sadly from Its significance as a patriotic plea. However, It was In his speeches and state papers as President that Wilson gave to the nation his most memorable expressions, Ills Mexican policy was one of "watchful waiting." For a time he refused to lead America Into the World war because "There is such a thing as being too proud to fight." When we did go In, It was because be-cause "The world must be made safe for democracy." At the peace conference confer-ence he demanded "open covenants, openly arrived at" and a synonym for tbe League of Nations which he sprn-sored sprn-sored was "disentangling alliances." When .the senate refused to ratify America's membership In that league. It was due to what Wilson called a "Utile band of willful men." A more picturesque figure than Wilson, Wil-son, Koosevelt was also a coiner of more picturesque phrases. A "Itough ; Itlder" and an exponent of "the strenuous stren-uous life," be bad an aversion for "mollycoddles." As careful student of natural history he disliked "nature fakers." Other pet aversions were "hyphenated Americans," "rose water reformers," "mnck-rnkers," "predatory rich," and "malefactors of great wealth." Ue could tell his fellow Americana, Amer-icana, while advocating a strong navy, to "speak softly and carry a big stick," but be, himself couldn't speak so softly when placing his enemies en-emies In "the Aiiaulas club." when "waging peace" or "busting the ; trusts" or advocating "the square deal." There were Innumerable times when be was "Delighted 1" or reeling "Bully!" So In ItiUago In IK12, when reporters sought dim out to Inquire about the rtmored breakdown of his health after his holt from the lt-pub paniCMBOISBWSWSP "Speak softly and carry a big tick." will forever be associated with the name of William Jennings Bryan. One coiner of historic phrases whose words are better known than be ever will be was Col. Donn Piatt, Civil war veteran, Journalist and noted Washington correspondent In 1871 he established the Washington Sun-dny Sun-dny Capitol which soon became noted for exposing the corruption at the national na-tional capital during the Grant ad-niinistiutlon. ad-niinistiutlon. So bold did Piatt become be-come with his vltrolle pen that the politicians prevailed upon Grant to order his arrest for "seditious utterances," utter-ances," but the case was never brought to trial. In 1913 Roosevelt, In referring to a certain type of supporters of the Progressive party, declared that, "Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe." But long before that Piatt had spoken of the "cranks" who attach at-tach themselves to political parties and his use of that word In that sense Is believed to have been the original., When old Zach Chandler, Republican' senator from Michigan, made a famous fa-mous jpeech against Great Britain, Piatt said Chandler had "twisted the lion's tall." He nicknamed Senator Ingalls from the Sunflower stote, "the corn-fed Cato of Kansas." He called the United State senate a "fog-bank" and to the speech-making house he applied the term "cave of tbe winds," and with charming Impartiality, be characterized the Republican party as "the organized grj d of the country" and the Democrats as the "organised Ignorance of the country." i "Back to normalcy." language has ever before caused such widespread discussion and debate. Aa a matter of fact that very word has been used by other noted Americans Amer-icans In the same sense as President Coolldge nsed It, but If tbe Americans of 1927 knew that they had forgotten It, One of the first recorded Instances was Its use by our first President George Washington, and that during a political campaign! As a candidate for membership In the House of Burgesses Bur-gesses of Virginia in 1701. he wrote a letter to Captain Van Swearlagen commenting npoo the electioneering methods of bis opponent. Col. Adam Stephen as follows: "Colo, Stephens proceedings is a matter of ye greatest amazement to me. His con duct throughout the whole is very Obvious all wbn will be convinced : "Tbe world moat be made safe for democracy." list of the republic a roll of honor" and In an Interview in the New York Commercial Advertiser on September ! 19. lSSS he declared "Party honesty Is party expediency." tut the most famous of all quota Hons ascribed to Cleveland Is the |