The Washington times., 1921-07-25

treated. Those who get off best
are those whom, like the present am
bassador to Great Britain, there Is
least reason to envy.
Virtues Of President.
Nevertheless. in spite of the brevity
with which virtues and powers are
conceded and the joy with which short.
comings are elaborated, this series OF
sketches offers qualities In criticism
rare in Washington. II has humor. or
rather wit; II has a wellstored mem
ory; II has knowledge of other coun-
tries and of books.
1t has what / believe the regular
critics call background. 1t alludes 10
Browning and Samuel Butler without
referring to them, If you know what
mean.
President Harding. according to
this critic, has for his greatest pow.
ers modesty, tact, and. natural
reflection of the attributes and pre-.
JUDGES of the average man. out
of his modesty, his desire to reinforce
himself, has proceeded the strongest
Cabinet Washington has had in
generation"
Against ex.President Wilson the
author is almost savage. He has
read or heard about Freud, and the
whole chapter is based on over
compensation, inferiority completes.
and other things that most of my
friends have been talking about since
Freud became the leader OF the
clever.
Explanation Of Wilson.
The whole explanation Of Wilson,
according TO this author, is that in
his youth he acquired an inferiority
complex from deciding that he was
unfit for law or business and so went
to teach in a girls school. Although
Wilson had not then heard of Freud.
he knew there was nothing for him
TO do but overcompensate himself
into lifelong arrogance. ...
Secretary Hughes, according to the
author. has the best mind connected
with Government in Washingto
His whiskers, which used to be cut
to suggest a parson, are now cut TO
suggest a cosmopolitan minister OF
foreign affairs. The politicians do
not like him. They feel like the
man who saw the hippopotamus:
IF he should stay to tea,
thought,
There won't be much for us"
The chapter on Colonel House srf
fers somewhat more than the others
from omniscience. House gets his
visions of the brotherhood of man
and the rest of it second hand from
Wilson" The author. well read as
he is, has overlooked some of the
documents and dates in Colonel
Houses life.
An Estimate Of Taft.
While I am on this subject II may
be said that an easy mastery of mani
fold difficulties is an attribute of
cleverness. and this book is strikingly
and attractively clever. Mr.. Taft
was a great Judge" says he. Mr.. Taft
was a circuit Judge for an extremely
short time and was neither better nor
worse, in those brief months twenty
years ago, then twenty others.
The essay on Hoover Is interesting,
centering around the usual idea about
his publicity sense. This statement
is always made about people like
Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt and even
Wilson, whose powers attract atten-
ton.
With a character like Lodge. whose
key motive is venom, the authors
gifts are at their best. AS the adver
tisements say, the sketch must be
read to be appreciated. For the next
edition. am sure there will be one
| contribute this tale.
1t is related that Charles William
Eliot said:
II have known Cabot Lodge all his
life and I never knew him to have a
generous emotion
The author makes a felicitous con-
clusion to his sketch by quoting
Macaulay's Review OF Barere's Nc
moirs:
I'VE now propose to do him, by
the blessing OF God, full and signal
Justice"
The final chapter. on Borah. con-
tains a welcome absence of GER
tainty:
HE is virtually unknown in that
strange bedlam composed largely Of
social climbers and official poseurs
called Washington society"
He is not understood by the other
Senators. Strangest Of all, he is not
understood by the author.