Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-15

60 HE meeting at El RaSo loiiiol
fS--. I row of w. H. Taft, president
~ A of the United States, ana
Ia NJ Porfirio Diaz, president OF the
lkA W1Hl republic of Mexico, As an
le4eagz1a event unique in the history
of the two nations. General
Diaz will cross the boundaries OF ms
country and call on Mr.. Iaft IN III
Paso. Mr.. Taft will then return the
call, crossing over the line into Mex
leo. Significant of the cordial relations
of friendship between the two great
republics of North America, the meet
ing is also of great interest in that 1t
skaters more than one precedent
which tradition has thrown about the
person of the president of the United
States.
1t is the first time that the president
of the United States has exchanged
calls with a ruler of a foreign nation,
although such courtesies are every
day affairs in Europe. 1t is the first
time that a president Of the United
States has set foot upon foreign soil
during his term Of office. 1t is also
the first time that president of Mex
leo has gone beyond the geographical
limits of mis- country.
The meeting no doubt will serve to
strengthen the ties of friendship be-
tween the two republics, and at the
same Time IL Will serve " pIlll6 AiAIO
sharp contrast the differences. between
the two chief magistrates-one the
product of Anglo-Saxon freedom and
the other an exemplar of the Latin
American ideal of the combined Hber-
ator and dictator.
The American people inherited an
awesome respect for traditional pre-
cedent from their British forebears,
along with the common law and the
King James Bible. The particular
tradition which decreed that the pres
ident might not leave the country dur
| ing his term of office originated in
the early days of the republic, along
with that other unWritten law that
president may serve but two terms.
Mr.. Roosevelt broke down the first
tradition; but he refused to attack the
second. which holds good at least un-
til 1912. Mr.. Roosevelt shocked me
worshipers OF precedent when he de-
cided to make the journey from New
Orleans to Washington on a warshlp.
To their protests he replied that he
was in American waters all the time
and that he had not violated the sacred
precedent. Later he visited the Pan
anna canal, and the conservers of
tradition were again moved to a chorus
of lamentations. Again Mr.. Roosevelt
assured Lll6 DuDlC lllciI HIS lCopNbS Al
tradition and precedent was so great
that he did not leave American terri
tory, having made the journey under
the American flag on an American
man n-of-war and having carefully kept
on the American territory of the canal
zone during his stay on the isthmus.
Mr.. Roosevelt at that time met the
president of the republic of Panama.
but there was no formal exchange OF
calls.
Therefore it is left for Mr.. Taft to
| be the first to break the bonds OF
tradition and boldly fare forth into
a foreign land, under the protection
of a foreign flag, to return an oifi-
cial visit from the chief executive
of another nation. The precedent thus
| destroyed has been mentioned and ap-
proved by many of the presidents. Mr..
| Mckinley twice stood where single
stride would have taken him out OF
| the United States-once on the Mex
| lean and once on the Canadian Dor
der The rule of precedent was strong
in those days and Mr.. Mckinney
obeyed. The Roosevelt regime set the
fashion for overturning precedent.
Strangely enough, the precedents
which hedge about the person of the
president seem to have descended not
| from Washington, the dignif1ed aris-
| tocrat, but from Jefferson, the aristo-
crat who laid aside form and some
times dignity in his efforts to live up
| to his theories of democracy. 1t was
Mr.. Jefferson who declared that the
president as chief magistrate OF the
| nation, should not leave the confines
of the states, that he carried with him
| his official status, and that he was
not subject to a summons of a court
| except that of the senate sitting as a
court to try a cause brought from the
house of representatives. by impeach-
ment proceedings. The president was
wanted as a witness in the trial OF
Aaron Burr for treason, but he de-
cided that the president was not
amenable to the summons of a court,
as it would enable the enemies of the
government to take him away from
the capital at any time upon filmsy
excuse.
Mr.. Taft a man whose election to
the presidency is typical of the peace
| ful vet forceful machinery of Ameri-
can politics, very fittingly represents
the United States upon the occasion
of the first interchange of interna-
tional calls. He is the most widely
Travelled man who has ever occupied
the presidential chair. He has met
more rulers and eminent men than
any other president with the possible
exception of Gront. and General Grant
made his grand tour after he had left
the White House. In Japan and
China, at the vatican and the palace
of the czar in the capitals of Eu-
rope and in Latin-American countries
Mr.. Taft has been well drilled in the
amenities of international intercourse.
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