The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-09-24
PRESIDENT RoosHvBLTs PERSON
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The independent ". 4.
The Presidential campaign, as yet only Ian
guidly opened. presents thus far only one seri-
Gus issue. personal one. And the personal
issue concerns only one Of the two principal
candidates. Mr. Roosevelt. While personal. u Is
not one Affecting in any way moral character
It is very different from the personal campaign
OF 1884. when both Mr.. Blaine and Mr.. Cleveland
were bitterly attacked on moral grounds. Now
but one Of the candidates is personally attacked,
and be not at all on any charge Of moral taint'
Fortunately both candidates are spotiess ~ TINS
respect
Mr.. Parker has lived simple. quiet, blame
less life; 50 has Mr.. Roosevelt. Both Of them
present ideal examples OF domestic relations.
In the case Of neither Of them has any breath
ever been whispered as to bis integrity. They
are scrupulously honest. and hate corruption In
all it's forms. Nopurer personal character could
be presented to the people as examples 70 fol-
low or lives to honor. And yet II IL chiefly
personal campaign. not against Mr.. Parker. but
against Mr.. Roosevelt. It has to do with his
traits, the web and wool Of his nature. It can
not be such against Mr. Parker, for the world
does not know him. He has been shielded too
much By the quiet Of long judicial duty and dig
nifty to allow personal traits to be much known
to the public. His position as judge has al
lowed no initiative. and has screened him from
public gaze.
Not 60 is It with Mr.. Roosevelt. He has been
IN the eye of the public since he was twenty
four years old He has not avoided it he could
not avoid it, for his whole life has been devoted
to the service Of the public. He has from pref
erence stood where he was doing something that
the public must see. II his nature has virtues.
they are evident; If It has weaknesses or faults,
they are open to everybody's inspection and
condemnation.
Now It is these traits, publicly exhibited. that
SMA NHAhhrA "a nAFkv chiefly 4kta1ke ever more
heady, reckless. ambitious, and that for this
reason he Is not safe man to be elected Presi-
dent There Is no knowing, they tell US, into
what mischief and dangers he might plunge us.
This is their favorite weapon Of attack. They
are as silent as they can be decently as to every
measure in their old platforms or the new /;
nothing about gold and silver. not whisper Of
nat money, very little about the Philippines or
the Panama Canal, not much even about the
trusts; but chiefly Roosevelt. because he Is
reckless and ambitious. They lampoon him as
emperor
Now what is there that Is reckless, what sign
Is there Of ambition, about Theodore Roosevelt 2
Does he put on any show. or special style Of
state or dignity No one has accused him Of
being other than Straightforward man, quite
simple and democratic in his tastes. Imperial
ism is none Of his GREETINGS the Spanish War
began under President Mckinley, and Roose-
Welt was simply Assistant Secretary Of the Navy,
doing what he could to get the fleet ready. until
he left the ofice to be lieutenant colonel Of q
regiment on the field. If that was reckless, so
were thousands Of soldiers reckless. His mill
tary record was credItable. and there was moth
ing in 1t more reckless than becomes soldier.
Then Roosevelt became President. and was
responsible for the Administrations conduct of
the Philippine policy. IL there in It any touch
OF the reckless, the sensational. or the ambi-
tious7 There Is about that policy just one sa-
lient pronounced feature-it has been swift to
exchange military for civil government. 1t has
often angered the army men. because 1t has put
confidence in the Filipinos and given them q
large and growing share in the government Of
the islands. 1t has tried, just as fast as posi-
BILE. to exchange external. colonial domination
for self-government. Is that ambitious. is it
reckless Is it not generous and wise? If that
is reckless, then may Heaven grant us ever
reckless Presidentsl
Then there is his other great achievement,
that Of the assurance and control Of the Panama
Canal. It was no easy task to secure and ac-
ouYAA9u AtS anu ~ was great uOuor W tno d0-
ministration and great blessing to the country
and the world, but was it reckless act, any
thing that savors Of blameworthy ambition
Indeed. the world knows that 1t showed both
patriotism and craftsmanship.
Where. then, does this recklessness show IT.
self Was it in sending an army to deliver the
foreigners shut up in Pekin2 No one will say
it; we did no more than every other civilized
nation did. The world applauds the part which
the United States took in that campaign. Was
IL when he asked the parties Of the coal strike to
submit their case to arbitration The country
approved then and approves now. What, then.
uA1uFgs
30 much so thati would be dangerous to elect
him again. for fear that he would plunge us into
war or some other horrible complication There
Is simply no such evidence at all.
What, then, is at the bottom of this personal
campaign2 What is It that they see in Presi-
dent Roosevelt that is the basis of the charge ?
Nothing but this. that he is given 70 doing
things. He has sense of what ought to be
done, and he tries, in legal and Constitutional
ways, to have it done. His is not the mere judi
cial mind which weighs and ponders and does
nothing. He has been in the habit all his days
Of doing things. He is man Of unusual vigor,
physical and mental, and he always wants some
thing useful to be accomplished. That is .
dangerous trait. If q man be fool; but it is the
trait which characterizes all useful and success
full men. Add It to good common sense, good
ability. and good purposes, and we have a man
for the people to admire, trust and follow. Such
man is Theodore Roosevelt.
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