Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-13
upon his Kitchen cabinet'-Blair, Ken
dali, Hill and Noah-for his effective sup

upon his Kitchen cabinet'-Blair, Ken
dali, Hill and Noah-for his effective sup
port.
Later than Jackson. Abraham Lincoln and
William Mckinley, the kindliest and most
tactful Of our Presidents, were the most
considerate in their treatment of the press.
James Buchanan, with characteristic in
aptness. got into collision with the press
very early In his administration: and he
made the great mistake of his life when
he undertook to punish that very able jour
nalist and politician, John w. Forney, who
had made him President Forney had the
presumption to criticise some of Buchanan s
weak, vacillating policies, thereby incur
ring the vindictive hostility of the latter.
Buchanan contemptuously styled Forney "a
dead duck but the editor lived long
enough to see Buchanan leave the White
House In disgrace. and to give vigorous aid
himself to the work of putting Abraha
Lincoln in the place he had SO feebly filled.
Grover Cleveland during his first term
was complaisant to the press, though
never very cordial. But on his second
term, inflated with the idea of his own
greatness, he first assumed a condescend-
ing and then q menacing tone toward the
press. Then when he undertook to cham
pion the Infamous Queen LII, who insisted
upon killing all the missionaries who had
taken part in her deposition from the
Hawaiian throne. he was sharply criticised
by the press for his un-American, un-Chris-
tian course. He holly resented these CEN
sures and sought to punish the offending
journals by cutting off all access to news
sources at the White House and at the de-
partments; but he did not succeed, and
Dan. Lamont, his best friend and most
sagacious adviser. was the first to revolt
against Cleveland's order. and he gave out
all the news on hand, with strict impair
TALLY to friend or foe of the administration,
among the newspaper men.
Dan. Lamont had mind Of his own,
and was not SO subservient to presidential
dictation as some later cabinet officers
have been.
Theodore Roosevelt during his first term
was In very cordial relations with the
newspaper men. and expressed q hearty ap
probation of their services in his support
all through his career, from the time when
he first entered upon his reform crusade
as civil service commissioner in Washing
ton. But entering upon his second term,
a little inflated. perhaps. by his election by
such an overwhelming majority, he took on
a somewhat dictatOrial tone toward the
press. He seemed to think, and with some
reason, that he had been commissioned by
the people to carry out, with autocratic
powers, his grand schemes for the correc-
ton of great public abuses. He had an in
tense desire to accomplish this herculean
task in the briefest time possible, and he
was impatient of any criticism-or question
of his infallibilty as to the manner of his
going about the big job.
Fearless and Truthful Criticism"
Wanted.
He has declared himself in favor of
clean, healthy newspapers. with clean,
healthy criticisms, which shall be fearless
and truthful" but when 1t comes to the
test it is seen that he does not relish these
fearless and truthful criticisms" when they
are exercised at his expense.
When the newspapers have admonished
him that if he would make little less
haste in his official utterances he would
save himself from the commission of many
inconsiderate and unjust acts.
That his hasty approval of the brutal
deeds of his subordinates at the White
House when the "knock-down and drag
out" outrage was committed upon Mrs.
Minor Morris, refined. cultured, respecta-
BILE Christian woman was an act of cruel,
heartless injustice.
That, acting in haste, when some callow
youngster catches his capric.ous fancy, he
jumps him into high office over the heads
of men of experience and tested ability, he
does grave injustice to set Of meritorious
officers who entitled by every consider
alton of right to promotion in regular order.
That If he would stop to county twenty
tongued people, before yielding to the
and horse thieves, 1t might save him some
violations of good manners and good taste,
and would make him a better exemplar to
the youth of the country, who are looking
to him for guidance in the conduct of life.
That it would be advisable for him to go
a little slow when undertaking to concen-
trate all the powers of government at the
White House.
These are among the numerous sugges-
tons made by the press to the President.
But has he welcomed these fearless and