Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-05-05
The Temptation of Teddy.

issued statement of the way Presi-
dent Roosevelt has spent his time
while in the Yellowstone Park His
principal amusement has been fishing,
which must have been a chilly pleas
ure, for we are informed that the snow
is six feet deep in the valleys along
the streams and entirely fills many of
the canyons. The secretary says: "On
entering the park the President inform
cd Major Pitcher that he would not,
under any circumstances. fire shot
at anything while in the park, and he
took neither rifle nor shotgun with
him. The party had some good fish
ing, and the President and Mr. Bur-
roughs spent a large part of their time
in following and watching at close
quarters the great herds of game.
chiefly elk, but also mountain sheep,
deer and antelope" -
President Roosevelt must evidently
be schooling himself to withstand
temptation, and if the secretary is tell
ing the truth and the whole truth, the
President certainly has more control
of the hunting fever that was sup
posed to possess him than most of us
would have under similar circum-
stances But the greatest temptation
of the President was yet to come. II
will be noticed that nothing was said
about bears which abound in the park,
grizzly bears, cinnamon bears and
black bears. Possibly Major Pitcher
mad taken the precaution to corral the
bears in part of the park that the
President would not visit. The Press
correspondents tell, however, of hear
ing two shots and it is feared that IL
bear-perhapS two of them-escaped
from the corral and investigated the
President at too close range. II does
not require much stretch of the mag
ination to see the President seize a gun
from his nearest attendant and with
two shots Stay the bears who had thus
dared him. If the President was un-
able to withstand the temptation at
such close range what mortal can
blame him?
Even saints have erred under similar
circumstances. In the temptations of
the good Saint Anthony we are told
that:
The good Saint Anthony kept his eyes
so firmly fixed on his Holy Book,
There was not devil, or imp was
there. could get him to give so
much as a look.
There We're devils black and devils
blue and devils there of every
hue,
But laughing woman with coal black
eyes, she turned out the worst
devil of all.
That was the first and only time
Saint Anthony fell to temptation. I'm
fortunately the President has sue
cumbed before, and was therefore an
easier mark for the bears Just before
he left Washington for his trip to the
park the officials of the American Pro
tective Tariff League visited him at
the White House and boast that they
tempted the President by offers of sup
port for the denomination and threats
to defeat him if he did not advocate in
his speeches to stand pat" on the tar
if issue.
President Roosevelt, it is stated,
changed front from the iowa idea
to the ultra protectionism of the league
thus reversing his position from being
the champion of reciprocity to being
the most ardent protectionist. The
Washington Star, speaking of the
achievements of the league. said: 1T
has combated the Iowa idea" so sue
cessfully that President Roosevelt,
who started out with a declaration that
he would "stand pat on the Mckinley
policies. which included reciprocity,
has now concluded to stand pat" with
the high tariff faction of his party.
The temptation of another term as
President was too much for Mr. Roose-
welt, and having thus succumbed to
this temptation, he was an easy mark
for the bears of the Yellowstone Park.
There is another great temptation
awaiting the President. The decision
in the merger case gives the admins
tration an opportunity to prosecute
many of the 500 trus.:s and combines
that vex the people, but the bad trusts
and where is there good one-wlll
tempt him to let them alone as the
league has done-yith the tariff issue.