Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-30
President and PEOPLE.

ETeSlucnt n feOple.
The Outlook will find itself in a
hopeless minority in trying to con
vince the American people that the
president OF the United States should
be saved from contact with politicians,
business men and plain people of all
kinds. This is the contention Of an
Outlook editorial. captioned Spare
the President" but as It is unsigned
II lie not safe to conclude that II was
suggested by Editor Roosevelt.
Emphasis is laid on the argument
that the country has grown wonder
fully and that the demands upon the
presidents time are such that men
Of limited physical strength could not
endure the strain, as Mr.. Roosevelt
was able to do and as Mr.. Taft is
equipped for doing. The only answer
to that is that none but men of great
mental and physical vigor should be
elected to the presidency. The de-
velopment OF the political game has
made It necessary for the presidential
candidate to know the country, to be
a traveller and to be able to endure
all the h~ardships of a long and trying
campaign. The voters would be slow
to give their support to a physical
weakling, no matter what his intellec-
tual attachments.
The Outlook continues:
The president is not a private citizen;
he is a public servant. His time ought
10 be given entirely to the consideration
OF the interests of the people. He ought
not to be compelled, as the president
often is compelled. to shake hands with
three or four or five thousand persons
in a day. He ought not to be obliged to
give a large part of his time to meeting
persons from all parts of the country.
who simply wish the pleasure of seeing
the president and grasping his hand.
1t is, absurd to delegate a large share
Of the government Of the country to a
man and then consume his time and
strength in exchanging brief civilities with
a large part of the population OF the
country. The president would probably
like to shake hands with every man,
woman and child in the United States;
but IL he is to do any other work his
time must be guarded and his inter-
tOuF5e WIN Ine people RESTRICTED. NO
officeseeker ought to find access to the
president. Nothing could be more ride
ulous from the standpoint of rational
government than to allow the president
in the first days of entrance upon his
duties, when he sorely needs time to
fan1liarize himself with important ques-
tions and with the heavy work OF the
office, to be beseiged by a horde OF men
intent upon having minor positions under
the government.
The fact that the president is the
public servant, as the Outlook prop
erly states is the best reason. why he
should consult with his employers con-
corning the conduct of their business
Nor will the people endorse the con-
t%ention that mo officeseekeer ought
TO find access to the president" The
president can not select federal office
holders by consulting the city direc-
tories or by advertising In the news
papers. The personal equation must
enter into the transaction n the
president must either meet the office
seeker face to face or accept the
voucher of a third party. The latter
plan would practically place the ap-
pointing, or selecting power, exclus-
lively in the hands of senator's, con-
gressmen or political leaders and thus
build up the personal political ma
chimes against which the people have
protested for years. 1t would limit the
presidents advisors to the political
leaders and naturally result in a
bureaucratic form of government that
has never been either popular or
wholesome wherever tried.
One of the very strongest features of
our form OF government is the fact that
the humblest citizen, with a grievance
or a suggestion, honestly conceived for
the general good, may carry his petit
ton, through proper channels to the
highest official head of the govern
ment. Any attempt to change the sys-
tenn and practice would be a backward
step.