The Washington herald., 1913-03-04
TAFT EXPRESSES
NO BITTERNESS
Goes Out of Office To-day
with No Rancor in
-.
His Breast.
In OFFICE 28 YEARS
Only Shock will Be Donning Of Plain
mr." in Place of Official
Appellations.

When William Howard Taft leavel
Washington for Augusta to-day, he viii
be a private citizen for the first time d.
twenty-eight years. For more than q
quarter Of a century Mr. Taft has been
continuously in the service of the public
and. curiously enough, the thing he Is
wondering about most on the eve of his
departure from the White House is just
how it is going to feel to be plain Mr.
Taft again, after so many years as MIR
Solicitor General" Judge" Governor, "
Mr.. Secretary" and finally, Mr.. Presi-
dent
L am not worrying about going out OF
the Presidency said the President yes
terday. but i am asking myself how ]
shall really feel when I retire from of
flee after all these years of service. II
is not the prospect of going out. but the
morning after that | am thinking most
about
Feels No Bitterness.
Probably no President. certainly none
who has net the obstacles and disap-
pointmentS that have confronted Mr..
Taft has gone out of the White House
with a firmer faith in his fellow-man
and Swceter disposition toward the
entire world There is not a note of
bitterness in the Taft farewells. The
President has been big enough and gem
crous enough to smother any expression
Of resentment. even against Col. Roose-
welt The philosophy OF life has taught
him that the harboring of personal re-
sentiment is not worth while, and while
he has strongly the feelings of any man
Of red blood, Mr.. Taft still looks back
to the Roosevelt that he knew four or
more years ago with feelings of personal
gratitude and with admiration for his
qualities as q leader.
Air. Taft leaves Washington apparently
feeling toward Col. Roosevelt as he
would toward any dear friend who had
proven untrue. To the end the photo
graph of Col. Roosevelt has remained
hanging on the wall OF the Presidents
private office, the only picture in the
room besides that of the Presidents own
Iather.
Great Achievement.
In the minds of President Tafts
close friends there has never been any
doubt as to the achievement in his
administration in which he takes the
greatest pride. Yesterday. however,
the President himself told The Wash
ington Herald representative the
achievement upon which he will look
hack with the greatest interest
The thing that is mentioned least"
said he. is the thing in which l take
the most pride. That is the constitu-
tion of the personnel of the Supreme
Court under my administration. Six
Of the nine judges to-day bear my
commission. Forty-five per cent of the
Federal judiciary have been appointed
by me. That is the reason why /
couldn't practice law as an advocate.
While you and l and the average man
would know that this circums tance
would not affect any court in any de-
gree. the fact is that no matter how
fairly the case was decided, the incli-
nation of the men who lost If the
side / represented won would be to
attribute the defeat to the circum-
stance that I had appointed the Judge.
That in itself is something that must
be considered. What is needed these
DAYS is that nothing should be done
that would ever give the justification
for even the appearance of n suspicion
against the court"
Taft Looks Tired.
President Taft. as he entered upon the
final working day at the White House.
plainly looked tired. An inquiry as to
how he was standing the strain of the
last few hours brought a smile TO his
face that stretched from ear to ear
and seekers after Presidential autographs
Were responsible for his condition. With
in the last few days thousands of per
sonal letters and requests for the Presi-
dents signature to photographs and
other souvenirs have been received at the
White House. Most of these come from
folks that the President has met in his
rambles over the country, but many are
from people that he does not know.
documents ha
CTmulated to an immense pile on the
Presidents desk Sunday night. and he
SET himself down with the deliberate in
tention of annihliating the small noun
tain before going to bed. After scratch
ing his name for couple of hours, the
President found that he was beginning
10 drop the final It" and in some in
stances the ''f' out of his name, and
concluded to go TO bed.
Works In EARLY Hours.
That pile of autograph letters on his
library desk haunted him. however. and
he merely dozed. At 2:30 O'Clock in the
morning he decided that he could COM
promise with his conscience no longer, so
he put on a heavy bathroom robe, sat
down at his desk, and for an hour and
twenty minutes continued the scratching
Of his name. After the pile had been
demolished under this fierce attack the
President went to bed and he acknowl-
edged yesterday that he had a splendid
sleep then.
Most folks would think that man who
had been facing for several weeks the
possible responsibility of a bloody war
with Mexico and the thousand and one
other problems that crowd upon the
Chief Executive OF the nation would be
looking forward with pleasure to the
relief that would come from a shifting
of the official burdens. The President
himself acknowledged, however, and his
friends often have noted il, that respon-
sibility in Office had never been a con-
scious strain upon him. Mr.. Taft has
been so long in office that these things
had come to be a part Of his life and
almost a matter OF routine.
II has only been, so the President said
after he got away from his official work
and the reaction set in, that he realized
that there had ever been an unconscious
strain on his nervous energy.
AHirms kueb Rle's Conviction.