The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-21
The Presidents Messages


MT. Roosevelt is the first President who has been accused of plagiarism in the preparation of his message to congress. In that part of the document bearing on l the question of extradition for bribery, the deadly parallel columns, as they are l called, show a very strong resemblance in thought and expression between what the President has written and some speeches, or newspaper interviews, print ed some months ago of District Attorney Folk of St Louis. The only notice the President has taken of the charge is to authorize a statement that he wrote the message without assistance from any one, and that, of course, he is responsible for it.
 The President it will be recalled, was so interested in the efforts of MT. Folk to procure the extraditions of some or the St. Louis boodlers who had fled to MeM- co, that he requested him to visit Wash ington for a conference on the subject, which finally resulted in an amendment of the extradition treaty with our sister republic It Is very probable that when that conference took place, Mir Folk left with the President some memoranda bear ing on the question and that the sub stance of them was given place in the message.
 But, however, it may be, the charge is absurd. The Presidents s literary reputa- tion is too well established and rests on too sure a foundation to be weakened by an attack of this character. No one will dispute the fact that he has no need to borrow ideas from any one on any sub ject of ordinary interest, while to deny him the faculty of being able to give them vigorous expression, would be ridic- ulous. He won his spurs, as writer be- fore he was elected to the office of Vice President.
 First Message"
 It was not until the advent of Jefferson to the Presidency that the annual com- munication of the executive to the con gress was called a message UP to that date it was called the speech and read to the senate and house of represent atives assembled together for that pur- pose That was the rule under the two administrations of Washington and the single one of the elder Adams. The idea was, of course, taken from the English custom of the speech of the queen or king from the throne. On these occa- sions Washington wore sword, ana so did John Adams Following the English precedent, also, the senate and house Tn these early days of the young republic sent to the President an address In reply to the speech" This address invariably gave rise to an acrimonious debate which occupied the first two weeks of the ses- sion. Parties divided with respect to it's phraseology, so that every sentence and paragraph had to be settled by majority vote The abolition of these monarchlal formalities, as Jefferson deemed them, was the very first of the reforms in the administration of the government. ! A short time before the meeting of con- gress. in December 1891, Jefferson notified the Vice President, presiding over the | senate. and the speaker c the house, that instead of going to the capitol and making a speech which, by the way, the i author of the Declaration of Independence hardly ever made in his long career, he would communicate with the two bodies 1 in writing, and that it would not be ne- cessary to make any reply to 1t. Ihis l was the first whiff of the since famous "Jeffersonian simplicity" Those who were then called 'monarchists, were mortified at the innovation. and believed that 1t menaced the very existence of the republic and would eventually lead to the introduction of French red-repubi- canism into the administration of the l government. But the Jefferson precedent has ben followed ever since in the official 1 intercourse between the executive and the legislature.
 Washington's Speeches.
 As to the authorship of the annual exc cutive communications to congress, the {, evidence exists that the speeches of Washington were, for the most part, made up of contributions by members of his cabinet. This is provided by entries in the diaries; the letters and other pa- pers which these gentlemen have left us. Jefferson notes again and again that he was asked to write certain paragraphs for the speech" bearing on the conduct of foreign affairs. Hamilton, on the other hand made contributions to it respecting the management of the finances All this was eminently proper, General Washing ton could not be supposed to know every thing connected with the manifold con cerns of his administration, to be an au- thority on finance and international law. It was because that he was not, that he had experts like Hamilton and Jefferson to aid him in the solution of problems oi this character. This is administration government, in the highest and best sense It is the fundamental principle underlying our institutions.
 Adams, Jefferson and Madison sought little or no assistance from their cabinet advisers in the preparation of their oifi- cial papers. They were all thoroughly competent to deal with every topic that arose. John Quincy Adams undoubtedly ' aided Monroe to some extent in the writ ing of his messages, and when Jackson
 came in, Livingston, the secretary O state. and Kendall. the postmaster gener l al, found active employment for thei
 vigorous pens.
 Days of Lincoln.
 To come down to the days of Lincoln