The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-29
Material for vice-Presidential His.
tory.

Material for vice-Presidential His.
tory.
OF Colonel RoosEvELT's reluctance
to take the Republican nomlnat ion for
Vice President in 1900 there Is not the
slightest doubt. Everybody who had
access to his inner mind at that time
knows that he was sincere. suspicious,
resolutc almost beyond convincing. on
the subject Of the inexpediency Of
his acceptance.
There Is quite as little doubt about
the rea son for the enthusa sm with
which PLATT and the State leaders,
the wicked bosses Of the State organi-
cation, the Grand Army Of Hydes and
Hydolds in New York politics, re-
garded the proposal to sequester the
Colonel in the chair behind the desk
in the Senate Chamber at Washington.
The reason was no secret then and
is no mystery now. These adroit
politicians wanted to get rid Of THEo-
DoRE ROOSEVELT 80 far as their imme-
diate sphere Of activity was con-
cerned. They disliked him and they
dreaded him.
II It is not almost sacrilegious to
state the truth plainly. the emotions
which surged in their selfish bosoms
at the idea Of sending the Colonel
away from Albany were not born OF
any fear Of him as a reformer or
smiter OF the wicked. Probably II
occurred to none Of the gentlemen to
dlfferentiate him from themselves In
the moral aspect. 1t was not Gus.
tomary In those days for politicians
to mea sure Righteousness and wicked
ness by the JekyllHyde formula. II
it had been. any suggestion that the
percentage Of Jekyll IN the Colonel
was any larger than in PLATr. or In
ODELL. or in BARNES. or in QrIGG, or
in any other OF the professionals
would have been received in Hyde
circles with much hilarty.
Not as scourge of the ungodly
not as n prophet of uncomfortable
reform, not as an inconveniently
righteous associate in local politics
hut as person inconveniently ambi
tious on his own account and incon
veniently eccentric and Indispensable
in his thoughts and acts. was the
Colonel dreaded by the bosses. That
Is why they hailed with glee Mr.
PLArT's idea Of switching him of,
onto the line to oblivion.
At this distance of time II is diff
cult for the Colonel to remember the
situation as 1t actually WAS. lie un
derstood then, accurately enough, the
motive which impelled his friend,
| and rivals 10 promote him, II posi-
bic, into illustrlous obscurlty, hut h,
has forgotten that his divine commits
sion TO WELD the sword Of flame ant
the whip Of scorpions for the chas
tisement Of all bosses came to hin
much later. If his testimony SHOULD
be n little mixed in this particular
no wonder.
Many OF the Colonies friends an,
well wishers outside of politics ad
vised him to embrace the Vice Presi
dency as promptly and as warmly a
II 1t came to him as beautiful bride
Their point Of view was diffcren
from that OF the New York gang o
bosses. In the first place. some o
them doubted whether Colonel RoOsE
WELT would ever do much better /
he waited. In the second place. thos
personal friends who understood hin
best were quite confident that 1t wa
beyond the power even OF the Vice
Presidential office to impose a perma
nent quietus.
Yet it Is quite possible that subse
quent history would have justlfie
Colonel RoosEvELT's suspicious an,
apprehensions and hcsitatlons but 10
the bullet at Buffalo. 1t may eve
he that the exclusive right to tn
custody OF the true. the beautiful an
the good which came to him. ms W
all know, much later in his career
might have been diverted by unkin
Fate to some other Jekyll-perhap
even to WooDRow WILSON.