Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-06-20

Nt&A" w III MA NtlCltDl 4 SRlt ~ VI
Theodore Roosevelt.
Another quality recognizably western
is the Roosevelt habit OF making up his
mind at short range, which has given
him in many ignorant circles the quite
lindeseryed reputation of being inn
pulslve." The coionels ntimates ali
know. as Well as the rest of the world.
that he is impetuous: but acting on
impulse certainly means that Il man
says things and does things on the spur
of the momen without thinking them
over i'm advance; and feels sorry later
that he allowed his Judgment to be af-
frcted by a fieeting motive, or. at least,
that he did not conceal his real
thoughts. If that is impuisive. and it
is, the least of Roosevelt's failings is
ilnpulsiveness.
Then now does it come about that
so many people have seen and heard
him do impulsive things? Because they
are not acquainted With his habit of
turning things over in his mind for
a long time, consulting With all sorts
OF people about them: and then. when
an occasion comes suddenly. express
ing his mind perhaps to somebody who
is not at all intimate with him and did
not expect to receive this confidence.
once he has said it, he stands by it
to the crack of doom-anybody who has
been elected president of the Butt-in
club or associate in the Society of
SItldtll q ~ member On lIG
colonel's records. There is no public
man in he country who is less likely
to say a thing that has just come into
his mind, or that he did not mean to
say, or which he would withdraw IL
he could.
lmpulsive But Unwaverina.
A man who expresses SO many Wig
orous judgments must make slips
sometimes; but Roosevelt has the OBJ
g tftNofn bnI L1f vnon nt,,r 10 = H. -,,
all he says, and when he says it. From
his lips have proceeded many strong
and u~npalatable things. but he meant
to say them; ii the same circumstances
came up again he would say them
again. If Theodore Roosevelt were Of
same table with Senator Lorimer, of
Illinois, would he take it now? He
does not say harsh things through be-
ing o~verborne by a sudden resentment
which led him beyond his ordinary hab-
its of speech. The same qualities which
make Roosevelt a strong and tenacious
friend make him also a good Halter:
and when once he does not like a man
he is sure to all eternity that that is
Il bad man. Westerners can under-
stand and appreciate that frame of
mind. for they, too. are not an i'm
or i'll wishes. They like people or. cor
respondingly. dislike them. because
that is the way they are made.
Another trait of Roosevelt's char
acter which is rather western than
eastern is to seek information in
great quantities and from every pos
sible quarter. He is like Gladstone in
his interest in the things that are.
and his desire to know more about a
great number of things. He reads
unanimously beyond belief. knows
what he has read, and loves to dis
cuss it; he talks on all subjects with
all Corners chases birds with John
John Muir. hunts bears with Andy
Watson. discusses international politics
with James Bryce-and every n of
them learns something worth while
that he did not know before.
The Roosevelt mind is a great reser-
voir. which is constantly filling up
from every part of the basin Of human
knowledge. The material PUSHES in.
spouts in. trickles in, bubbles in. drips
in. the level slowly rising. When he
has occasion to write a state paper
or a public letter he %coEsults every
body in reach. n would not hesitate
to asl. the opinion OF the chauffeur OH
the Armenians in the Russian dOmin-
ion If he knew the chauffeur were an
Armenian or had once run the ma
chine of a Russian prime minister.
Nc man Is less impulsive. in the sense
of making up his mind in dvanc of
the study of actual facts and con-
ditions: and no man is more willing
to hear, consider and adapt what comes
to him from others.
A Power Drawn From tho People
Themselves.
That is what has made him a states
man: his is the power to draw upon
that reservoir in which have accumu-
lated the thoughts of his countrymen.
That is what make him the states
man of the hour. Who was the first
leader in the republican party to see
that the support of the interests was
the worst possible asset for a party?
Who was the first man to make clear
to all his countrymen that the gifts
OF nature We're the property of the
whole people and ought to be conserved
for their benefit? Who was the first
president to perceive that the demand
in the west for control OF the party
machine. for popular legislation. for the
opportunity OF the people as a whole,
for the members OF a party, to have
what thev want and not what the boss
wants. Is a just and righteous demand
that absolutely must be granted?
Who is the candidate before the Chi
cago convention who bases his expec-
tation of nomination on republican vot-
ers and not on republican leaders?
The reason why Theodore Roosevelt Is
SO popular In the west and could prob
ably carry every western state in open,
statewide primaries il because he has
the spirit of the west. Yet the true
spirit Of the west-enthusiasm, belief
in ones friends. enjoyment Of the
whole community. interest in h
whole public welfare-is not confined to
the western states-it is a quality Of
J the whole country.