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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1909)
g THE SUXDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 21. 1909. THEODORE ROOSEVELT a great man or a sham? la ha a hero or a humbug? Theaa ara tha questions submitted to the readers of Tha Sunday Oregonian for their answer. There Is a cloud of witnesses to either characterization. Mr. Jamea Bryca has praised him as the greatest President since Washington. Mr. Edward Harrl man haa denounced him as the moat dangerous man that ever occupied the Presidential chair. Between these two extremes all sorts of Intermediate shadea of opinion have been expressed by friends and foes. , What verbal compromise. If any, would succinctly sum up his virtues and his fallings? Mr. Roosevelt's three most characteris tic sayings are "the strenous life." "the square deal- and the "big stlofc." His admirers hold that he has embodied all three before the world. Are they right or wrong? Concerning his strenuoslty there can be no Question. He Is the most active, the most energetic, the most forceful of all our present-day statesmen. But are his activities always directed Into proper channels? Is his energy utilized or wasted? Is hit force always or usually exerted on the right aide? Hae he given a aquara deal to his foes as well as to his friends, given It alike to the business man, the politician, the private individual, the general public? Haa he wielded the big atloK-to the benefit of the countries and the peoples under our patronage? Of his personal popularity there can be no more doubt than of his strenuoslty. But Is the good feeling which he createa born of unqualified admiration .and re spect? Or Is there a burlesque side to his character which appeals gratefully to our aense of humor? In other words. Is the Nation's darling a spoiled child? . Or Is he a massive, many aided, full grown man who Imposes himself upon us by sheer force of hie Intellect, his vir tues and his dominating personality? OPINIONS OF CRITICS THE greatest President since Washing-ton. James Bryce.- Theodore Roosevelt has borne him self well in the Presidential chair. He has done his duty as he saw It. fear lessly, wisely and Impartially. In so doing; he has offended many million aires, a legion of snobs and a multi tude of fools. Boston Pilot. I have seen two tremendous works of nature. One Is Niagara Fnlls and the other Is the President of the United States, and I am not suro which Is the more wonderful. John Morley. - Take Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Rhodes. Lord Charles Beresford and John Burns. Boll them down until you get the residuum essence Into an Ameri can Dutchman, and you have some thing .like the new President 6f the United States. English Review of Re views. The American President Is by far the most interesting personage In all the world of the present day. Berlin Deutsche Tases Zeitung. The President has not. since he has been In the Whltehouse. established for himself a reputation for accuracy, and this fact will put the public on guard against a too precipitate con demnation of those whom he accuses. Baltimore Sun. At this moment President Roosevelt la probably the most Interesting po litical figure In the world. London Spectator (1902). He la the true statesman of the 20th century, and as such deserves well of his country and of all parts of the plol.e. Baron D'Estournelles de Con stant. Here Is a President acting as a benevolent despot, waiving the laws of. the United States an it suits him and when it suits him. Could personal rule, executive usurpation and the utmost possibilities of corrupt and Irresponsi ble, dictatorship further go? Albany Argus. r It Is Impossible to avoid the suspi cion that In respect of certain peculi arities of temper and language the President is treated as more or less of a Joke, shall we say. a laughing stock? In 'Washington. Milwaukee Sentinel. President Roosevelt. in hunting through various American jungles, .has struck big game. But tho public likes hint because he is not afraid of the biggest of them and because he holds his duty to the people paramount. Troy Times. ' . The country ha seen Presidents, many of them, who have been out of sympathy with the policies of their Con gresses, but wo doubt whether the coun try lias even seen a President, who, like Mr. Roosevelt, has made himself so of fensive to his legislative bodies. It Is a pity. New Haven Journal-Courier. That Theodore Roosevelt has abused his office; that his natural qualities have led to the most alarming and la mentable consequences; that his un bridled lust of sclf-aggrandlzcment and love of publicity threaten the stability. If ,iot the very existence, of the politi cal structure In which he holds offlce n ih., fpt do not Justify or ex cuse the Congress of the United .States In adding Its efforts to ni io nummm. .1 v- uinvDlL without Its aid. I n,.n...m I. h. . hero or . I f MA I H Tl Ij . J KfiTVtJ JTaSiSj ' Wfl tfJHl Z 0 ' " v M I haa done all that is necessary to de- fffMf "WE A HEEO OK A-MUMBU? tfl III I 11 Uriii HSSIH mm-m mm-- , ' I'r'l fill I Mill MM K f E1-. I X H H CB :M W 3 IH&jaH H Wa"li BWHi. RnF H B W A 4 m A m. 111 1 It HIT grade and dishonor the. American Na tion. Now York Sun. From Colfege Presi dents and Professors of History. Dt AVID STARR JORDAN, president of :he Leland Stanford. Jr.. University "Roosevelt will have a very high place In American history, first, from his strenuous efforts for tho conservation of our domain and Its forests. Its ani mals and Ms products: second, from the high moral standards he has Incul cated and carried Into practice; third, because he has been personally Immune to all questions of fear and favor: fourth, he haa actually done things and set a high standard "of activity, for others; fifth, he has made mistakes plenty of them and corrected most of them, while other men would have been hesitating for fear of being mis understood. His Influence on posterity will be large an clearly marked. He Is a man who sees our political and social life In times of action, and he has done Just as much