PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND JOB-SEEKERS

PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND JOB-SEEKERS.

     President Abraham Lincoln had no love for job-seekers, especially when interviews took him away from more important duties of the presidency during the Civil War. On one occasion, he spoke to a number of would-be office holders and told them this story:

     "There was once a King who wished to go hunting, so he asked his astrologer if it was going to rain. The astrologer assured him that it would not. On the way to the woods, the King passed a farmer who was working the land with his jackass. The farmer warned the King that it would rain soon, but the King just laughed and continued on. A few minutes later it was pouring, and the King and his companions were soaked to their skin. Upon return to the castle, the King cut off his astrologer's head, sent for the farmer, and asked the farmer how he knew it was going to rain.

     "'It ain't me that knows when it is going to rain, your Majesty. It’s my jackass. He always lays back one ear when it is going to rain.'"

     So the King bought the jackass from the farmer and gave him the position of astrologer at court. This was where the King made his big mistake."

     "How was that," asked a job-seeker in the audience.

     "Because ever since then," President Lincoln continued, "every jackass in the country wanted an office. Gentlemen, leave your credentials."