Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-10-15
Not i'm the Days News
Some Sprightly Bits of Personal Comments
by Robert =. Doubleday

When Horatio stood upon the
bridge at midnight and contemplated
the blOwn-up rear tire, with nc
garage nearer than Rome, which was
nine and eleven-sixteenths leagues to
the north by west; when Nero heard
his sc string" bust, just when he was
fiddling his niftiest and the flames
leapt highest; when Alcibiades, he of
the flaming belt, slipped a sandal
while on parade and could not stoop
to recover the same without SINCE
ing his whiskers; each of these dis
tinguished victims of hard luck or
bad management exclaimed in his
turn and IN vehement tones, darn
it," or words of similar import. At
least historians tell us that they did,
and historians do not prevaricate,
distort or misconstrue, excepting of
course, those whom Roaring Roose-
welt tags with the Ananias sign.
| All of which reminds us that in
! time to come, some competent writer
of history will set down lines to read
somewhat like this: "In the year
1915, when the most stupendous and
destructive of all wars was at
it's height, Roaring Roosevelt, having
previously descended to the level of
mere noisome politician, then en-
deavored by much buster and tact
less public speaking to encourage the
military idea in America and to in
vOlve the United States quite need
lessly in war with Germany. Appar-
emily this peculiar and dangerous
character, conspicuous in American
life at that time, while making
great claims to patriotism and posing
as the chosen protector of the inter-
ests and welfare of the United States
and its people, sought to drag it or
force it or excite it into the horrible
maelstrom Of slaughter and destruc-
ton then going on, chiefly for his
own self-aggrandizement or by rea-
son of his known obsessiOn for strut
ting and brawling. He publicly and
ostentatiously derided the statesman
like. tolerant, decent, peaceable,
Christian policy of the then presi-
dent, Woodrow Wilson, and prom
Used that war should come. When
President Wilson proceeded upon his
course, dignified and unruffled, firm
enough but kindly, and the results
even under the then discouraging
conditions were amicable adjustment
of all foreign controversies of mo-
ment, Roaring Roosevelt, greatly
chagrined, was heard to exclaim on
one occasion, darn it," or words to
that effect.
And thus again we shall see his
tory repeating itself. Thus again we
see truth planting the seed of anguish
in the field of discord merely by
ignoring the claims Of evil altogeth-
er. This Roosevelt person lays claim
to good purposes but his conception
of good purposes is sadly at variance
with the conception Of that quality by
other people. He lays claim to high
ideals, but the height of the ideals is
measured by the materialistic stan
dards entirely, the range is calcu-
lated by that of sixteen-inch guns and
loud voice, ill-directed. He would
establish righteousness-his particu-
lar brand of Righteousness. and he
recognizes no other sort as possible
of attainment-by increasing un-
righteousness. He would establish
the humanity intangible quality of
goodness with a bludgeon and an
aeroplane load of bombs. He would
decrease the shedding of human
blood by decreasing the amount of
blood remaining to be shed. All of
which, from the materialistic and
brute standpoint of measurement.
would seem to promise certain re-
suits undoubtedly. But II in reality
it achieved anything, which as a mat
ter of fact it ultimately would not, 1t
would be at a cost rather too great
to be contemplated with any degree
of equanimity. 1t would prove to be
but an instance of nation possibly
gaining the whole world but losing,
most certainly, its own soul. It'll
would be throwing away the pearl
of peace and taking in it's stead the
brickbat of riot. 1t would be casting
cut love and commonsense and TAX
ing on racial hatred and unreason. 1t
would be putting aside the comfort
promised in mans dominion over all
the earth, and assuming the tremens.