The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-11-01
yAROAMAs AND ROOSEVELT.

oui NNiNAt SDfciubt Ndh SNs
President Roosevelt oil his mind.
On two occasions during the past
two weeks be has turned loose self
written interviews in bitter and VI
Imperative denunciation Of the CHIEF
executive OF the nation. The mere
presence Of Mr.. Roosevelt in the
south has The same effect on onr
governor as that produced by waving
a red rag in the face Of a bull. lie
bellows most awfuIly, paws up the
earth with fanatical fury, and it is
indeed fortunate that he has not bit
ten himself while in one Of these
hydrophobiac moods, for the result
would he certainly fatal.
OF course, the governor is entitled
10 his opinions concerning Roosevelt
tian policies and principles, and.
Furthermore, he has the the God.
given right to express these opinions
freely, bat ali that be has thus faI
said concerning the president is un-
occasionally inspired by personal
enmity and g~reen-eyed jealousy.
The fact that the people OF Mlssls'
sippi, and the south generally are
inclined to accept Mr.. Rooseyelt's
amiablc remarks in a friendly spirit,
and give him credit with honest in
tentions, in spite Of his occasional
idiosyncracies, is regarded by our
governor as a personal aifront, To
his mind the president is rotten 10
the core, utterly without hope OF re
demption, either here or hereafter.
In brief he is a public enemy a YER
table wild sailor Of the sea dashlng
the ship of state to wreck and ruin
on the rocks Of anarchy,
This, of course, is an unreasona-
BILE view. 1t is too fanatical for Sc
rious consideration. Only a mind
filed with malice could conjure up
such a conception Of Mr.. Roosevelt.
Few of us admire the president In
all his parts, but that he has good
points no sane person can truthfuily
deny. Deep down in his own heart
Governor Vardaman knows that
the president is not a bad fellow,
and our governor, of all men in the
universe, should not attach so much
seriousness to earlier utteranCes Of
public men. He has himself said
many things that would have been
better left unsaid, and which he
cannot now endorse. Worse still,
he reduced those sayings to cold
print, and the record will forever
stand against him,
There is an old adage to the effect
that "a wise man may change his
mind-a fool, never Doubtless
Mr.. Roosevelt regrets the unkind
words spoken in earlier years con-
corning the south and the southern
people. In 1885, when Mr.. Roose-
welt wrote the magazine article OF
which the governor so bitterly COM
plains he had not reached that state
OF mental maturity Of which he is
now the accredited possessor. 1t is
hardly legitimate, and it is certainly
uncharitable, to dig up an article
written twenty-five years ago and
assert that it now represents the
views of the man who wrote it. Of,
ten we do not think the same things
today that we earnestly advocated
on yesterday, or we may accept
views on matters and morals thai
do not appeal to our reason at this
moment.
Il find that his vindictivenes'
and v%ituperation extended all down
the line, even to the great concilla
tor, l., Q. G. Lamar says the gov
ernor. The R~ooseveltian sentenc,
quoted by the governor in supper
Of this allegation hardly sustain tn
idea that the president cherished
personal grievance against MIR. La
mar, and even if such was the case
that animosity was evidently forgot
ten when Mr., Roosevelt appointed
son Of l.. Q. G. Lamar as register o
the land office in Jackson.
Concerning the presidents att
tude toward the south, the governo
says that "he thinks it is popular
indulge in a little innocent flattery.
Was it innocent ~lattery when MI
Roosevelt appointed the widow G
L. -