New-York tribune., 1910-08-28


believed him to be. According to that view q,
him. Buchanan was far and away the srbti
politician. who completely outmaneuvred hi.
official chief for position in the Oregon affair
Polk insisted on ~ degrees 40 minutes be tb
consequences what they might be- Buchanan
counseled compromise the 49th degree
When the President at last adopted that vtew
Buchanan at once took the position he had
abandoned. 1T is a great misfortune" observe,
the diary, that member Of the Cabines
should be an aspirant for the Presidency be
cause L cannot rely on his honest and disinter
ested advice. and the instance before me L
clear evidence of this" From first TO last Ru
chanan was a thorn in POlks side. accorduz
to the diary. the only member of otherwiss
submissive and obedient Cabinet who persist
emily gave him trouble. and-greatest grievanes
of all-"kept him guessing" to use yulgarsm
as in the case of his desire to be nominated for
the Supreme Court. Polk. by the way. had hia
own very decided views on the filing Of vacan.
cies in that exalted body:
Mr.. Read IJohn NJ Read. Of philadelphia va,
until ten or twelve years ago a leading Federass
Although he has since that time acted with t5s
Democratic party. have no confidence in ths
ort hOdOxy of his political opinions or C0nsttu
tionaI doctrines, and was therefore unwilling n
appoint him 10 a station for life where he wou5
almost certainly navel relapsed INTO MS old FED
eral doctrines and been latItudindrlan in his doc
trines. ! have never known an instance Of a Fe1
eralist who had after arriving at the age Of thry
professed to change his opinions, who was to oe
relied on in his Constitutional opinions. Al =
them who have been appointed 70 TIE Supreme
Bench, after having secured place for life u
rian in all their decisions lhFOIE4nS questions
Constitutional power. General Jackson had bas5
Bench in this respect L resolved 10 appoint u
man who not original Democrat and stre.
reIapse into the Broad FEDERAL doctrines Of J8dg.
Marshall and Judge story
After Buchanan, Generals Taylor and Scot,
come in for most severe, in fact, for savage Coz
deTnnation- The conduct Of both in the fed /
according TO Polk. was exclusively governed no.
by the demands of the military campaign bC;
by the exigencies of party politics after Bueaa /
Vista we are informed that Taylor did not an
a victory; he merely saved from disaste.
by brave army. One remembers Bentons
remark This administration wanted a sma-
war, just large enough to require a treaty O. /
peace and not large enough 10 make nilitaT
regulations dangerous for the Presidency" Of
the Wflrnot Proviso. with all that 1t implied
Polk wrote, with calm foresight:
The slavery question is assuming a fearful ant l
most important aspect. The movement if perSs-
vered in will be attended with terrible conse II
fb 6a1nocrtjc party If it does not rTs N
threaten the Union itself Slavery has
and have no legitimate connection with the
war with Mexico. the terms OF peace which
may be concluded with that country 0f
course the FederaliStS delighted to see such a
question agitated by Northern Democrats because +
divides and diStrdCtS the Democratic partr
wicked.
Polk the President stands clearly enough re- E
veaIed as he sincerely saw himself His was
one man administration, though his strength j.
better called obstinacy- OF his personal lie E
his avocations. his human self, We learn next u
nothing beyond the fact that in his personal
habits he was the typical simple American Of =
that day. He worked incessantIy, apparently
needing neither relaxation nor amusement, and
he appears to have had pronounced tastes
His close application to work may have been the
cause of the bad health he occasionally refers
to--one cannot say that he complains Of it; and
of course, in this. our day Of a better under
standing of the relation between a sound bod!
and the mind it is no far fetched sugseSti01
that his atrabiIious view Of his contemporaries
was due to a sedentary routine but rarely IL
terrupted by ride on horseback. The extrems
Of the family and social life at tts
White House is suggested here and there--ths
extreme provincialism of the nations capt2L
This note is accentuated by PoIk's indignatG
at the airs of two American envoys returned
called at the official mansion. Il suppose" Oh
serves Polk, dryly, that they called 10 pay their
respects But, he goes on:
After the ordinary saIutatfons they engaged :
between themselves about the