The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-05-13

place in the list but James Mon
roe doesn't and they wonder why
Gen. Winfield Scott is there and
"StonewaIl" Jackson isn't.
DR.. Malone is not surprised
that his selection has caused con-
troversy, for he expected it when
he wrote his article. He is quot
ed as saying that his list might
easily be revised by substitutions
and changing the order in which
he has placed the 40. But there
is one part of his list which he
says he "would defend with his
life" They are the first five
names - Washington, Lincoln,
jefferson, Franklin and Wilson.
There has been no disagree
ment as to Washington and Lin
coin, and only little as to the
relative positions of those two
versatile Americans = Jefferson
and Franklin. But there has been
strong objection to selecting
Woodrow Wilson as the only
American since Lincoln to stand
among the five greatest. Many
have declared that that position
belongs to Theodore Roosevelt
who is tenth on DR.. Malone's list.
In answer to the admirers of the
Strenuous American, the Har-
ward professor says:
Roosevelt VS.. Wilson.
Roosevelt thought of himself
as a man of action and of Wilson
as man of words. But the rec
ord shows that Wilson was the
man of action and Roosevelt the
man of words. T. R. talked a
great deal, but he couldn't put
things through. Wilson's first two
years are comparable to George
Washington's administration. At
no time after the beginning of
the republic did any administra-
ton ever get things done as Will
son did. He assumed a new role
in the Presidency, comparable to
that of prime minister, leader of
his party.
GAS a war President, Wilson
was better administrator than
Lincoln. The World war was bet
ter conducted than any other we
ever fought. When the Republi-
cans went back in 1920, there was
practically nothing they could
stir up out of the conduct of the
war. But the most important
thing about Wilson was that he
was the first American in history
who was the most important man
in the world. That just never
happened before"
Just as DR.. Malone expected
his selection Of Wilson to cause
dispute, so did he expect to draw
fire by the absence of women in
his list. 'tBut it is actually no
reflection on them at ALL" he
says. "Until recently there has
been no chance for women to
achieve prominence in America.
Until the Civil war, their only
chance for distinction was as
hostess, like Dolly Madison, or
as writer's. There weren't many
writer's. Harriet Beecher Stowe
is the best known but she falls
short of the nine men on my list
of writer's. Frances Perkins was
the first woman in public life and
she is still alive
It will be noted that no living
American is included in the list,
since DR.. Malone applied the
same limitation to this list as
was applied to the Dictionary of
American Biography. Inciden-
tally that's the reason for the
use of the word ''were" in the
title of this article.)
A Forgotten Here.
DR.. Malone is not surprised
that there is disagreement over
his inclusion of Gen. Winfield
Scott as one of the three great
soldiers which America has pro-
duced. But he defends his choice
of "Old Fuss and Feathers" by
declaring that Scott taught Lee
his generalship and he embodies
the military genius of America
from the War of 1872 to the Civil