The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1912-03-14
IN OPPOSING CAMPS
Former Cabinet Officers Find
Themselves Arrayed Against
Each Other.
ROOT STRONG TAFT PARTISAN
RooseveIt's Secretary Of State Takes
Issue With Former chief-Former
Secretary Shaw Is Lined Up
With Colonei's Forces.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


With Coionei's Forces.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington.-It has been written
how members Of Mr.. Roosevelt's cab
met today are divided in their allegt-
ance between him and President Taft
In the matter Of presidential success
sion. It is said that all Of Mr.. Roose.
velt's cabinet officers, whether they
are supporting him or not, still have
a strong personal affection for him,
and this makes their antagonism to
his ambitions probably the harder for
them. Elihu Root, now senator of the
United States from New York, was
as close personally to Mr.. Roosevelt
az any man in Washington. The SEN
ator ordinarily is spoken Of az 4 cold
man. but there was q warmth In his
relations with Theodore Roosevelt
which showed that underneath the
cold exterior some fires burned.
When the corner stone Of the Bu-
reau OF American Republics building
was laid, both Mr. Roosevelt and Mr..
Root made speeches and the then
president in speaking of Mr.. Roots
work as secretary Of state said that
In tho whole history Of the country
there had been no greater secretary
than Elihu Root. Mr.. Roosevelt d.
pended on Mr.. Root to give 70 the
country 4 good many of his views on
government. There were some things
IN which Mr.. Roosevelt believed that
Mr.. Root did not believe in, but the
president always knew how to dit-
ferentiate and when Root could not
speak from his heart on a certain
legislative subject, Roosevelt would
not ask him SO to do, but would send
some one else into tho field whose
heart was really engaged in tho mat
ter which the president wished pre-
sented.
Strong in Frfendshipo.
Elihu Root is man of seeming con-
tradictions. He is spoken Of frequent
ly as an "aristocrat," but when he
was secretary of state Mr.. Root was az
Democratic as any clerk in the de-
partment. He absolutely refused to
use the carriage and horses which the
government put at his disposal and
invariably walked back and forth to
his work, disdaining in the coolest
weather the use of an overcoat. For
years Mr.. Root has made habit of
wearing a flower in his button-hole
and almost invariably it is flower of
kind which grew in the old-fashioned
gardens. The senator goes to his
summer home on the top of Clinton
Hill near Utica in April every year
and there makes garden" He owns
the house on Clinton Hill in which he
was born, the house in which his ia
ther, Oren Root, lived for the half cen.
tury that he was professor in mathe.
matics in Hamilton college.
Senator Root has strong personal
friendships. Vice-President Sherman
is one of the men who holds Mr.
Roots strong liking. The senator il
a member of the college fraternity
known as the Sigma Phi. 1t is a small
college brotherhood, the Oldest, bar.
ring perhaps the Kappa Alpha, of all
the Greek letter societies. There are
not many sigs, and those that there
are hang together better than do some
brothers. Vice-President James 8.
Sherman is a Sigma Phi and grad
uate of Hamilton college, the alma ma
ter of Elihu Root Senator Root is q
strong partisan of President Taft and
hopes to see him renominated.
Former Secretary Of the Treasury,
Leslie NJ. Shaw, has como out for Tho
odore Roosevelt, his former chief.
Mr.. Shaw was the great story teller
Of the Roosevelt cabinet. It Is said
that the colonel once declared that
Shaw was the author of the Arab
Nights, for he had heard him tell ono
thousand and one stories. Mr. Shaw's
stories are not of state, but of hui
man interest
Shaw Sold Apple Trees.
Mr.. Shaw was Yankee born He
went west to grow up with the coun.
try as the time-tried saying has it.
He wished to study law, and in order
to get the money to do studying, he
sold apple trees. They were good ap-i
pie trees. The farmers of the west,
as another has put it, lin the long win.
ter evenings found their mouths wa
tering for the succulent apples of
the old eastern homestead 1t must
be remembered that most of these
early day farmers in Iowa were
Yankees. Shaw resolved that apples
were his long suit and he set out
scores of the great orchards of Iowa.
He dealt fairly and in delivering tho
goods he made friends and became
known throughout the region
For five years Leslie M. Shaw was .
member of the cabinet Every Tues
day and Friday he would walk from
the door of the treasury through the
White House grounds to the door of
tho 90 hinot rOonn ;oh h1r hoS