Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-10-11

people believe that no President OF tbs
United States writes his speeches.
The answer to the question is: '"The
President writes his speeches"
Now some one may take exception
to this answer by saying that it is not
wholly true. Of course no President
of the United States writes everything
that appears in his addresses, for much
of the material used is taken bodily
from reports or from books of Stats
tics and is used merely to illustrate
or bear out the statements made IN
the addresses by the man who delivers
them.
The annual message to the congress
is written, of course, only in part Dy
the President, but he edits every line
of it and nothing gets into il Of which
he does not approve Messages to con-
gress deal largely with departmental
matters and the President is depend
ent upon his cabinet for information.
He takes the matter which they give
him and weaves it into his message.
He does exactly what any other writer
on serious subject does. He gets
material from whatever trustworthy
source is available and uses it for
the information of his readers.
His Style Too Well Known.
No President of the United States
could afford to allow his general adj
dresses to be written by another per-
son. The United States never has had
president whose style of writing was
not known to many people before he
entered on office If he should depend
upon others to give rhetorical -four
ishes to his addresses the fact would
be discovered instantly 1t is just
as hard to counterfeit style as it is to
counterfeit anything else. No two
men ever lived who wrote alike.
1t would be difficult task for any
one to initiate the writing style of
Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt
or Woodrow Wilson. Mr.. Cleveland
was picturesquely ponderous, Colonel
Roosevelt was picturesQuely rugged.
and Mr.. Wilson was severely classical.
Any attempt Of supposed writer to
fool the people with Cleveland, Roose-
velt or Wilson matter would have met
with disclosure instantly and the same
thing in general way can be said
SO far as the subject concerns other
Presidents.
1t is true that sometimes phxases
are attributed to the coinage Of this
President or that President when the
fact is they had nothing to do with
their coinage A little study Of the
thing will show that the attributed
matter never appeared in the writ
ings or the addresses Of any President.
Origin Of Famous Saying.
Take, for instance, the famous say
ing "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead I"
which generally has been accredited
to Theodore Roosevelt This express
sion was used at the time that a
United States consular agent had been
kidnapped by a North African chieftain
and the United States was determined
to rescue the official even if they had
to kill the man responsible for his abb
duction
Two months ago there died in Wash
ington a newspaper correspondent
who had worked in the capital for
many years. His name was Edwin
Hood. He was the man responsible
for "Peridicaris alive or Ratsuli dead"
The intention of the administration
Roosevelt was then president-was
told to him and instantly he crystal
lized it into the expression which Is
heard frequently today when the
United States intends to act with de-
termination along punitive lines.
Presidents of the United States are
compelled to depend upon others for
the gathering Of much Of the material
for their speeches. The fact that this
material is gathered by this man or
that man occasionally moves people
to think mistakenly that this man or
that man writes the resulting address.
Benjamin Harrison, when he was
President, made a great many short
speeches from the rear platform of
the train upon which he once was
travelling. These speeches always
have been regarded as models of terse
English, and in addition as speeches
which were full of meat. They have
been preserved in book form and are
read today by lovers of good English.
Harrison wrote them.