Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-09-25
OUR IDEAL PRESIDENT.

OUR IDEAL PRESIDENT.
Judge George H. Williams,
Oregon's grand old man. who
served as attorney general in the
cabinet of President Grant paid
the following tribute to Presi-
dent Mckinley in his speech at
Hillsboro, Saturday afternoon:
I believe in President McKin-
ley, and I want to see him re-
elected. l do not claim that he
is the embodiment of human
wisdom and not liable to make
mistakes like other 1neu, but l
do say that he is honest able and
patriotic, and in my judgment
has made an excellent president.
To pick a flaw here and there in
all administration is no just way
to judge its merits, but ali of its
acts should be taken together
and the result of these made the
criterion by which to judge OF
its merits or dement's.
There never has been and
never will be an administration
entirely free from faults and er-
rors. Napoleon said success was
the test of merit and whether
this be true or not it accords
with the common judgment of
mankind and with the Judgment
of the people of the country as
to the administration of public
affairs, and l say that no admin
istration of Our government has
been more successful than the
administration of William Nc
Kinley; successful in the achieve
ment of peace, successful in the
operations of war. No one so
far as I know questions, the in
tegrity, patriotism and good in
tentions of the president, but
some say that he is weak, vacil-
lating and too anxious to find out
and follow public opinion. 1
recollect distinctly when the
same charge in substance was
made against Abraham Lincoln.
Wade, Chase and many others
said that he lacked backbone and
was afraid to do what was right,
that he was waiting to find out
what the people wanted and
much more to the same effect,
but subsequent events demon
strated that it was good judg-
ment and not weakness that die
tated his. course. Bullheaded-
ness is not the highest quality of
craftsmanship. I hold as gen
cral proposition that the presi-
dent has no right to enforce his
individual opinion against the
will of the people, and contrary
to the judgment of congress.
His functions as prescribed by
the constitution are to make
recommendations to congress
and execute the laws, and if
congress does mot accept his
recommendations it is not his
duty on that account to engage
in a war with that body. He
may accept the judgment of
congress, though contrary to his
own opinion, and at the same
time be a strong man and a
statesman. The veto power. was
intended to be exercised only in
exceptional cases. When the
president of the United Statesi
undertakes to say that everybody
aud everything shall bow to his
will we shall have so far as he
can bring it about what France
had when Louis XIV said, "I
am the state" Ex-senator Hill
said, referring to the dictation
OF Bryan to the democratic con-
vention, that individual i'm
perialism was as bad as national
and 1 agree with
him.
President Mckinley has ex-
llibited all the firmness neces-
sary to the success of his admin
istration. He has made no
theatrical display of indepen-
ience to earn the praise of a few
lnugwumps, but by careful
and conclliatory course has pre-
served the unity of the republic
,an party, enabled it to fulfill the |