The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-19

be able to lead the wives of the presi-
denies through its mazes in a manner
creditable to the governor of the islands
and builder of new nation,-in forty
days attending no fewer than score of
state balls, and literally dancing and
smiling his way into the hearts of the
people. We see him, at the end of a
long, hard ride in the hot sun upon the
back of a mule, keeping his own dinner
waiting an hour while he goes in person
: to make sure that the weary beast of
burden had his supper. We see him at
his summer home in Quebec, at mid
| night clad in the robes of repose, walk
ing barefoot through the dewy grass
with a mosquito bitten and sleepless
babe on either arm that tired women
folk might sleep. This giant is as gen
tie as he is strong.
THE DYNAMIC VALUE OF SUN
SHINE.
The laugh of Taft, deep, rumbling,
ugh-compelling, the laugh of a whole
souled, wholesome, buoyant, boyish
man, full of love of life and his fellows
and of confidence in himself, has been
heard around the world. 1t is as we'll
known in Asia and Europe as in Amer
lea. 1t has been heard in Cuba and at
Panama and at Rome and st. Peters
burg and Toxic and Picking. This man
who laughs while he works. and who
makes others work and laugh, has diff
fused the warmth of his nature in many
places while engaged in many difficult
tasks. Probably the laugh is an effec-
tive part of his equipment; after Taft,
who can deny the dictum of physics
that there is wonderful dynamic force
in sunshine! Even the Taft jokes are
of worldwide fame, such as Root s
cabled reply to Taft s message from the
Philippines that he had that day ridden
forty miles on horseback: "'Fine, but
how is the horse?'' Such as the quip
that "Secretarv Taft is the most gal
liant man in Washington; he got up in
a street car the other day and gave his
seat to two ladies' And the story of
the torn trousers which could not be
mended for an hour and kept the Gar
of all the Russias waiting for the I'M
trOusered American statesman. The
humor or Taft and the humor about
Taft fit the humor of the American peo-
pie. The people love the human side of
their big men, They like to know that
their high official servants are Hjust
like the rest of us. They like Taft all
the better for the trousers that were
torn at st. Petersburg, all the better
because he and Mrs. Taft were good
enough Americans to make a famous
tour of the world, meeting mikadOs and
emperors and kings and kaisers, with
out taking with them either maid or
valet.
A GIANT POSSESSED OF THE MIS-
SIONARY SPIRIT.
We see him working so hard at Ma
Mia that he exhausts the strength of all
his aides; one after another, and at last
his own health breaks down and his
doctor tells him he must rest and re
turn to the United States or his life will
be in danger. just at this time comes |
an offer from the President of the |
United States to give him the seat on
the Supreme bench which his lawyer s |
heart had always craved; but he fears |
that if he leaves the islands at that
iuncture his work and his wards may
suffer. and he cables Washington:
Thanks. but impossible to leave here
now Again, within year, the same |
temptation is placed before him, and |
again it is resisted. We see him many
times appearing before Congressional |
committees, pleading for justice for his
people, for help in the great task of |
making a free and progressive nation
of them One of these campaigns of |
education continued almost every day |
for six weeks and gave to the records a
history and description of the Filipino |
people, their condition and needs, with
out a parallel in colonial history for
mastery of details, for sympathetic in
sight, for thorough understanding. And
during one of these sessions we are not |
surprised to hear him say, laughingly, |
~ believe / must be possessed of lit
tie of the missionary spirit
AN APOSTLE OF PLAIN. BLUNT
FRANKNESS.
Taft is a missionary in his work, but
not much of a preacher in words. He
is not as handy with homilies as are
those born pedagogues and preachers,
President Roosevelt and Mr.. Bryan. Yet
his blunt frankness, his adherence of
indirection. his detestation of cowardice
or trimming, lead him often to say
disagreeable things in a most agreeable
way,-to tell people that which they do
not like to hear Thus we hear him
making a speech in Ohio denouncing
local boss without whose aid the Re
publcans could not carry the State, and
without whose enforced support Taft
himself would have had trouble in get
ting the delegates from his home city.
We hear him making a speech in the
capital city of a western state, where
the Governor was idolized by a great
majority of the people, and criticizing
that Governor by name, out of sheer
courag e,-some might call
it recklessness,-be there was not