Fergus County argus., 1902-07-16
REPUBLICS
UNGRATEFUL
President Roosevelt Cites Instances
Of Great Personal Sacrifices for
the Public Good.
SPEECH TO HARVARD ALUMNI
General Leonard Wood, Secretary Of
War Root and Governor Taft of
the Philippines.

At the Harvard alumni banquet,
June 26. President Roosevelt made a
vigorous defense of three of his lieu.
tenants under fire-Wood, Taft and
Root. He eulogized their services and
declared that he had accorded to them
the only appreciation he could show
the wholly insufficient one of stand
Ing up for them and their works."
After mentioning several Harvard
men prominent in public life, includ-
ing John d. Long, Senator Hoar John
Hay and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
to whom he referred as his clos
est, staunchest and most loyal per-
sonal friend"-the president said:
Gentlemen, want to speak of ;nrae
other college graduates because of che
service they have done the pu,,!.:.
II a college education means any.
thing. 1t means fitting a man to 40
better service than he could do with
out 1t; II it does not mean that, it
means nothing, and II man does not
get that out of 1t, he gets less than
nothing out of it.
No man has a right to arrogate to
himself one particle of superiority be.
cause he has had a college education,
but he is bound If he is in truth a
man to feel that the fact Of his hav.
ing had a college education imposes
upon him heavier burden of respon.
sibility.
I want to speak of three men who
during the past three or four years
have met that requirement-of a grad.
uate of Hamilton College, Elihu Root:
a graduate Of Yale, Governor Taft, and
of fellow Harvard man, Leonard
Wood-men who did things; did not
say how they should do them, but did
them themselves; men who have met
that greatest of our national needs,
the need for the service that cannot
be bought; the need for the service
that can only be rendered by the man
willing to forego the material advan-
tages, for 1t has got to be given at
the mans own material cost.
When In England they get a man
to do what Lord Cromer did in Egypt;
when man returns, as Lord Kitchen.
er will return from South Africa. they
give him a peerage and great sum
Of money. He receives large and
tangible reward; and our Cromers
our men of that stamp. come back to
the country, and If they are fortunate
they go back to private life with the
privilege of taking up what they can
find of the strings left loose when
they surrendered their old connec.
tions, and IL they are fortunate they
are accused of maladversion in office
not an accusation that hurts them,
but an accusation that brands with
infamy every man who makes it and
rests but i'll on the country which
made it. Leonard Wood four years
ago went to Cuba: he served there
ever since; has rendered services to
that country which, performed 5000
years ago, would have made a hero
mixed up with the sun in various
ways: a man who devoted his whole
life to these four years and who
thought Of nothing else, did nothing
else save to try to bring up the stand.
ard of political and social life in that
island; to clean 1t physically and NOR
ally; to make justice even and fair
In 1t; to found school system that
should be akin to our own; to teach
the people after four centuries of mis-.
rule that there were such things as
governmental righteousness and hon.
esty and fair play for all men on their
merits as men.
He did all that. He is a man OF
slender means. He did 1t on his pay
as an army officer and as governor OF
the island.
Sixty millions of dollars passed
through his hands, and he came out
having had to draw on his slender
capital in order that he might come
out even when he left the island.
Credit to him? Yes. in a way. In
another. no particular credit, because
he was built so that he could not dc
nothing else. He came out having
done that and having devoted him
self as disinterestedly to the good OF
the Cuban people In all their relations
as man could.
He has come back here and has
been attacked forsooth by people who
are not merely unworthy OF having
their names coupled with him. but
who are incapable of understanding
the motives that have spurred lin on
to bring honor to this republic.
And Will 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 de
gree OF LII. d., man who having
won high positions at the bar and ther
served as solicitor general, with al
his tastes impelling him to a Judicial
career, and was appointed to the Unit
ed States bench. was asked to give
up the position In order to go to the
other side of the world to take up ar
infinitely difficult and infinitely dan
gerous problem and do his best tc
solve 1t. He has done his best.
He came back here the other day
The man has always had the honor
able ambition to get upon the su