Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-03-27
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Present and Former Cabinet o.
ficers Arrayed Against
~ Each Other.
ROOSEVELT FIGHT THE CAUSE
Allegiance Of Taft's Official Family
and Of RooseveIt's Former Advis-
ers Strained by Contest for tho
Presidential Nomination.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


.u BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington.-In truth, though one
must speak fguratively, the presi-
dents cabinet table is round table.
Men sit In order of precedence. where
in spirit there is no precedence. One
cabinet officer ranks another cabinet
officer additionally, and in one sense
subjects Of general moment not con-
fined to the administration of any one
of the executive departments the pres
.ident is as apt to seek light and knowl-
edge from the left hand as he is from
the right hand.
There are three men In President
Taft's cabinet who had seats at the
round table during the time OF his
predecessor: Philander Chase Knox.
secretary of state; George L. Meyer.
secretary of the navy, and James Will
son, secretary of Agriculture. When
Mr.. Knox was in Mr.. Roosevelt's cab
met he was the attorney general, while
Mr.. Meyer at the same time was the
postmaster general. Mr.. Wilson, Of
course held the same Farmer posi-
tion," secretary of agriculture, that
he holds today. Elihu Root. who was
secretary of state in Mr.. Roosevelt's
cabinet, is now a senator. Allthe other
men living who held cabinet Office un-
der Mr. Taft's predecessor are now
engaged In business activities Of one
kind or another In cities other than
Nov ~ "a
Roosevelt cabinet have died, Paul Nor
ton, secretary of the navy, and Ethan
Allen Hitchcock, secretary Of the In
terror.
Broken Past Mending.
The campaign between Mr.. Taft and
Mr.. Roosevelt for the Republican pres
idential nomination has brought into
the field some of the former cabinet
members, either in support or In an
tagonism to their former chief. Sena-
tor Root, Mr.. Roosevelt's secretary Of
state, is strong partisan OF Mr.. Taft.
So is Secretary Of State Knox, who
also served the man who is now try
ing to come back" George B. Cor
telyou, now the head of great trust
company in New York city, has q
strong personal affection for Theodore
Roosevelt, but he is supporting the
present president Leslie M. Shaw,
secretary of the treasury under Mr..
Roosevelt, is loyal politically to his
former chieftain. James r. Garfield,
secretary of the interior under Roose-
welt, is one OF the most active of the
antagonists of Mr.. Taft and also one
Of the most militant Of the support
ers of Mr.. Roosevelt. Trueman C.
Newberry, who for short time under
Mr. Roosevelt was secretary Of the
navy, is now at the head Of one of the
campaign headquarters from which
endeavor to renominate the colonel is
being directed.
It would. hardly do to speak of Mr..
Roosevelt's former members and ig-
more the one on whom the mantle of
the presidency later fell-William
Howard Taft Mr.. Taft's position in
the present campaign does not need
defining. He Is opposed to his former
chief. Their friendship is said to have
been broken past mending, but there
are some people who believe that one
day they will come together again in
affection. Mr.. Taft himself thinks
so, it is said. and it is also said THAI
Mr.. Roosevelt hopes SO, though what
he thinks is another matter.
Root Is for Taft.
It has been written how mem
bers Of Mr.. Roosevelt's cabinet are
divided in their allegiance be-
tween him and President Taft
in the matter Of presidential success
sion. 1t 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
as any man in Washington. The sen
ator ordinarily is spoken Of as cold
man, but there was warmth in his
relations with Theodore Roosevelt
which showed that underneath the
cold exterior some fires burned.
When the corner stone of the Bu-
rear 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 the whole history of the country
there had been no greater secretary
than Elihu Root. Mr.. Roosevelt de-
pended on Mr.. Root to give to the
country 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- Diff
ferentiate and when Root could not
speak from his heart on certain
Legislative subject, Roosevelt would
not ask him so to do, but would send
some one else into the field whose
heart was really engaged in the mat
ter which the president wished pre-
sented. M.
Strong In Friendships. +.
Elihu Root Is man of seeming con-
tradictions. He is spoken of frequent
~ as an "aristocrat," but when he
was secretary of state Mr.. Root was as
Democratic as any clerk in the de-
l. Nj W.