Waterbury Democrat., 1901-09-19
1884, AND NOW.

N
 aoo two voung and ambitious poll +icians who were not ashamed to be known as reformers, went to Chicago filled with an earnest desire 10 pIe- vent the nomination of James U. biaine for the presidency. One of them was Theordore Roosevelt of New 1orK- He was a member of the convention. 1he other was Henry Cabot Lodge or Mas- sachusetts. who had essayed to De elected to congress from the district which included his Nahant residence and had been beaten. Both of them were of the class known as mugWumps, Philistines. pessimists and all that sort of thing. They worked hard i'll Chlca- % against the Maine man and came back with heavy hearts when they had failed in their efforts. The arguments which they had used with the delegates at Chicago proved ill the end to have been sound For MT Blaine was de feated at the polls by Grover Cleye- land.
 Both of these youngsters learned a severe lesson in practical politics at that Chicago convention. It taught them that aspiring young statesmen eyes AALllC lO tAN faults of greater leaders and stick to the party through thick and thin. Both supported the republican ticket in- stead of breaking with the party as did so many other talented young re- publicans in that presidential cam paign. MT Lodge was more active than his New York friend in espousing the cause of Blaine. He went on the stump for the Maine man, and within three months from the time that he had denounced him to the delegates at Chicago as utterly unworthy of conf dence and respect he was earnestly pleading with the voters to elect him, to the presidency. We refer to this not very ancient chapter of political his tory by way of introduction to the fol- lowing statement. which we quote from the Worcester GaZett of Monday:
 Henry Cabot Lodge. the junior senator from Massachusetts, will be the power behind the throne of the Roosevelt, administration He will be president RooseYeit,s closest friend, as was Senator Hanna that of President Mekinley Il Mr Lodge and Mir Roose- welt are intimate personal friends and have counseled each other since grad uating from college. 1t is generally conceded that Mir Lodge will now. be come the chief adviser and counselor of the administration. If he desired. he could be secretary of state, but it is hardly likely he will care to resign from the senate. He is young enough 10 have a long and brilliant career be- fore him in that body, and it is doubt ful if he would care to sacrifice it. He will be the personal representative of the administration and chairman of the committee or, foreign relations. and will thus be ithe' leader of his party there and the foremost member In view of his great talent, it is probable Massachusetts will, through him, hold q position in the senate such as she has not held since the days of Web Stef and Sumner. And in his own state MT Lodge will be more of force than ever. His influence with the national administration will increase his pres tige at home, and he will be more the boss than ever. But he is a pretty good type of boss and we can stand him. And if President Roosevelt has no worse advisers than Mir Lodge, he VII hol go lar dInlSS. OQe thing IS Certain with such men in close relation and a man, like Secretary Root in their confidence, the government will not be lacking in backbone If trouble brews. things will be doing"
 It is hardly a correct comparison to state tie relation of Lodge to the new president to be the same as that of Mir Hanna to Mir Mckinley. MT Roose- Welt is under no such obligations to the Massachusetts senator for aiding in his advancement as the Ohio presi- dent bore to the Ohio senator. At the Philadelphia convention last year MT Lodge figured as the leader in a movement to make Mir Long of Massa- ehusetts the nominee for vice-president although his personal preference must have been his New York friend. But no doubt Mir Lodge will aim to be the special mouth-piece of the new admin lstration in the senate. and it may be questioned whether this relation will prove a good thing for President Roose- Welt. There are possibilities of polIti- cal rivalries and complications in such a plan which may greatly alter the po- itica1 situation in the next three years Hartford Times.