The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-05-25
AUTOBIOGRAPHY Of
LATE THOMAS PLATT

New FORK May 2--Thomas G. Plat
hao both the abilisty as writer and the
gift of quaint humor to make an auto
biography not merely interesting but
deserving to be placed upon the per-
manent shelf of the library In ad
dition to that, he had for 80 years an
intimate acquaintance with many of
the more striking and dramatic fea-
lures of our political life When it was
announced that his autobiography was
to be published by McClure's, there
was, of course, hope that Mr.. Plat
had written las he often talked The
autobiography as a whole will consist
of four numbers, together with a chap
ter published in another magazine
and the other chapters which were
published during his life. But the
work will be very short one, and it
is certain to be disappointing Mr..
Rlatt will not tell this story in nara
tive FORM and there is certain to ap-
pear in it, if not the faint, at least
the animus which was the fatal weak
ness of his entire political career. He
never learned the lesson which the
really great politicians master, that re.
sentiment, the gratifying of revenge, is
the most dangerous of all weapons for
a man in public life.
The public was so accustomed to Mr..
Plat as a machine leader, an almost
Machiavellian manipulation of politics,
that the fact was overlooked that he
possessed a real gift of literary COM
position, an accurate taste in matters
Of that kind, and was, for so busy a
man as he, exceedingly well read.
His speech at the Rochester conven-
ton of 1877, of which he was chairman
and at which the first defiance was
hurled at President Hayes and his 40
ministration and the first steps taken
which had the third nomination of
General Grant in view, although with
out Grants knowledge, is a model, so
far as it's English, it's construction,
and the keeness of it's vindictive APP
peal are concerned.
The true history OF those events
with which Senator Plat was con
nected permanently, ana especially of
the dramatic resignation of Mr. Plat
and Roscoe Conkling from the FEEDER
al Senate, cannot be told by any one
man of their generation The various
factors, the extraordinary condolences
the unexpected accidents and the alb
sorbing ambition of the men who took
part in these events must be obtained
by a competent historian with absO-
Lutte impartiality. The record is to be
obtained and some day it will be made
public. At this tine, probably, the
greatest interest in Senator Platts
memoirs will be conferred upon his
story of his relations with Colonel
Roosevelt; but if the sommonly receiv-
ed report at the time of the part Sen
ator Platt had in forcing the nomina-
ton of Roosevelt for Vice President
be accurate, and there is little doubt
if its accuracy, the Senator had, after
all, small share in that nomination.
1t was inevitable, and it was not be-
cause Senator Plat and Senator Quay
so managed the convention that Roose.
on cd fnf.
but it was the fact that from many
parts of the West there came imper-
alive commands for that nomination,
and it was to these demands that
Roosevelt yielded. He would have
been able to defeat the purpose of
Plat and Quay, and that of William
G. Whitney as well, had it not been
demonstrated to him that in all parts
of the West there came the insistent
demand that Roosevelt be nominated
for Vice President.
1t is certain that Senator Plat will
not tell the story of some of the most
interesting incidents in his career.
He will not tell of the appointment by
President Mckinley of one man TO
whose appointment the Senator was
opposed. Mckinley showed to the
Senator that it was inevitable that he
make the appointment, whereupon the
Senator said, Every well, won't OPP
pose it if you will let it be known that
it was made on my recommendation.
And there was always this curious
ly weak spot in his armor as a poll
tician, as well as another weakness,
which was his susceptibility to what
he must have known to have been in