Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-18

4
! Thts e the second OF sir iDsekiv articles
interesttne. ciose-Sps OF Tait ana his
| adtnfnistrdtton.
Y THINK it may be said with truth
that William Howard Taft was not
the most bitterly disappointed man
in the United States on the morn
/ ing after his defeat for reelection
to the presidency In 1912.
With that sublime lack Of political
! Judgment which was characteristic Of
him. he had had vague idea at the be-
! ginning of the campaign that he would
win in the impending three-cornered
In q letter dated August IL, referring
| to his chances, he wrote: II think they
are getting better from day to day, but
1 am ready for the fight"
Defeat, however, did not blunt Mr..
Taft's sense of humor. A few days after
| the election when I saw him, he was
smilingly resigned.
"Bili," he said, "the emphasis the
people have laid upon the verdict indi-
Gates that they simply don't want me
any more"
intensely human. Mr.. Taft didn't de-
spise the honor of the office; and his
sense Of duty and responsibility sus-
| tanned him in his task. But 1t never
seemed to me that his heart was wholly
in the job. In spirit he was always else
! where. He was never happy in the
White House in the sense Of that calm
a. d peace which entered his soul when
the robes of Chief Justice finally en-
| veloped him.
Six Places to Fill.
There was an evening I spent with
J him in the White House at the time
when he was facing the problem Of f1ll-
| ing six vacancies on the supreme
| bench-of making over, In fact, the
personnel of that august tribunal.
had asked an appointment, over Me
telephone, in connection with current
Come over and we'll talk about it,"
He was in rather low spirits. He had
not changed to evening clothes, and
when I arose to leave and apologlzeo
for having intruded upon him, he SAID:
Never mind about that, old man. DO
you know, I am aboninably lonesome
| in this lob. I imagine the President
must be the loneliest man In the Ma
ton. All my life I've been accustomed
to having friends drop in on me casu.
ally for a visit during the evenings. But
no one ever drops In casually on the
| President"
There was real regret in his tone. He
seemed to be hungering for those little
intimacies Of which the formality OF ms
high ONCE deprived him. For Mr.. Tart
was not naturally q formal man. In
! fact, there were times when his In
formality in personal relations had
rather startling expression.
once arranged to introduce to the
President friend formal almost to the
point Of austerity. At the appointed
hour we were ushered into the execu-
tive chamber. The President, we were
informed. would see US as soon as ne
finished q conference in the cabinet
room. For five minutes my frock-
coated friend stood rigid in the center
of the room awaiting the coming OF the
great man. Suddenly the door swung
open and the President entered. Striking
| forward, while my friend bowed low,
Mr.. Taft hit me resounding whack on
the shoulder.
| liver?"
| Reflected His Loneliness.
On this night In the White House
Mrs. Taft was Ill at the time, and the
children were away at. school-the
Presidents whole manner rejected the
feeling of loneliness to which he had
/ referred One could imagine him SIT
| ting alone there In the historic man.
sion, ablaze with lights, longing for q
tinkling bell which would announce the
| dropping in Of q casual" friend.
| On the threshold of the small study
on the second fioor-the room which
had once been Lincoln's private Office
Mr.. Taft directed my attention to q
large framed photograph which hung
on the left wall just inside the door
memento of his Circuit Court days
1 q
dent asked.
| I replied that I had not.
THE man on the left" he said, sis
Lurton. ] hope some day to make him
q Justice Of the Supreme Court. On the
right Is Severance; would like TO pu'
him on the bench, too. The third you
know. He only became President"
The third man in the picture wal
himself. Mr.. Taft made the observa'
ton simply, almost wistfully.
Whats to prevent you from appoint
ing them both, Mr.. PRESIDENT" I asked
You have the power"
He looked at me quizzically and slow.
ly shook his head. Then, resuming his
seat, he waved me into another.
1T used to think that was So" he said
after rejecting q minute, but have
discovered that in many important re-
spects the President is probably the
most helpless as we'll as the lonesomest
man In the country.
Wanted to Name judiciary.
mo, I mean that" he insisted, noting
my smile. Long before ever thought
Of becoming President used to think
as a lawyer and judge, that I woulc
like nothing better than to have the
power OF making judicial appointments
When the presidency did come to me
determined that I would not concern
myself much, all things considered
about the other offices.
Where 1t was necessary, said Il
myself. would share that RESPONSE
bility with the politicians. But ths
judicial appointments. I determined
would be mine, and I would shape thu
judiciary as I believe 1t should be con-
stituted; that Is, without regard II
party fealty, geographical boundaries Of
anything except conspicuous fitness fol
the ONCE. I told myself that woult
make all my judicial appointments or
the basis of the best men obtainable."
He paused, looking at me with gray,
face, and again shook his head mega
lively.
"But fnd it can't be done. TIL,
President hasn't even that power. Thi
is what happens: I have judicial ap
pointments to make, and look abou
the country and select carefully tn.
men I believe are At judicial material
Then the fact that I am considering
these men for appointment gets int
the newspapers. Instantly am de
uged with protests by mail and tele
graph, and the ONCE swarfns with Sen
ators and members Of the House object
ing TO the appointment Of this, that o
the other man because of political af