New-York tribune., 1918-07-02
Another Roosevelt
By Ralph Block
h yOT ALL the strong men in Washington
y waited to come here to help the fight.

L..
Some Of them had been on the job
for what in the chance taking Of political
lie must pass for fairly long time
Franklin d. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of
the Navy, arrived in 1913 and in the five
intervening years has made himself an i'm
portant part of the Navy Department. The
navy is conspicuous in the war by two
things-by its silence and its effectiveness.
Its silcnces have kept in vague shadow some
of the factors that have made it effective.
Roosevelt Is one of them.
He differs in many ways from the Wash
ington type, if there is Washington type.
he Is young, but not too young; has a natu-
raj manner, but keen interest, and is we'll
poised He works in one of the thousand
square, high ceilinged rooms in the State,
War and Navy Building, with maps of Eu-
rope and ocean routes around him, a bronze
bust of John Paul Jones on the inevitable
mantelpiece and his commission from Presi-
dent Wilson framed on the wall. His desk
is considerably neater than most Washing
ton desks. AT one corner is vase with
fresh flowers. His books, in a little stand
near his chair, are "Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary' and several paper bound reports.
War has its way of developing experts OF
all kinds. Roosevelt is an expert: but he
started acquiring knowledge long beore he
went into the navy. 1t may have been the
wrong kind Of knowledge; indeed he has
confessed in one of his numerous articles
on the navy that when he came to Washing
ton he had to unlearn much and start over
again. But so many Washington patriots
never even get to the unlearning stage be-
lore their term Of service is over! What the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy learned was
enough to confirm bis opinion of the need
for strong navy, and he has taken a not
unimportant part in shaping the policy Of
the navy. He is generally looked on as the
navy's labor expert. The younger men. who
want to force the battle on the sea. conf
dent OF American sea power, look to him for
leadership and understanding of their
cause.
Roosevelt has bearing that even Will
lam Faverham might envy. His face is long,
firmly shaped and set with marks of conf
dence. There are faint wrinkles on high.
straight forehead. Intensely blue eyes rest
in light shadow. A firm, thin mouth breaks
quickly to laugh, openly and freely. His
voice is pitched we'll, goes forward without
tripping. He doesn't disdain shedding his
coat on hot afternoon; shows an active
quality IN the way he jumps from his chair
to reach the cigarettes in his coat He is
4 young man, young man with energy and
definite ideas, as we'll as a definite objective
VINO can be generous and fair, but firm to
MS own cause. He recalls Conrad's descriD-
ton OF the young Malay "war comrade" in
Lord jim: "Unobscured vision, tenacity
OF purpose" In the mocking humor of
the Capitol, he is called "a he man.,
He deserved it before the phrase was
coined. He went to the New York State SEN
ke from Dutchess County in 1911 and in
SIX weeks he had taken his place as leader
Of the msurgent Democrats He fought
Murphy to finish fight at Albany when
United States Senate.
Tic writes understandable articles about
the navy, in which he repeats variations of
such phrases as "the preponderant efficiency
of the battle feet" "the navy is the first
line of defence" and "the United States navv
isn't tourist agency" He is always talk
ing about improvement of the navy's per-
sonnel. He sees the navy as the basis Of
this nations great international position
he isn't hidden nor inconspicuous But
he IS man whose obvious powers are such
as to make you wonder how democracy of
opportunity can afford to leave him suhor-
dlnated now, when the need is not so much
Tor measures-of which there have been
heaven knows enough-but for men.