Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01

corTecpondent, tbds assigned to the
| White House, and iCito made many
| long trips Nth Mr.. TAFT. This is the
fourth OF sir weekly articles IN
| mitch Mr.. Hoster Is giving many
interesting close-ups OF TAFT and his
| administration.
| At 10 o'clock the morning of Marcel
I, 1909, two hours before he took tn
| oath as President to succeed Theodor
Roosevelt. Mr.. Taft handed me the fol
lowing tribute to the man from whom
he was taking over the responsib1it!
, of Office:
1T is difncult for one with the
depth of affection which I feel for
Theodore Roosevelt to give judi
cial estimate of the man, but verify
believe that when the historian rs
or so years hence shall describe his
administration and the influence that
he has exerted as Chief Magistrate of
the country he will accord to him
place with Washington and Lincoln,
and that he will treat him as We are
prone now to regard Washington and
Lincoln, as providentially raised up
to meet an exigency in the country's
history that was only less important
than the Revolution and the Civil
War"
The sheet upon which this sentiment
Is typed is following, but Mr.. Taft;
signature and the corrections made ir
his hand still stand out boldly. So faI
as am aware, Mr.. Taft never withdrew
the views here expressed. Following
the disruption of their lifelong friend
ship he rarely made any reference In
public to Col Roosevelt. In private
conversation his references to the for
mer President were kindly and, one
might add, tinged with melancholy
affection.
Expected Reconciliation.
Mr.. Taft never regarded the break
in their relations as permanent, but
which time and circumstance would
heal-and with feeling that at some
period in the future, which he looked
forward to wistfully,~ they would be as
good friends as ever.
'I know Theodore so WELL" he said
back in the Spring Of 1912. HE has
been deceived, things have been mis-
represented to him, and he has lost
his perspective. But when we have
both been retired to private life and
he gets back the perspective we shall
be as good friends as ever"
Not even when the bitter contest Tor
delegates to the 1912 convention was
at its height did Mr. Taft permit him
self to be drawn into a personal con-
troversy with his old friend. The clos
est he came to 1t was in his Boston
speech, when he passionately declared
that he was fighting with my back
against the wall" And think he even
regretted that outburst, which was
wrung from him more from a sense of
hurt spirit than out of any deep resent
Fnenf HE cfofa If mind 20 fro aA
in q remark he made to me about that
time.
IF Theodore had not made an issue
of my so-called disloyalty," he said,
land attacked me as he has, I am not
sure that would not have been willing
to retire in his favor. At least would
have been perfectly willing to abide by
the result of friendly contest"
During the same period he said:
las President have had to act ac-
cording to my own Judgment and con-
victions-work with the tools and mate
rial had at hand and accept the re-
sponsibility. But I have never been
conscious of back-sliding in any way on
the principles shared in common with
Theodore"
Parted at Capitol.
Mr.. Taft and Col Roosevelt parted
in the marble room, just off the Senate
chamber. in the National Capitol, about
is minutes after noon on March 4,
1909. Mr.. Taft had just taken the oath
of office, and because of the blizzard
which was raging was about to enter
the chamber to deliver his inaugural
address, of which Col. Roosevelt, half
an hour before, had said to this writer:
ut is perfectly splendid and COM
pareS with Lincoln's second inaugural"
They didn't meet again until the
Summer of 1910, following Col. Roose-
velt'S return from Africa. This meet
ing took place at Beverly, Mass, where
the President was spending his vaca-
ton.
ct used to be Will and Mr.. President:
now it is Mr.. President and Theodore"
was the colonels characteristic greeting.
But already the political atmosphere
was Surcharged with rumors of grow
ing GOODNESS between them. Friends of
Roosevelt, including Clifford Pinchot.
had joined him on his emergence from
the Dark Continent. And while Mai.
Butt had met the colonel when he
reached New York with a letter from
the President, which was supposed to
be q friendly gesture in the face of
adverse reports carried by others, there
were many surface indications of brew
passed and were the cumulative re-
suits Of the tariff bill, the Presidents
efforts to thwart the growing Progress
sive movement, the Norton letter and
the charges that Mr.. Taft had betrayed
the Roosevelt policies.
The mysterious New Haven confer
ence in the Fall of 1910 definitely
marked the parting of the ways. Law
renee Abbott mentions this conference
as a contributing cause in the final
and Roosevelt. In fact, this was their
clared himself a candidate for the
presidency in opposition to Mr.. Taft.
Taft Sent for Roosevelt.
Mr.. Abbott says of this conference
that while in fact Mr.. Taft sent for
Col Roosevelt to seek his advice re-
garding a serious split in the national
affairs Of the Republican party" it was
made to appear in the newspapers the
next day, "in an official dispatch from
the presidential train on which Mr..
Taft was travelling, that the meeting
was sought by Mr.. Roosevelt for the
purpose Of getting some help in his
contest with the old guard OF the New
York State Republican machine"
was a member Of Mr.. Taft's party
on that occasion. Leaving Beverly, we
arrived in New Haven the following
morning. and Mr.. Taft attended meet
ing Of the Yale Corporation. Shortly
after our arrival Secretary Norton called
the correspondents together.
Il have had the colonel on the tele-