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Al Smith, himself, of course was a very unusual individual with a great deal of personal quality which demonstrated itself as soon as you knew him at all well. Not only did he have an attractive Irish temperament and a good will toward people, but he had this peculiar capacity of understanding things quickly, grasping them easily, working hard and intensely, listening to what was said and apparently remembering those items that were said that were important. He had a very quick capacity to and yze and separate the unimportant from the important.

Another thing that was very remarkable to those who knew him was his great inner poise - the simplicity, modesty, and yet absolute assurance and confidence, that goes often I think in this country, with the self-made man. He had no apologies for it nor any explanations for it. I don't know if he was aware of the great dignity and poise which he appeared to have to people who just met him casually or to his associates. The fact that he fooled so much, joked so much and had such fun would indicate that he didn't in any way think of himself as a stuffed shirt nor as a person of importance and yet that inner poise was always there. He was always in command of the situation.

I can remember someone saying once in relation to some