Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-11
At the Turn of the Road.

At the Turn of the Road.
Mr.. Taft may now be considered as
having set forth on the return part OF
his long journey. To hosts Of people in
the great west have come for the first
time a realization of the presidents
personality; they have met him, shaken
hands with him, studied him while he
spoke, and the general verdict has been
one Of distinct approval. Even those
eastern newspapers which had been
rabidly opposed to the Taft policies, ad-
NIT frankly that wherever the presi-
dent has gone, explaining and advocat-
ing those policies, he has established
himself in popular regard. The Taft
smile has been s%crutinized by critical
masses who are as ready to decry as to
acclaim, and in all Of the American
spirit of fairness these masses have
stamped Mr.. Taft as -withstanding their
test. Serious purpose, unflinching will,
judicial temperament, a brave spirit, a
bigness of mind to comprehend and a
power of energy to execute, these are
some of the characteristics which show
forth in the combination Of expressive
traits known as the Taft smile. The
people have been glad to look upon it
and to declare that 1t is good.
~Expounding his plan Of adminlstra-
ton, Mr.. Taft steadily pursued his
journey from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific, in some cases carrying a particu-
lar doctrine directly into u~nfavorable
camps, yet always gaining ground by
his plain speech. 1t was an undertake
ing exhausting to the energies, and it
is no wonder that at the Golden Gate
he paused a moment, looked wistfully
at the troopship full of merry soldiers
going to the Philippines, and sighed for
his happy old days as governor Of those
the American people on his shoulders,
those insistent people Of many wants
who look to the president and his ad-
ministration to satisfy their needs. II
was only a moment, and then the presi-
dent resolutely squared his shoulders
to the Pacific and in place Of the dis
appearing transport fixed his vision
anew on the ship of state.
And now, after a glimpse at natures
glories in the wonderful Yosemite
country, after a rest amid the inspiring
silence of the garden Of the giant trees,
the president has come forth again and
is on his homeward way. The president
is, Of course, at home in any Of the
states, so far as his individual comfort
and fellowship are concerned, but home
for the president is wherever his Of
fetal duty lies. President Taft has
faced the people east and west, unequi-
~vocally and squarely, on the great is
sues of the day; on his return he is to
face anew, on the fighting ground at
Washington, those problems for which
his visits among the people will have
given him additional incentive, for he
must realize more keenly than ever the
confidence reposed in him by the peo-
pie. Not all Of the program Of the ad-
ministration can be accomplished at
once; In the solution Of great problems
no one administration ever finished all
that 1t set out to do. But the people
have full faith in Mr.. Tatt's ability to
make great progress, to institute some
reforms and advance others; and by
his intercourse the president has slim
ulated his W vigor for the work, his
zeal for justice, his enthusiasm for the
popular cause
The turning back of Mr.. Taft from
the Pacific shores finds even a better
fellowship than before existing between
him and the public, and a closer unity
Of statewide interests into the central
purpose Of national advancement.