Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-11-06

linen needed by the state In its various
important divisions. As president, Mr.
Roosevelt had an intuitiye and almost
Iinfallible discernment in choosing the
right men for the work he gave them
to do. He found Taft and gave him
work in the Philippines, which. il is
safe to say, no other man would have
ldone so well. -
i He set his eyes upon Root and Knox
and Hughes and Cocktails. And when
he finds a man he praises him in a
hearty, wholesome way. He does not
say as Bishop Brooks said or the ugly
infant: Here's baby that is baby.
Even as president, h kept an eye
upon obscure citizens all over the
Icountry, as anxious to find good ser.
want as the editor Is to discover an
able contributor.
Mr.. Roosevelt was Tor peace, not in
a dwelling, senile way, but for manly
peace. With him n Is and always has
been:
Peace il possible; Justice at any
rate"
The Panama Canal was his work
through the engineering of genius
whom he recognized before anyone
else did.
In his purely administrative work
lat Washington he eschewed politics.
He maintained q high standard in civ
II service, spnrning the 'spOils" creed
which Mr.. Bryan has advocated along
with other creeds Of ancient, bygone
4 lineage
All the ridicule we have deserved
for our vacillating. Chatauqua-edged
treaties, our splutterings for peace,
our remorseful. humiliating. undiplo-
fmatic confessions. our inadequate
treatment ,of the Mexican matter, and
finally our long drawn out correspond
ence with Germany, would have been
averted by the firm, kind hand of Mr..
Roosevelt and that Of his able secre.
tary of state
Now we are a people of strange, I'M
pulsiye, often ill-considered reactions
We frequently do misguided things.
/ We rave over demagogues and dishon.
or heroes. We often fail to recognize
the manliness of our men. We say q
man talks too much when he has our
interests at heart and interests him
self and others in bettering them. We
take up with the most ridiculous theo-
tries on tariif and currency. In other
words, we're often unthinking.
And because splendid man who
observes our gratitude and best hon.
fofs makes a4mistalfe, :slluws bit @cf
very human perversity or temper, or
accepts the gift We seem tosoffer him
! In good faith, we turn against him
l. oh
Preparations In time often we let the
man die and then glorffy him.
However, In the long run we're
pretty level-headed, as the hOnofed list
of our presidents shows.
Now one of pur unaceountable
SPANS Is our attitude towards Mr., Will
son as president of the United States.
We praise and blame him out OF all
reason.
No one can refuse, think, to &C
knowledge the goodness and good IN
tentions of Mr.. Wilson. He is an I'M
usually able man, too, in his own
line, but, / am sure, he has
realized more than once In the -crises
Iof the last few months that he is much
better fitted for some other things
than he is to settle perplexing differ
ences between nations. He lacks
Temperament. He has an inherent
shrinking from difficulty and contest
| He is not a good fighter even when
fighting seems to be all that will settle
| the controversy. He lacks the humor
to see the humiliating absurdity of
note-exehanging
Such errors as appointing and re-
tanning an inefficient secretary of state
lup to the farce of his voluntary re.
tirement; the appointment of other
weak men at home and abroad. are
scarcely remediable They Indicate
unfitness in the executive. They have
botched and blurred page in our his
tory.
Tariff matters are debatable ques-
tions. I suppose. Experts may differ
within reason.
But official explanations of the
cause of revenue MISUNDERSTANDING
the war responsible for them-will not
increase the respect Of thinking Ameri.
cans for the administration.
Who can doubt that the cause OF
peace would not be best served by
TedSOndDiy IuiHCdTy preparedness! Not
by militarism or a militant spirit, but
a respectable ability to defend our
selves and what principles of right we
have left after the snubs We have. re.
ceiyed from several quarters during
the past year. -. N
When our boy goes out to school we
want him to be strong and plucky
enough to defend himself and the girl.
chum he prefers from the attacks OF
the bully. We teach him not to be
quarrelsome, to overlook good deal,
and settle many differences by arbi.
tration; to refer difficulties to the
good offices of his teachers. But we
grant that there are occasions when
fists and the strength he has behind
them are the only things which can
save the boy from broken bones and
the loss of self-respect. And if he
does not have these defenses himself
with the spirit and will to use them,
nobody else is going to furnish them
for him. He will go down-and de.
seryedly so-as the calf and sissy