_What Does Uncle Sam Do for His Nephews and Nieces?_
The great thing about Uncle Sam is his dignity, activity, keenness,
endless good nature and love of his countrymen. His cousin, John
Bull, is the beefy, sturdy, pragmatic, land-owning squire of the
British counties, brave enough, resolute enough, but a defender of
his country, rather than its most intimate friend. Uncle Sam and the
popular interest in his thousands of portraits are standing proofs of
the common sense and good temper of the American people. We like in
Uncle Sam what we like in our personal Uncle Ezra, or Uncle Peyton, his
genuine, affectionate, thoughtful and protecting affection for us.
The three men in American history who have most nearly corresponded to
Uncle Sam in their own personal relations with their fellow men were
Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Jackson was
testy, and sharp tempered, but he could be very genial and gallant
when he chose. Lincoln was the Uncle Abe of the nation; in person, in
speech, in action, and above all in his great affectionate heart he was
what we like to think Uncle Sam is. Theodore Roosevelt was not so much
uncle as brother; there is only one “T. R.” in our history!
[Illustration: EXHIBIT OF UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
COMMERCE]
In the popular thought Uncle Sam is ourselves at our best; or rather he
is ourselves gathered up into one body, one agency, one force. Uncle
Sam stamps his initials on the public buildings, the camps, the stores,
the guns, the ships, the uniforms, the army wagons, and the army mules.
Uncle Sam carries the mails, prints the greenbacks, sends the seeds,
digs the canals, lays the taxes, enlists the soldiers, fights the war
and makes the peace. Uncle Sam is the national Santa Claus, the trimmer
of America’s Christmas tree, the free mail-order establishment, the
ready subscriber to all good causes. In a way, Uncle Sam means the
Government of the United States--more accurately he stands for the
human side of the Government, interested in the people, eager that they
should be happy, warding off dangers immediate and far away. Uncle Sam
rocked the cradle of the republic and watches over it with pride, just
as the wealthy and generous uncle in ordinary family life looks after a
high-spirited bouncing niece.
[Illustration: WEATHER KIOSK OF U. S. WEATHER BUREAU