The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1920-09-02
DODGE WRITES OF
HARDING'S QUALITIES

Martin Dodge, former United States
Commissioner of Public Roads, who
visited the Northwest in 1905 on a tour
of highway development, has written
to W. r. Winans, who entertained his
party when they were brought to the
Hood River valley by Mrs. Edith Tozier
Weatherred, engaged In Oregon public
ity at the time, complimenting him on
a patriotic poem written to promote the
Harding presidential campaign. Mr..
Dodge's letter in part follows:
Il received. some time ago a copy Of
YOUR beautiful and patriotic poem. At
the time | was very Ill and only re
Gently recovered my health. | we'll re-
member the many courtesies which you
extended me and my company when we
visited your place. | also formed a
nigh appreciation Of your fidelity and
LOYALTY as expressed at the Portland
GOOD roads convention IN 1905. We
my regards to your brothers and
friends and remember me particularly
to vourswife and children, of whom |
often think. | hope they are well, and
am sure thatsthe children are blessed
bv being born in that delightful climate
surrounded by so many of the beauties
of nature.
To him who in the love of nature. holds
Communion with her visible forms
She speaks various language.
81 had hoped when ! visited you last
that | should return with so many of
nv friends and buy that upper plateau
which YOU showed us and which was
so suitably watered on the higher level.
But soon afterward ] learned that the
government through the influence of
Pinchot, had withdrawn that land from
entry. was Fauch disappointed. ! am
well satisfied that the government has
been dominated for many years by a
false theory of government ownership
of land and now salmost everything
else, including ownership Of the people
themselves. This is what the present
executive terms the new freedom, but
| think it isTmore like the old thraldom
and it is based upon the idea that the
world is too good for the people who
live in it. This is a foolish and danger
GUS doctrine Nothing is too good for
the people. | believe our people begin
to see the error of those who have been
at the head of the procession for the
past few years. If am right in my
conception people are going in an Op-
poste direction from the leaders OF the
Democratic party and as a result of
that these leaders will be at the rear
of that procession in short time.
81 am delighted with the nomination
of Senator Harding. ! had the honor
to serve'with him in the state senate
when he first entered politics. He i'm
pressed me then as now he seems to
impress everybody, with the fact that
he is level headed andslhat he is more
nearly like Mckinley that any man !
know. 1t was we'll said in cablegram
from Elihu Root to Harding that the
mantle Of Mckinley had surely fallen
on him. His gracious manners proceed
from his good intentions, and his char
acter is marked by his adherence to
principles in which he believes. dis
philosophy of life is based upon the
belief that all things work together for
good. He is tenacious in his adherence
to his political creed, and | have never
known him to yield his principles for
expediency. He knows that a man
without a party is like a man without
a country; and he also knows that an
internationalist is on the way to be-
coming a man without a country. His
principles are such that he would stick
by his country and stick by his party
and | believe he would honor his most
eminent countrymen by calling them to
places on his cabinet. We have heard
much in late years about returning to
Democratic simplicity. This has been
carried so far that friends of the pres
ent executive suggested that he should
walk to his Inauguration and not ride
in a carriage. The late governor of
New York, the lamented William Sull-
ger, when he was inaugurated, did
walk, refusing to step into the car
riage which the committee had provid-
ed for him. 1t proved in his case that
he was really walking to his political
funeral. And so we ought to avoid get
ting back to JelIersonian simplicity by
such method.
"But in the case Of Senator Harding
he has never departed from that demo-
cratic simplicity to which so many are
longing to return. He is one of the
very few statesmen who have lived
from their youth up either on the farm
or in a small village in the agricultural
community. Whatever there is to be
desired and there is much in connec
ton with country life, it is all eXemli-
field in Senator Harding"
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