The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1905-11-09
WON THE SOUTH.
PRESIDENT Ro0SEvELT'S SUCCESS
Full SOUTHERN TRIP. GLOWING
TRIBUTES OF PAPERS PREVIOUSLY

dUS LILLE.
The winning of the South is one of
the most extraordinary episodes IN
President Roosevelt's brilliant career.
The South was in very real sense the
enemy'S country President Roosevelt
had, if we may believe the papers OF
that section, committed the unpardOn-
able sin. To begin with, he is one of
the blacklist of black Republicans. The
Southern BourbonS felt that he had
aggravated his original sin by going
out of his way to insult them. For
example, he has closed Mississippi
post office because some whites had
made trouble for tie colOred postmlS-
tress. He had appointed negro col
lector for the port of Charleston, and
had held the man in place and forced
the Senate to confirm him, in spite OF
furious protests from the dominant
white faction of the city. Above all,
he had invited distinguished negro to
dinner and had thus, 50 the accusation
ran, openly proclaimed a oellef IN
social equality" Ever since that din
ner invitation the press of the South
has lost no chance to attack Roosevelt
As writer to the Raleigh News and
a4bserver remarks, But yesterday we
were mp in arms against one Teddy
Roosevelt, because he had, we said,
deliberately and of malice afore-
thought. used his high position to les
sen the social chasm which sunders the
races in this country. Today the South
can hardly find words to express its en-
thusiasm."
We could fill whole issue of
the Evening Post with clippings in
praise of Roosevelt, out one. from the
Birmingham Age-Hera will suffice.
The man whom the people came
from all parts of Alabama to honor
Yesterday is emphatically an American
who stands for all regardless of social
lines or the size of pocketbooks. A
man of heartier American spirit and
impulses has never occupied the Presl-
Dental office He is an American from
the ground up, true type of the best
aspirations Of the republic, the first
citizen of this glorious land of liberty"
In such glowing tributes the South
has Joined the West and the North in
recognition of man. For it is entire
ly possible to dissent from some of Mr..
Roosevelt's political policies, to ques-
ton the soundness of his judgment in
certain details of administration, and
still to yield unstinted admiration to
the splendid traits of his character.
These the South has now had all OPP
portunity to discover: any its instant
response is fresh proof that ''there is
neither breed nor birth, when two
strong men stand face to face"
1t is not Roosevelt the statesman or
Roosevelt the orator who has thus cap
tured all hearts The political theories
which he has propounded in the South
ern cities, from Richmond to New Or
leans, are those which he has set forth
again and again. He favors govern
ment regulation OF railway rates: he
wants the Panama Canal built with all
possible speed; he hopes the republics
of Central and South America will be-
have themselves. But all this we
knew before. Moreover, he has urged
his hearers to be good men and good
citizens: to keep the rascals out OF Of
ice. II candidate be corrupt, he
cries, then refuse, under any plea of
party expediency, under and consldera-
ton. to refrain from shifting him with
the sword of the Lord and the Gideon"
In this exhortation. also, there is no
novelty Mr.. Roosevelt is well aware
that he has said practically the same
thing on a hundred similar occasions.
not he repeated too often. Like the
ten commandments, it is never stale,
and vet it cannot set fifty thousand
people shouting III reclamation.
The qualities which have seized the
popular Imagination and have made
President Roosevelt the most idolized
figure i'll America, and perhaps in the
whole world, are his vlrlllty, his frank,
unconventional. Democratic manner.
his outspoken chlvalry, and his human
heart. Few people know much about
abstract political principles, and still
fewer care anything about them. Free
trade and tariff, railway regulation,
antitrust laws, consular reform, a
vigorous foreign policy-for millions of
voters these are empty words. Each
party platform rings its changes on
them, but each party is, after all, but
an organized assault npon the offices.
We live in deeds, not words. The
thing which bulks large in the eyes of
common humanity is a man who gets
up and hustles, slashes through the red
tape, does things" To pass over
RoOsevelt's many minor achievements
there is the peace between Japan and
Russia. accomplished, i'll the teeth of
obstacles that any other man would
have found insuperable, and with
superb disregard of the conventions of
diplomacy. Such feats compel devo-
ton.
He is also Indifferent to the petty So
cial conventions. Born of an old and
aristocratic family, reared as a member
of the exclusive caste, educated at Har-
ward, he is still thoroughly man of
the people. Wherever he goes he has a
''buly time" He sets out ON his
travels with all the gusto of youth.
He finds exhaustless pleasure in meet
ing people of all occupations and all
points in view. AS his train left
Montgomery, he shouted from the
back platform, You have never had
a guest who enjoyed himself more"
This was no mere polite farewell; it
was the exact truth. The heartiness
was unfeigned. Other men-Harrison,
and probably Cleveland-would have
been bored and tired by the festivities:
but President Roosevelt was as cordial
ly straight forward, and interested, as
hearty and happy as boy of twelve at
a Sunday school picnic. \ man of
such fortunate temperament can Sc
cure the friendship of every man,
woman, child, dog, and horse that he
meets.
But in his latest incursion across
Mason and Dixon's line he showed
something more than unquenchable JOY
i'll life. 1t was his chivalry, his sympa-