Mr. Johnson is short and stout, with clear-cut, strong features. His
face is that of an orator, the eye clear and direct, the forehead high
and commanding. The broad nose-bridge indicates physical strength, and
the firm mouth and chin, strength of character. In face, he resembles
William Jennings Bryan, but a strong sense of humor belies deeper
resemblance. Unlike most rich men, he knows when he has enough, and to
this conclusion, it seems, he has now arrived.
“At the age of forty-five,” he said to me, in his apartments at the
Waldorf-Astoria, “I am fortunate enough to be able to retire from
business and to devote myself to other pursuits. Except for two small
matters, I may be said to be already out of business, and I have no
intention of going into anything new. From now on I shall give all my
energies to spreading the single-tax theory, either here or in England,
where it seems to be making rapid progress. Exactly how this will be
done, I don’t know. I have always been a Democrat, and am one still,
and I believe in organization; but whether or not I shall work within
party lines, I am not yet prepared to say. Still, I have my own ideas,
although it is rather my custom to act than to talk in advance.”
Those who know Mr. Johnson will agree with him, I think.