The Washington herald., 1908-06-18
Enthusiasm Growsand ROars
as Waves of the Sea.
LODGE USES SIMPLE WORDS
reference 10 Roosevelt II Not Much
OF n Tribute, but II stirs the
Human Sea TO Its Depths-Comes
ms Applause for the Presidents
Work ms an American Citizen.
By WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.


sion.
This afternoon the sibilant lisp OF the
great crowd in the Coliseum fell like a
great wave on the shores Of the place in
Idle conversation as the proceedings OF
the convention droned on. The commit
tee on credentials made It's report. and
the great crowd Tapped it up as the sea
laps up the sand-impersonally, uninter-
ested, and utterly idle.
There was no night. and evidently the
crowd knew there would be no fight. The
regular order proceeded. and Senator
Lodge was installed as permanent chair
man. and the great crowd, the great buff
sea, rocked idly to look at him. He be-
gan to speak with some fervor and little
nipples Of applause played across the tide.
his earnestness deepened the billows
slightly. He was a wind from out Of the
deep-for he talked not Of tariffs. and OF
the production OF lead and steel. and OF
the tariff on raw silk. Instead. he talked
Of the things in the heart of the tide that
was gently playing In its innumerable
fancies about him and around him. He
talked OF the problems produced by the
the relation OF our new economic condi-
tions to men and their destinies.
Tide Grows Quiet.
II was obviously something that attract
ed the tide. for Il grew still The voice OF
Senator Lodge IS strong and clear. and
the words he spoke were simple words.
made into simple sentences. strong and
convincing because they were earnest.
But when he had spoken seven or eight
minutes he referred incidentally to the
President
And wave Of applause suddenly rum
pied the face OF the bun sea. and then
the speaker pushed through it AMI went
on with his argument. For he was cb-
Viorsly not looking for applause. lie was
speaking from his heart and not from his
lips, and what he said fell upon his hear
ers hearts and not upon their ears The
great crowd knew that Il was finding its
voice. 1t was an American citizen speak
Ing 10 Americans of the problems in the
American heart II was deep speaking
with deep. And the waves lulled and
were quiet
And then. not while he was at a climax
but as the man before them was reaching
deeper into the souls OF the place and the
occasion. the sibilart lips Of the crowd
hushed. and in the great silence the man
spoke. simply and strongly. and without
oratorical flourish or emphasis He has
enforced the laws as ne found them, ard
So he is the best abused and most popular
man In America"
Not Much of Tribute.
It was not much of a tribute But
wave Of sincere feeling swept over the
quiet sea of humanity. Il was not n
strong wave, not much stronger than
the first wave that came rolling in But
another wave followed it. and another.
higher and stronger. came after it. The
speaker. who did not realize what was
about to come, put out his hand to beg
for silence, but a huge wave OF applause
came over him. and he ducked and backed
of good naturedly. and let the wind Of
emotion play as It would across the rest
less sea before him. In another minute
or perhaps two. Senator Lodge rose again
10 face the rising tide, but it rolled in on
him with great roar. and men knew
that the storm Of applause had come
which Theodore RoOsevet's work as an
American citizen had conjured. SO they
let IL rage. and for nearly an hour the
waves Of that storm broke and roared in
that place.
Then the crowd, In that hour OF ioy.
gathered in individuals. ceased to be in
dlviduals, ana became the crowd. At
times the delegates were swept off their
feet. State after State rose, like black
billows on the face Of the waters. and
cheered and waved pennants and sank
10 equilibrium. only to ruffle up again
and cheer with the crowd
All Delegations Jolly.
No State was eble to keep its mooring.
and in the tumult and the shouting there
were no reactionaries. New York was
as boisterous as Wisconsin. and Kansas
Joined Pennsylvania.
Roosevelt. Roosevelt. four years n1orer'
they roared. and the cry SKINNED over
the waves OF applause like a gull; and.
like a gull II was evanescent. It slgni-
fed nothing. And then. slowly. when the
deep answered deep. the calm came. and
the speaker went on with his speaking.
II was all so simple and so naturally
done: also evidently sincere. without
clique or prearrangement. that there was
IN its undercUrrent an element Of sadness.
For Il seemed goOd-by rather than A
bait TO Theodore Roosevelt; and those
who have feared him feared him no more.
and those who have trusted him were
happy. but rather sad than joyful.
When Senator Lodge had finished, those
who heard him felt that they had listened
20 an orator not a spellblnder for true
oratory, we are told. does not consist In
speech. II may not be brought from
afar. II consists, in the main, in the SUBJ
ject and in the occasion"
Speaks Out His Heart.
And here a sincere, earnest scholarly
man was speaking his heart upon a mo-
mentous occasion in history. and what he
said had a dignity and an Importance far
beyond the words he uttered.
And So when he had finished. the waves
Of conversation lisped sibilantly on the
shore, and the humdrum OF events dronad
on, as though a great event had not ius.
stirred the deep. and a significant moment
in American history had passed across the
dial Of our day.
After that event. IL mattered little that
the gentlemen from Kentucky and Ohio
and Virginia strutted their little speacb
upon the stage. it mattered little that
the convention voted its expedience rather
than It's conscience. The day was rnada
memorable by none OF these things. but
by the direct words from a sincere U,,sa
gentleman TO his fellows about one of
their own kind. and they. out OF their
hearts, met HIS words with wholesome
gratitude.
Copyright. 1908. by George Matthew Adams)