as many could to set us to thinking right as a Na tion, and to think right Is to act right. Roosevelt l certainly one of the great men of our time." Benjamin Ide Wheeler, president of the University of California "You ask whether Theodore Roosevelt Is really a great President? The range of his Intelligence and of his Intelligent Inter ests certainly surpasses that of any of his predecessors. His mind Is quick, acquisitive, singularly retentive and accurate. As an. Intellectual force he ranks alone with Jefferson. In the ap- I plication of moral discriminations -to public life and the Inspiration of moral enthusiasm regarding public duty he may well prove to be the greatest preacher and doer of political right eousness that America has ever had. National Irrigation, the Panama Canal, the husbanding of National resources, the- Russian-Japanese peace. all are aggressive works that look towards' greatness, while the setting of Govern ment regulation to block the path of Government ownership and the ad vancement of his party Into a fore ground where It could combat social revolution have made htm In the larger perspective the great conservative force or his day. In a measure that is really great he loves his country and Is not afraid." . Professor Henry Wade Rogers, dean of the law department of Yale Univer sity "It Is' usually exceedingly difficult to undertake to predict at the time 'of a statesman's retirement from office Just what estimate history will ulti mately place upon his services. The opinion entertained of Mr. Cleveland by his opponents at the time of his death was quite different from that which was entertained by them when he left the White House. The Judgment placed on Andrew Johnson now is not at all that of the majority of the people at the time of his retirement.. The fact that a man Is exceedingly popular with the people when he leaves the Presi dency cannot be accepted as any cer tain guaranty that history will assign him any very high place among states men. That Is as true as tho fact that a man's unpopularity at the time he leaves the Presidency Is no guaranty that history will not assign him a very hlghplace and regard Mm as a really great President. "Of one thing I think we can bo as sured. History will, in my opinion, re-a-arrt Mr. Roosevelt as the most law less President wc have ever had In the United States. He has had apparently very little-respect for any authority ei- eent his own. That Is a very grave defect of character In any public offi cial, and especially In a President. His criticism of Iho courts has been rre qfuent and shocking, and he has been apparently' entirely oblivious to the fact that the Judiciary constitutes a co-ordinate department of the Govern ment, and as such not within his prov ince. To undermine the connoctice or the neoole in the Judlcrary is one of tho most dangerous and reprehensible things a public man can do. ana again and se-ain and again he lias assailed the Judiciary, and without reason. He deserves, and In my orinion will re ceive tho severe censure of history for his lawlessness and his lack of respect for the courts of this country. "While he is deserving credit for Bomo things, I think that when history carefully sums up the results ot nis administration It. will not give him a place among the really great Presi dents of the United States. That lie is a remarkable man Is not to be denied. We have had no President like him. and probably will not have for a hundred years to come." James Walter Crook, professor of po litical economy. Amherst College. I am Inclined to think that Roosevelt's place In history Is that of being one of the reconstructors of our American democ racy. In the system of competition in busi ness the Anglo-Saxons are allowed more freedom than is best, and Roose velt's function' has been to call atten tion to the social Interests. It some times has been forgotten. " Posterity will forget his weaknesses. COLLEGE PBE$SDEmr Mi mMHw ill 1 " I Ww '''' "' "wH if! ' which perhaps are connected with Im pulsiveness. It will forget all this and wllj remember his straightforward ac tion In the interests of the whole peo ple and accord him a place among the lAnrer-mlnded men of the republic. I do not mean by this that he will be J looked upon as greater than Washing ton or Lincoln, but that he will take rank with any of the others. - George- Harris, D. I.. president of Amherst College. I am an admirer of President Roosevelt a great admirer of him and If I were going to answer either of these questions I would wish to do the subject full Justice. Both are questions that would entail consider able thought. The President is a great executive. There can be no doubt of that. I look upon myself as being en thusiastic concerning what he has ac complished. His place in history well. It will bo a high one, I am sure. How will posterity view him? Of that I cannot say. I believe posterity will do him full Justice at least. v Thomas Nixon Carver, Ph. LL. D., professor of political economy of Har vard University. I should regard Pres ident Roosevelt as tho noisiest presi dent we have ever had. I am somewhat different from others In my Ideas re garding Just what place In history he will hold. In fact, I do'n't think that. I would be able to answer that question at all. I will say that I think him .to be one of the greatest Presidents. I do not. however, think him the great estno. he Is not that. To my mind he will be given In posterity something about the same plane as Andrew Jack son. Jackson and Roosevelt are some what similar. Beyond what I have said I do not think I could make any fur ther prophecy. ' . Professor H. J. Ford, of the politics department of Princeton Roosevelt did a great deal to facilitate the develop ment of the Presidential office as the chief -representative of the people. He did not Initiate the conception of the Presidency as a' representative Institu tion. That was a question at Issue be tween the Whigs and the Democrats, and President Polk was' the first ex PEFE5It OF HI ecutive to distinctly announce a doc trine that the President represented the Nation as a