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It is worth while being President when one's small daughter receives that kind of an
autograph gift. When I was younger than she is, my Aunt (from Georgia) used to tell
me some of the Brer Rabbit stories, especially brer rabbit and the tar baby. But
fond though I am of the Brer Rabbit stories I think I am even fonder of your other
writings. I doubt if there is a more genuinely pathetic tale in all our literature
than "Free Joe". Moreover I have felt that all that you write serves to bring our
people closer together. I know of course the ordinary talk is that an artist should
be judged purely by his art; but I am rather a Philistine and like to feel that the
art serves a good purpose. Your art is not only as art an
cots.roosevelt.IMG.0092.jpg addition to our sum of national
achievement, but it has also always been an addition to the forces that tell for
decency, and above all for the blotting out of sectional antagonism.
The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga.
By the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in conjunction with the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis.