River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-09-08
ROOSEvELT'S QUALITIES.
They insure Success Beth as Soldier
and StAteaunE.


''If we were seeking a soldier" said
Senator Bailey, of Texas, in opening the
Democratic campaign in Brooklyn last
week, Il should prefer the President to
almost any other man in public life
AS we are seeking a statesman, how
ever, / should prefer almost any other
man in public life to the President"
"They tell us the President is brave"
Mr.. Bailey continued, ''and SO he is, but
he is as rash as he is brave. He would
be one Of the best men to lead a desper-
ate charge in time of war, but he is one
Of the worst men to administer great
government in time of peace"
Coming from the Junior senator from
Texas, where every boy baby is colonel
before he is weaned and a statesman as
soon as he sheds his milk teeth, this is
as unexpected as it is in part untrue.
Senator Bailey has sacrificed his adj
miration for military genius and his rec
ognition of its almost universal coin
cidence with statesmanlike qualities to
the eXigencies of a political campaign.
All history teaches that the qualities
that go to make successful soldier
are the effective equipment OF the sue
cessful statesman.
Caesar crossed the Rubicon before he
put aside the crown upon the Luper-
cal.
Bonaparte devastated all Europe be-
fore he gave to France the Code Napo-
leon.
Cromwell triumphed at Naseby before
he held the reins as Protector with a
tirmness and justice that deserved the
emulation of Kings.
In our land, from Washington down
to Roosevelt, experience has proved that
the life of the camp is no unfit train
ing for the presidency. The list includes
at least one Democrat, now almost can
onized who carved his way to the White
House with his sword and retained the
presidency second term through the
wisdom of doing things" which CON
founded the drawing room statesman
of his day and party.
We cannot say that Theodore Roose-
welt is an ADLER or a Drawer soldier
than Andrew Jackson. But we doubt
if Senator Bailey would seriously main
tain that the hero of New Orleans was
as amenable to the counsels of reason
and righteousness and the letter Of the
constitution as the soldier who for three
y
soberly, seriously and successfully, ac-
cording to the chart laid down by his
predecessor.
Every Republican president elected
since the civil war-Grant, Hayes, Gar
field, Harrison, McKinley-was a sol
der before he was President, and none
OF them was the worse for having seen
service in the field for his country But
they were all something more than sol
diers-they were born administrators
And so is Theodore Roosevelt. In the
brief span Of less than quarter of a
century of public life he has compressed
more kinds of public usefulness than
was ever dreamed of in the dolce far
niente philosophy of the Texas Senator
Being a soldier in Cuba was only
an incident in his career of ceaseless
activity. AS assemblyman rancher,
publicist, civil service commissioner,
police commissioner colonel, Governor
of New York, and President of the Uni
ted States Theodore Roosevelt has al
ways borne himself as an honest, cap
able, efficient American citizen, which
is more credtable than being merely a
soldier or merely a carpet statesman