The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-12-20
ROOSEVELT FOR BORAH
SAYS NEW YORK WRITER
IN 1916 FAVORED IDAHO SENATOR
FOR REPUBLICAN NOMINA-
TON FOR PRESIDENT.

The New York Times of November
PC contained the following letter signed
Republican" which is of special in
terest TO Idahoans as showing Colonel
Eooseveits estimate of our senior
senator:
Il read with interest the article OF
Alfred Holman in The Times OF last
sunday. entitled Idaho as a Pedestal
Tor 8orah." II may be of interest to
know that Theodore Roosevelt. in 1915,
expressed the opinion that Borah would
be the candidate of the Republican
Party for President in 1916 In the
latter part of May or early in June of
1915. Immediately after the conclusion
of the Barnes Roosevelt libel suit at
Syracuse. the writer saw Colonel
Roosevelt at his home at oyster Bay.
Two others We're present, who were
evidently much interested in the pos
sible effect of the libel suit on the
political fortunes of Colonel Roose-
welt
lone of the party suggested that
Colonel Roosevelt would be the nomi-
nee of the Republican Party in 1916.
The Colonel. somewhat vigorously.
replied that it was useless to con-
slider his name; that the moment he
became a candidate every enemy he
had would come out of the woods
with a loaded gun and begin to shoot
He then said that he believed his
political strength had waned, and that
his appeals to the public conscience of
late seemed to fall on deaf ears; that
he had no desire to be President
again (although he said he would
like to be President just at that par
ticular momenD: that he had gotten
out of the office of President all that
he could reasonably hope to get out
of it.
Charles Evans Hughes was then a
Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States. and l imagine no one
in that little group thought of him in
with the nomination at the
time. One of the party remarked:
party in 1862"
with force and emphasis Colonel
Roosevelt promptly replied. "Borah."
There was no other name mentioned
Turing this part of the interview He
hen went on to repeat some of the
-hings Borah's enemies said to him,
which. as / recall were something
after the tenor that Mr.. Holman speaks
)f--that Borah was too Independent
ma TOO prone 70 jump the traces,
etc.-but added in the same emphatic
way that Borah would make an ex-
,ellent President
some one of the party spoke of the
difficulty of nominating any one from
4 small far Western State. This
brought from Roosevelt one of those
eloquent explosions that always made
hose who heard him feel fortunate
hey had not missed cannot under
axe to repeat all he said. but l re-
member that he was very positive in
that it was time to squarely
meet and have done with this foolish
etich as he termed it; that Idaho
vas not any more frontier territory
hen than Western Illinois was in
.ncoln's day; that it was ridiculous
o allow geographical considerations
# that nature to stand in the way of
he leadership of a man so pre-emi-
ently qualified for the Presidency as
}orah was, and that it would be most
egrettable if such consideration alone
yere to be controlling in the selection
f the candidate.
There was much more, but it is
impossible to repeat in toto this char
cteristic Rooseveltian flash.
THAT certain influential members
f his party finally induced Colonel
to again cast his hat in the
Official ring in 1916 does not detract,
I the opinion of the writer, from the
incerity of Colonel Roosevelt's con-
lotion in the Spring Of 1915. No one
l that little group doubted it that
ay"