Evening star., 1909-03-04

Taft and Sherman-these are the names
10 conjure with during the next 1ouf
years and perhaps longer The RECORDS
rf their bearers are familiar In outline
10 those who take interest in public men
ai.d affairs. Their lives have been open
looks for many years. easily read ana
.air Of page. But now it is desired to
know them more intimately. to appraise
their character.
What manner of men be these? The
uIestion must be answered in their an
,"stry. their youthful training their
achievements, their qualifications, their
temperament. What manner Of men?
n one respect the groundwork of their
character is similar-their absolute
:mericanism. They come from the same
hnglo-Saxon stock which took root in
1nis country in the early days of the ma
ton and has never been crossed with
alien strain. They are to the manor
born: they and their forefathers have
lived in the land and grown up with Its
customs. Americanism. In all that the
word implies. is inherent in the blood and
;ngrained in the fiber. They are splen-
did types of the best American man
hood There Is happy augury In their
latent understanding Of the spirit of their
Country's institutions. temper OF its peo-
pie and sympathy with their aims
Training in Public Affairs.
William Howard Taft was selected by
the American people as their next Presi-
dent because of his wide experience and
thorough training in public affairs, In
the course of which he had demonstrated
the. possession of qualities cherished as
essential and desirable in an executive.
The judicial temperament, balancing
genius; an understanding Of and affec-
tion for his fellow man largely approach
Ing that characteristic Of Lincoln; sturdy
1neistence upon differentiating the rights
Of every man. as In his labor decisions;
courage Of q high and fine order. self
abnegation in devotion to duty-but to
quote from recent biographer:
The character of Mr.. Taft is the re-
sultant Of strongly contrasting forces.
He Is a man who laughs and fights.
From his boyhood, good nature and good
humor have been the traits which al
ways received notice first. But all the
time he has been capable OF a splendid
wrath. which now and then has blazed
out, under righteous provocation, to the
utter CONSERVATION and undoing Of its
object. Because he is always ready to
laugh. and has great roar Of enjoyment
to signify his appreciation Of the humor-
ooS, uSh WIN nave IiOl OUSeESeQ Ulul
closely have often failed to understand
that he is just as ready to fight with
energy and determination. for any cause
that has won his support. But 1t is al
most always some other mans cause
which enlists him. His battles have been
in other interests than his own. First of
all he Is an altruist. and then a fighter
This combative altruism is Mr.. Taft 8
most distinguished characteristic. AS
Secretary OF War he has earned the
worldwide sobriouet of Secretary Of
Peace He has fought some hard battles,
but they were with bloodless weapons.
and the results were victories for peace.
The greater the degree of altruism the
keener was his zeal. the harder and more
persistent his battle. The greatest strug-
gle OF his career. in which he disregarded
utterly his settled ambition, and cheer
fully faced a continuing serious menace
TO life itself. was on behalf Of the weak
est and most helpless object in whose
cause he was ever enlisted-the Filipino
people. That was the purest and loftiest
altruism.
Notable Characteristics.
But although this Is the dominant
trait Of Mr.. Taft. he is we'll known for