The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-06-26

pied with his, but who are incapable /
of unders tanding the motives that have |
spurred him on to bring honor to this
And Taft, Judge Taft Governor
Taft. who has been the head of the
Philippine commission and who has
gone back there. Taft, the most bril-
liant graduate of his year at Yale, the
youngest Yale man upon whom that
institution ever conferred the degree OF
LII D. a man who having Won high
position at the bar and then served as
solicitor general, with all his tastes i'm.
polling him to a judicial career, and
was appointed to the United States
bench, was asked to give up the posi-
ton in order to go to the other side OF
the world. to take up an infinitely diff
cult and infinitely dangerous problem
and to do his best to solve it. He has
done his best He came back here the
other day. The man has always had
the honorable ambition to get upon the
supreme court, and he knew that had
always hoped he would be put upon the
supreme court, and when there was
question of a vacancy arising 1 said to
him. Governor, I think I ought to tell
you that If vacancy occurs in the
supreme court while it would give you
an opportunity to be put in the position
you would like to have, / think I ought
to tell you that If such a vacancy
should occur I do not see how 1 could
possibly give it to you, for I need you
where you are.
He said to me: Mr.. President it has
always been my dream to be in the SUI
preme court, but if you should offer me
a justiceship now and at the same time
congress should take OF entirely my
salary as governor I should go straight
back to the Philippines, nevertheless, for
those people need me and expect me
I back, and believe won't desert them
/ he has gone back, gone as q strong
/ friend among weaker friends, to help
! them upward along the stony and diff
ficult path of self government. To do
/ his part and as great part in making
T the American name a symbol or honor
/ and good faith in the Philippines; to
/ govern with justice and with that firm
/ ness, that absence of weakness, which
/ is only another side of justice. He has
/ gone back to do all of that because 1t
/ is his duty as he sees it. We are to be
! congratulated we Americans. that we
have a fellow American Ike Taft.
And now Elihu Root, who unlike my
/ self, Mr.. President Eliot but like most
of you present, comes Of the old New
/ England stock, whose great grandfather
/ stood beside Leonard Woods great
j grandfather on the Concord bridge.
( Elihu Root who had worked his way
up from being a poor and unknown
/ country boy in New York to a position
/ where in a year or two he had the lead
ership of the bar of the great city with
in his grasp. gave it I'D, made the very
great pecuniary sacrifice implied in Civ
ing it up and accepted the position I'M
der President Mckinley of secretary of
war, position which for the last three
years and at present amounts to
not only being the secretary for war
but the secretary for the islands, the
secretary for the colonies at the same
time Who has done the most exhaust
ing and the most responsible work Of
any man in the administration. more
so than the work of the president be-
cause circumstances have been such
that with a man of Roots wonderful
ability industry and conscientiOusness
I the nrazfdnnf CN11ld hnIu h41t Ha-
volve upon him work that made his task
one under which almost any other man
I know would have staggered. He has
| done that and done 1t absolutely dis
/ interestedly. Nothing can come to Root
in the way Of reward save that which
is implied in the knowledge that he has
done something which hardly any old
man IN the union could have done as
( well as he has done it. Having brought
| before him continuously questions of ut
most intricacy to decide, questions upor
which the life and death hang; questions
the decision Of which will effect our
whole future policy, questions that eff
feet the welfare of the millions of PEG
pie with whom we have been brought
into such intimate contact by the events
of the Spanish war, and whose welfare
must be a prime consideration from
now on. He has done all that with tn,
certainty of attack with the certainty
of misunderstanding. with the certainty
of being hampered by ignorance anC
worse than ignorance; that he could no
do the best that was in him. only thi
best that conditions would allow Of
was all Abraham Lincoln could do. In
cidentally he has done all Taft ha
done it. Wood has done 1t, These threl
men have rendered that service I car
do nothing for them. I can show M
appreciation Of them in no way save tn
wholly insufficient one of standing III
for them and for their works and tina
I Will do"