Existing comment:
Office Seekers:
After hearing out a female petitioner, Lincoln scribbled a message for her to take to a nearby government office.
"The lady bearer of this says she has two sons who want to work," it read. "Set them at it, if possible. Wanting to work is so rare a merit, that it should be encouraged."
Inevitably, however, Lincoln disappointed more of his visitors than he gratified. One disgruntled jobseeker went so far as to denounce the chief executive to his face as an ingrate. "Why, I am one of those who made you President," he practically shouted.
"Yes," sighed Lincoln, "and it's a pretty mess you got me into!"
Office Seekers:
Lincoln's ingenuity was put to the test by two heavily promoted candidates for an Ohio postmastership. Tired of meeting rival delegations and of resolving written testimonials to the superiority of each candidate, the president had a brainstorm.
"This matter has got to end somehow," he declared. Then he asked for a pair of scales. When the competing piles of documents were weighed, it was found that the petitions and letters favoring one candidate outweighed those of the other by three-quarters of a pound.
This was good enough for the harassed president. "Make out an appointment for the man who has the heavier papers," he instructed his clerk. |