Page:Lives of the presidents in words of one syllable (1903).djvu/57

 One bright man, whose name was well known at that time, was Hen-ry Clay. He took charge of the funds. He knew how to make a good speech. He said he first made talks in an off-hand way when he was at work in woods or fields as a boy. He came from poor folks and had to work hard, but he got to be a great man.

HENRY CLAY.

Ad-ams had scores of fine plans to bring out for the good of the land and those in it. He told how to place sums not in use; he had a scheme for weights and meas-ures; he made a start for a Na-val School; he, felt too, that there must be a Na-tion-al School of high grade, and an Ob-ser-va-to-ry, where the stars could be seen through a strong glass, and said that sums must be paid to wise men to do that kind of work. The first rail-road in the U-ni-ted States was built in this term. It was but three miles long, and the cars were drawn by a horse. Steam was first used on an A-mer-i-can rail-road in 1829.

In those days, there was, as now, much talk of a tax to be put on goods from far lands. Some folks thought it wrong, and some thought it right. Ad-ams was for high tax and this was why he did not hold the chair for more than one term.

When he left the chair, in 1829, he went back to his old home in Quin-cy, where his fa-ther, the second Pres-i