A masterful being, magnetic, far-seeing,
   Is Ted.
He falls to slang-whanging where we might be hanging
   The head;
For shafts do not reach him.  When critics impeach him
   He welcomes the strife should the party be rough.
He sticks it to mix it and finally fix it.
   A stoic is Ted; and his cuticle's tough.


In ways Oriental, his processes mental
   Work out;
And, striving to follow, we finally wallow
   In doubt.
He may be dread master of doom and disaster
   Or loom in the land, as its forefront and head.
To lead a whole nation to final salvation -
   Then, again, he may not.  For there no one knows Ted.


They've boasted and boomed him for years and foredoomed him
   To fame.
When leaders were wanted, ten thousand have vaunted
   His name.
Tho' foes may defame him, defenders proclaim him
   A genius rare with his face to the sun -
Till some nark arises and rather surprises
   The boosters by asking, "Well?  What has he done?"


Ah!  There lies the mystr'ry.  Go, seek out his hist'ry
   To scan.
Tho' much you uncover, you'll fail to discover
   The man.
So, all things together, 'tis hard to tell whether
   He stands as Australia's worthiest son.
Or merely . . . . However, not being so clever,
   We, too, seek enlightenment: What HAS he done?

"Den"
Herald, 18 February 1931, p6

Notes:
This is number 3 in Dennis's Political Personalities series.
The "Ted" referred to above is Ted Theodore who was Treasurer in the Scullin Federal Government.