The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-30

To hts professional life and partly to his lack of that peculiar quality which especially characterized Blaine and, later, Theodore Roosevelt and which is called personal magnetism, which would make him unavailable as a can didate for the presidency.
 His Real Ambition
 Senator Root, however. is believed to be dominated now by very high ambition. but it is one which does not involve the holding of public office. He will be con- tent if he can awaken the country to what he believes to be grave peril. He would be glad if both parties were to recognize at the presidential conventions of next year that the time has come when the great constructive work must be un- dertaken and accomplished. He wants to see what he calls the new sectionalism absolutely eliminated and if he can have leading part in bringing the American people to full realization of this oppor- unity then his ambition would be aound- antly satisfied. F Senator Root can now, his friends be- lieve, be needed without prejudice and without the covert temptation to refer to him as a lawyer whose professional serv- ices were always at the command of so- called big business. His career for the past IS years is thought by these friends completely to answer accusations Of that d a year from William c. Whitney and in , place of that accepted cabinet position which paid at that time $S010 a year His professional earnings in these 16 years would have probably increased his wealth by at least s1,000.0o0. His salary in public office did not begin to meet his own ex- penses and those of his family.
 The Changing Sentiment
 Senator Root has had some opportunity of observing that already a marked change in the sentiment of American peo- pie toward business and particularly to- ward the railroads has begun. That change is believed to be due in part to the fact that it is now perceived that there can be no tearing down unless, as Sena- tor Underwood of Alabama recently said in his recent address in this city. the public finally pays the bills
 Recently Theodore N. Vail president of the American Telegraph and Telephone company, supplemented his annual report to that corporation with a letter which set forth his reflections upon the relations which should be established between busi- ness and the public on the one hand and the public and business on the other. Brief references to this letter have been published and with the result that at the offices of the company the subordinates are simply overwhelmed with applications that have come from all parts of the United States for copies of MT. Vai's let ter. Many of these requests are from in- dividuals who live in remote parts of the country. Many of them are from institu- tions or corporations.
 The recent report made by Judge Gary of the United States Steel corporation is also in country wide demand. A few weeks ago c. w Barron of Boston had by ason of quotations from them which were widely published and which reflected the relation of the United States. present and future, to the war and the business problems which will arise after. il at tracted widespread attention. Therefore, these letters were collected in book form. The demand for the work comes from every part of the country and this is due apparently to the earnest desire of the American people to cast aside impressions obtained in the days when demagogy pre- vailed and to be thoroughly well informed respecting the great issues and problems of the day. Senator Root will have ad- mirable support in this agitation lie s now making. Part of it VIII come from the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. much of it from trade and business organiza tions. and the senator is confident that if the people have opportunity to ob- tain accurate information they will not fail to be guided by it.