Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-09
BREACH IN PARTY
FEATURED REGIME
Former President Refused to
Believe Split Had Developed
With Roosevelt.

and his ability to inspire in others an
appreciation of his scrupulous honesty
of purpose and business Of decision In
all problems intrusted to his arbitra-
ment.
Caring nothing for politics, he was
not influenced by partisan motives.
With an equitable judicial mind, mex
haustible patience and a dependable
serenity, he had the exceptional faculty
of impressing upon others the genuine
ness of his friendly motives and his
purpose to help them bear their bur-
dens, to enlighten them whenever pos
sible and to present the best available
solution for their problems.
His life was unselflshly dedicated to
the service of his Government, and, like
q patriotic soldier, he responded to all
demands made upon him by his COM
mander-in-chief, the President. His
real introduction to public life came
through President Mckinley of his ma
tive State of Ohio, who commissioned
him to assist in bringing order out of
chaos after the Spanish American War,
when the United States found that it
had inherited from Spain, along with its
colonial possessions in the Pacific the
grave obligation of shaping the des-
TIMES Of the Asiatic races inhabiting
the islands.
BY a strange coincidence it was an
other Ohioan, President Harding, who
made it possible for him to realize the
greatest ambition Of his life. Mr.. Taft
was the first man in American history
to I'LL the two great Offices of Chief Ex-
ecutive and Chief Magistrate. Repre-
sentatiyeS In Congress frequently have
been elected to the presidency, and a
President once became q CONGRESSMAN.
but never before had any one served IS
the head Of the two great administrative
and judicial coordinate branches Of
the Government.
Became Roosevelt Friend.
Mr.. Taft was precipitated into poll
Tics from a law ONCE in Cincinnati
ODDLY enough, both he and Theodore
Roosevelt became known in Washington
public aife about the same time. They
hrst met when Mr.. Roosevelt was civil
service commissioner and Mr. Taft was
Solicitor General. They were quickly
attracted to each other, and there be-
gan friendship which resulted in the
dominating influence Mr. Roosevelt
later exercised over his friends polit-
ical career.
MIR. Roosevelt generally was credited
with making Mr.. Taft President and
most political observers agree that he
unmade him four years later. Backed
by the Roosevelt influence, Mr.. Taft
was elected President in 1908 by the
overwhelming majority of 321 electoral
votes out of a total of 488. With the
Roosevelt influence against him and
Col. Roosevelt himself a candidate on
third-party ticket in 1912, Mr.. Taft re-
ceived but paltry 8 votes out Of
total of 53l.
1t was said of MIR. Taft at this time
that. although he was the worst defeat
ed President, he was the best loser of
any. He left the White House in the
happiest frame of mind, apparently glad
to lay down the cares of state, which
had been far greater than he antici-
pated.
His brief tenure in the ONCE Of Presi-
dent was made notable for the, greatest
split that had ever occurred In the Re-
publican party and by the birth of the
National Progressive party, headed by
Col. Roosevelt and his friends. When
the split started or how it first grew,
no one has yet related with any degree
Of certainty. None Of the explanations
offered seems TO account for a rupture
of that strong bond Of friendship which
had existed between the two men UP to
the moment Mr.. Taft took the oath OF
executive ONCE and Col Roosevelt set
sail for his African hunting trip.
It is known that some of Col. RooSe-
velt's friends in Washington did not
fare as well at the hands Of the Taft
administration as they had expected,
and it is also known that Mr.. Taft. as
President, did not consult the colonel
so freely as he did when he was in the
subordinate position of Secretary OF
War in the Roosevelt cabinet. Letters
dispatched from the White House to
the wilds Of Africa were few and far
between and 1t was later intimated by
some of Mr.. Taft's friends that this
silence on the part of the new President
was not regarded with great favor by
his old chief Then, too. it was said
that Col. Roosevelt felt that Mr.. Taft
had not been as asSiduous in developing
and carrying forward the Roosevelt
policies" as the former President had
expected.
Refused to Believe Break"
In any event, It developed that by
the time Col Roosevelt emerged from
the Jungle and headed back to the
United States the break" was an es-
tablisied fact-establiShed to every
body except President Taft. He was
the last TO acknowledge that Col. Roose-
velts feeling toward him had changed,
and he refused for several years to be-
lieve that Col. Roosevelt had deter
mined TO array himself in opposition.
Some Of Col Roosevelts Washington
friends FASTENED to meet him as he
came from Africa, and 1t was believed
in Washington that they had much to
do with influencing him against Mr..
Taft. These men later were proml-
nent In the councils OF the Progressive
party. They had claShed with Mr..
Taft from almost the first day OF his
administration.
Shortly after his return TO Ameri-
ca, in 1910. Col. Roosevelt called on
President Taft at the Summer WHITE
HOUSE, in Beverly, Mass. Those who
witnessed this meeting will never for
get 1t. Three was brave display OF
the old cordially between the two men,
but IL was palpably on the surface only
and there was apparent distinct 1eel-
ing of constraint. There we're Few
meetings after this and the breach
continued TO widen, until in the Spring
Of 1912 all attempts TO conceal the
real state of affairs came to an end. j..
Long after Col. Roosevelt had let 1t
be known to his friends that he was
opposed to the renominationa. ana ere re.
election of Mr.. Taft, the latter would
not believe the reports were true
Friends of Mr.. Taft. who had talked
with friends of Col Roosevelt and knew
the extent of the latter's feelings
against Mr.. Taft, tried to convince the
President that the colonel was openly
arrayed against him. But Mr.. Taft
remained unconyinced almost up TO the
time the split came in the Chicago
convention of 1912 and the Progressive
party took the field with Col. Roose-
welt in the saddle.
Showed No Bitterness.
To all who rushed to him with an II
told you So" Mr.. Taft replied only with
one of his tolerant smiles. Not once
did he utter harsh word toward the
man he always referred to as the Presi-
dent.