The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-08-23


citizens to their work in disgust Of their country
than any mornings revelation had served to do
in d decade.
Whatever the faults or virtues of the encum'
bcnt of the highest office in the hand, the Amer
lean people as whole expect, and have the
right to expect, that he shall during his en-
cumbency feel the weight and the responsibility
Of his office to the people They expect that he
shall wear the dignity which they have conferred
In dignity. However they may attack his poll
ces and however much they may doubt the wis
dom of his course, the American people expect
of their President that he shall be conscious of
them as a people In the eyes of the world the
President is the people When the President dis
graces himself he not only belittles his office,
but he casts reproach upon the people who be-
stow the Office.
For these reasons thinking men deplored dur
ing the terms of President Roosevelt the I'M
seenly spats which be INDUCED with private i'm
.dividuals The lie comes with poor grace
from a man hedged about from any sort of eff
fective retaliation. Power makes itself ridicu
lous when it engages in petty controversy. Bus
however unseemly may have been the torgetfuE
ness of the restraints of Office in Roosevelt, the
humiliation of such an action is not TO be CON-
pared in intensity with that following upon a
bending Of the executive knee to private demand
If it needs be that the White House be entangled
in the relation of serf and tyrant, the country
will breathe easier if it harbor the tyrant instead
of the serf.
When President Taft, therefore undertook to
'sbend the pregnant hinges of the knee" TO Theo-
dore Roosevelt the inevitable American thought
was that the White House was afraid that the
White House had forgotten its duty to the country
in alarm for its own and its party's safety; that
the man elected TO be President was content 10
consider himself private servant. In inditing
public letter of apology to private citizen for
something that the President had not done, the
President simply expressed publicly his fear of
that citizen, He simply yielded TO panic in
fear of his own fortunes, who ought to consider
his own fortunes secondary To those of the
country at large. He simply degraded the Of
fee with which he had been invested in the high
popular faith of its importance and its dignity.
He simply forgot that he was the representative
of the nation, and remembered that he was in
danger of gaining the open enmty of a once pow
erful friend.
Even SO strong man President Cieve-
land once committed somewhat similar mistake
under entirely different circumstances when he
implored Pullman TO end the Chicago strike.
But when Pullman told Cleveland, in effect u
mind his own business, the momentary weakness
hardened into the backbone that broke the strike
in twenty-four hours. There is in the two in
stances, however. this clear and everlasting diff.
ference: Cleveland lowered his Office 10 beg for
the people; Taft lowers his to beg for his sal
walton. 1t is the difference perhaps best popu
larry expressed as the difference between back
bone of steel and one of rubber
On the whole, the Presidents action in seek.
ing the Roosevelt pardon is not only humliating
but useless. He has lost his honor for no benefit,
Roosevelt grins and is silent No pledge of 10y
atty TO Taft follows the application of Taft
The break which every dictate of wisdom ought
ITO have led the President to bring to a quick de-
ion is only deferred When it comes, the adj
g will be with Roosevelt, where it NIGH,
with Taft. For the American people
NuMven to High Heaven in intensity Of
VIZ for gutter