Arizona republican., 1906-08-20
TRAveLEo PRESIDENTS.
Many of Our Chief Executives Have
 Been Abroad.


 In the sense of having sojourned abroad even Washington was a trav- eied man, though he went outside the United States but once. That was when in his youth, he accompanied Lawrence Washington in a tour of the West Indies. which the latter made in the vain hope of restoring his health. But of Washington's associates. both of his prime and his later life, many were distinguished foreigners, and his quick perception of the trend of European affairs was undoubtedly stimulated by his cosmopolitan acquaintanceship. In the course of the revolution Washing ton could draw for information on the stores of the experience of Lafayette, Rochambeau, Count Fersen, Koscuisko and Steuben, two brilliant Frenchmen, a gifted Swede. famous Pole and a most observant German. Washington was visited after the revolution by most foreigners travelling in this coun- try. He did not need to go to Europe, says the Boston Transcript. Europe came to him.
 Our second ard third presidents, Adams and Jefferson, had seen much of the great world" abroad They knew it at first hand. Both had been diplomats, and Jefferson at least a close student of the social conditions of Europe on the eve of the French revolution. Madison appears to have been a home-staying man; but James Monroe, who succeeded Madison. was twice in France-once as minister and once as special envoy. His name will ever be associated with the Louisiana purchase. He also carried on import ant negotiations in Great Britain and Spain, which made him familiar with the society of London and Madrid
 John Quincy Adams may be describ- ed as travel bred from boyhQOd. He was at school in Paris when but II years old. and in his subsequent diplO- matic career he acquired knowlede of Europe which few Americans of his time could rival London, Berlin. St. Petersburg were familiar cities to him. He watched at close range the great game on the European chess board, and when he became secretary of state simply moved from one department of diplomacy to another.
 Martin Van Bure- was the next of our presidents to gain a foreign ex- perieuce. He was our minister to Great Britain just long enough to feel the whole bitterness of a forced recall when the senate refused to confirm his nomination. His martyrdOm helped toward making him president, however. greatly to the chagrin of those who thought they had put an inenaceable humiliation upon him. William Henry Harrison was occupying a diplomatic post :n South America when Jackson was inaugurated, and "Tippecanoe" did not save him from the removal
 Not until sixteen years after Van Buren went out of the white house did we have a president who had known the old world by travel and residence Buchanan had been at one time our minister to St. Petersburg, and latel had represented us at the court of St James. Although the facilities for Flu ropean travel were greatly improved after 1850, of all our presidents since Buchanan, Roosevelt is the only one who appears to have acquired famil- iarity with Europe by travel previous to becoming a presidential candidate Europe, indeed, seems to have beer considered the resort of eX-presidents Fillmore, Pierce and Grant travelled ex- tcnsivcly in the old world. and Ben.