Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-26

A Democratic Tribute.
Detroit Free Press Cdem.l.

the plutocrscy and mobocracy OF Ne"
Nork. the aristocracy OF the SOUTH the
independent democracy Of the middle
states. and the boisterous individusllsm OF
the far west. He had not studied them
from the standpoint OF the managing poll
tician, curious to see how long all the
people could be fooled all the time; but
he might have said Of his fellow-Ameri-
cans. from whatever section Of the country
they hailed. as Kipling said Of the people
OF India:
I have eaten your bread and salt,
| have drank your water and wine,
The deaths We died l have watched besloe'
And the lives we led were mine.
Because he had never served In congress-
and had never been voted by a steering
committee, and had never deviled a presi-
dent about the appointment OF a postmas-
ter. the politicians of his party felt that
he could not know much about the prac-
tical affairs Of government. But he knew
many things that we're not dreamed Of In
their philosophy. For one thing, he knew
how the army regarded the army. The
long nights on the plains In company with
American soldiers had not been spent to no
purpose, and neither had his own brief but
honorable career as q volunteer ofhcer dur
ing the Cuban war. But his administra-
tive vision was not bounded by the War
department. AS assistant secretary OF the
navy, he had come to know its personnel
and understand its esprit du corps as well
as he knew the army, His experience as a
civil service commissioner had enabled him
to know how the ONCE seeker and the prac-
tical politician look upon the government.
while his political career in New York had
made him familiar with the most sordid,
self-seeking political system that this coun-
try or any other country ever knew. Jus
tin Mccarthy said OF Sir Charles Dixie that
mo question Of foreign or colonial policy
could we'll come up in the house Of com
mons about which he was not able TO say,
I know the place; l know the conditions:
I know the men," So far as the affairs
Of the United States were concerned, this
description, II transferred to Theodore
Roosevelt at the time OF his accession to
the presidency, would not have been grossly
extravagant.
With this previous preparation II would
have been strange II Mr.. Roosevelt had
been found seriously wanting when called
upon to assume the duties OF president OF
the United States, notwithstanding that
quality Of "cockiness'' which is so greatly
d~eplored by persons stepped in the Tom
Corwin dogma that the way TO succeed liz
politics is to be "a solemn ass" 1T is
not every mar that can bear much wine
said Plutarch Of Lucullus, nor can the or.
binary mind bear great prosperity without
staggering Mr.. Roosevelt has not stag
gered yet. His year in the presidency hai
given him a frmer hold on the people Of
the country, and strengthened popular con.
hdence in the man. He has ceased to be
an experiment. In the element of politi.
cal lpadarahiD he fe m anonranJLzkoa 81
Whatever the future may hold in store
for him. today he is the unchallenged cap.
tain OF his party, with the greatest per.
sonal following in point Of numbers tina.
any president of the United States has eveI
known.