Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-26

In various ways, a man VINO devoted his
whole life to these four years, and who
thought of nothing else, did nothing else
save to try to bring up the standard of
political and social life in that island; to
clean it physically and morally; to make
Justice even and fair ipz it,; to found
school system that should be akin to- our
own; to teach the people after four -centts-
res of misrule that there were such Things
as governmental Righteousness and honesty
and fair play for all men on their merits as
men He did all that He is a man of
slender means. He did it on his pay as an
army officer and 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 LETT the IS
land. Credit to him? Yes, in way. In
another, no particular credlf, because ne
was built so that he could do nothing else.
loud applause.)- He came cut having done
that, and having devoted himself disnter-
estedly to the benefit of the Cuban people.
He has come back here and has been at
tackled forsooth, by people who are not
merely unworthy of having their names
coupled with his. but who are incapable of
understanding the motives that have
spurred him on to bring honor to this re-
public. (Applause)
Tribute to Judge Taft.
And Taft-Judge Taft, Governor Taft
who has been the head of the Philippine
commission, and who has gone back there
Taft the most brilliant graduate of his
year at Yale, the youngest Yale man upon
whom that institution ever conferred
degree of LID; a man who, having won
high positions at the bar, and then served
as solicitor general, with all his tastes I'M
pelling him to a judicial career, and was
appointed to the United States bench, was
asked to give up the position in order to go
to the other side of the world to take up an
infinitely difficult 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 Su-
preme Court, and he knew that I had al
ways hoped he would be put upon the Su-
preme Court, and when there was a ques-
ton of vacancy arising l said to him:
Governor. l think / ought to tell you that
if a vacancy comes in the Supreme Court,
while it would give you an opportunity to
be put in the position you would like to
have. 1 think L ought to tell you that If
such a vacancy should occur 1 do not see
how 1 could possibly give it to you, for l
need you where you are.
He said to me: Mr. President, II has al
ways been my dream to be in the Supreme
Court, but if you should offer me a judge
ship now. and at the same time Congress
should take entirely off my salary as gov
ernor l should go straight back to the
Philippines, nevertheless, for those people
need me, and expect me back, and l won't
desert them" (Applause.)
He has gone back, gone as strong friend
among weaker friends, to help them upward
along the stony and difficult path of self
government {applauSe} to do his part, and
a great part in making the American name
a symbol of honor and of good faith in the
Philippine Islands; to govern with justice
and with that firmness, that absence. of
weakness which is only another side of JUS
tice. (Applause.) He has gone back to do
all of that because it is his duty as he sees
1t. We are to be congratulated, we Ameri-
cans, that we have a fellow American like
Taft. (Applause)
What Secretary Root Has Done.
And now, Elihu Root, who. unlike myself
Mr.. President Eliot, but like most of you
present, comes of the old New England
stock, whose great-grandfather stood be-
side Leonard Woods great grandfather at
Concord Bridge (applause): Elihu Root,
who had worked his way up from being a
poor and unknown country boy in New
York. to a position where in year or two
he had the leadership OF the bar of the
great city within his grasp, gave it up,
made the very great pecuniary sacrifice
implied in giving 1t up, and accepted the
position under President Mckinley of Sec
rotary of War, position for the last three
years and at the present amounts to being
not only the Secretary of War; but the sec
rotary of the islands, the secretary of the
colonies at the same time: who has done
the most exhauSting and most responsible
work OF any man IN the administration,
more SO than the work of the President,
| because circumstances have been such that
| IL a man shows wonderful ability. industry.
| and conscientiousness the President could
not help but to devolve upon him work
| that made his task one under which almost
/ any other man l know would have stag
| gered He has done that, and done it abb
solutely disinterestediy. Nothing can come
| to Root in the way of reward save that
/ which Is implied in the knowledge that he