The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-04-27
ROOSEVELT WOULD
/ BUT PERHAPS NO
OTHER COULD
Harris Views on the Presiden-
tiaI Situation
TAFT NOW RUNNING ALONE
Lack OF cohereney In tho oppo sItlor
Makes Their Campaign Of
Little Effect.

Editor OF the Banner:--History is
like unto whiskey and sundry other
things In one respect, 1t wants age
to make of value. The history of to-
day, written today, Is OF no value. The
real value of the example and public
services OF man cannot be carefully
weighed and properly estimated until
he has long passed from the stage. To
day We properly estimate President
Roosevelt as an exceedingly able and
brilliant man of marvellous parts, but
what will be the exact wording of the
verdict OF history In his case We can
not live TO know. Undoubtedly II will
be along such lines as we anticipate,
but the record will be carefully bal.
anced and as carefully made up. Ger
tainly he will ever stand as one Of the
republics great presidents.
This leads up To the carefully con.
sidered statement that he Is today the
idol OF the masses OF the people even
irrespective of party. There can be
no sort of argument about this. With
the rank and file, whatever Roosevelt
does Is right. They accept his opin-
ions without mental reservation, and
the matter Is settled. His opinion of
a man or measure Is swallowed at
sight, and 1t sets well ON the stomach.
II he has taken the same action In be-
half OF Hughes. or Root. or Fairbanks,
or Knox that he has In favor OF Taft,
that man and Taft would today occupy
changed places. He could have done
as much for any one of dozen prom.
inent men as he has for Taft, with
the same result. In the matter Of
Taft, the country has largely taken the
presidents word for him, and relied on
his endorsement. As in the matter of
trust to be busted or bill before
congress whateverhe thought best was
right. Therefore, Taft.
All the opposition which this pro-
gram has met was from a few states
which have favorite sons, from con-
tigu0us sections where such favorite
sons were known and admired, and
from the abstract dislike Of establish
ing the precedent of allowing any
president to name his successor.
From the nature Of these objections to
Taft, there has been no cohesion In
the opposition to him. Hence his pro-
gress. II the opposition was united.
Taft's road would have been much
rocker. For century the empire of
Turkey has defied the moral sense Of
all Europe, because the powers could
not agree, from jealousy Of each other,
just what to do with Turkey. There
fore nothing has been done. There
fore the president, too, has had his
way very largely with his candidate
as he has had his way with his poll
cies. Taft Is one of his policies, and
the people swallow them all in a
bunch.
In this there Is no intention of re-
iiecting in the slightest on the person.
atty of Secretary Taft. He is In him
self admirably fitted for the presiden.
cy. He is man of large ability along
all necessary lines. He has all the
qualifications to make most salts
factory and creditable president, and
would undoubtedly do SO. The same
may well be said OF Knox or Cannon
or Fairbanks or--aS far as we know
the man-of Hughes. In the last an
alysis, the great question for the Chi
cago convention to decide is, who
will prove the strongest candidate?
Against whom can the opposition
make the least Roadway? Who will
prove the least vulnerable? With
this question will enter to some extent
also, the political propriety of allow
ing president to name his successor.
President Roosevelt has scarcely
more than we'll entered into the work
of firmly establishing the policies In
augurated by him. Two-thirds OF the
work which he has cut out remains to
be done. The people insist that these
policies shall be continued to a sue
cessful ending. and who else can do 1t
nearly as well as Roosevelt himself?