whole and Is the only branch of the Government that does. Congress represents localities and spe cial Interests. & "President Roosevelt has done more to give beneficial power to this doc trine than any of his predecessors. however. Hia administration will un doubtedly be accredited with great con stitutional Importance and will shine In history as the most powerful move ment ever made up to his time to in fuse a democratic character Into the conduct of government and to bring the course of legislation under the con trol of public opinion. Although It Is hard to predict what place posterity will ajisls-n him. there Is no doubt In my mind that the President is a great man In every sense or mo wora. ma ,uiiani of neech and action are char acteristic of great men, and one might almost say that they are a necessary contingent upon gre.tnefc3 In the field of politics. The petty, spiteful actions of the Congress, whose successors hare n.lradv been elected and which is in reality no longer entitled to office, are more than reprehensible, and merely the mean, narrow revenge of a body whose corruption hae been revealed." Frederick Lincoln Thompson, profes sor of history at Amherst I cannot answer either of the questions. The fact Is I try to leach my students his tory and never attempt to Indulge in prophecy. Therefore I hesitate, in fact will not attempt to place -Mr. Roose velt In history or venture an opinion as to how he may be regarded in fu ture years. R. II. McEIroy. professor of history In Princeton "There Is no denying the foremost rank that Roosevelt's admin istration will attain in history, but whether this is due to the President's personal ability or merely to force of circumstances and to the excellence of his advisers Secretaries Hay and Root Is a question in my mind. We are not In a position at present to censure Roosevelt. It will probably be many years before the, public will be In pos session of the true facts of the case In the recent unpleasantness, and not un til then ran he be assigned to his prop er place In history. His administration Is conspicuous because of tho number of affairs of world-wide Interest and Importance that have been consum mated in tho last seven years, but any prophecy s to the enduring greatness of Roosevelt the man Is likely to be contradicted by the verdict of the next operation. Too many men conspicu ous in their time have been relegated to oblivion In 40 or 50 years for me to venture a prediction as to Roosevelt's lasting greatness." TV. M. Daniels, professor of political Economy of Prlncctoiv "Roosevelt will probably be known best In American hlutnrv an one who magnified tne pow ers and activities of the Presidential office, perhaps as one who began what seems to be a salutary movement In the direction of organising the political chaos which our irresponsible system of dark-lantern legislation has created In state and Nation. Perhaps next in im portance Is his inauguration of an eco nomic DOllcy which has brought large corporate interests to feel themselves subject to the law of the land. for these reforms' an Important place In history Is assured him." Chancellor Avery, of the University of Nebraska "I believe that In the future history of our country President Roosevelt's administration will be re garded as one of the most notable of the administrations not connected with any great crisis. Hia name will be as sociated with the successful beginning of the great work at Panama, the peace of Portsmouth, the passage of a Na tional pure food law. the reclamation projects of the arid West and a gen eral awakening in the country for civic righteousness. His successful efforts to promote efficiency In the Army and Navy will receive honorable mention, and his forcefulness of character and honesty of purpose will be universally conceded. "It will bo noted, however, that in his efforts to accomplish what he regarded as necessary for the public welfare he did not always show the consideration due to the collateral branches of the SIOUX Federal Government, and that he left the legacy of expensive methods In tho administration of government to em barrass his successors. It will bo re ..ttA that he did not at times show a calmer judgment In dealing with in dividuals. Like the present uerma-n Emperor, he will bo remembered In his tory as one of the striking figures of our time.". ... Dr. Paul R. Van Dyke, professor of history in Princeton "o man a p.u.i.t. i u.tnrv ran be estimated until a sufficient time has elapsed to give per spective." . . w n. L Tavlor. professor of political economy and commerce. University of Nebraska. "Roosevelt Is not only a great man, but the greatest President of the United States since Washington. A great man Is not necessarily inn intellectual genius, but he must possess transcendent capacity. Including In that term the power to influencemen. Fo 20 years he has engaged the attention and influenced the action of the Amer ican people with ever growing effect. ri-it,r the latter part of that time he has had as a political opponent W. J. Bryan, the greatest popular orator the world has yet seen. Roosevelt has substituted honesty for dishonesty In nniiiin direction for Indirection in di plomacy. He has curbed the trusts and ra,nmi business: he has actually ac complished more than ever before In the way of raising the general moral tone. "He has disappointed ell the prophets nf evil: he haa not Involved us In war. but given us a voice among nations. tt has earned the 111 will of Colonel XI ,o.r a nrl rtt all thOSB WtlO tlrO Of hearlne Aristldes called 'The Just.' "A slander, dellcato boy, his doctrine onorrlom has shown that a will un hampered by squeamlshness and fear can make the mind and body strong and rule a nation. Professor Irving Fisher, of Yale "I believe that President Roosevelt will go down in history as one of our great Presidents. Undoubtedly he has his faults, and they are uppermost in the minds of a great many people, and un doubtedly he has made mistakes which ho probably will.be the first to recog nize. But one of the very reasons I admire him Is because he Is not de terred from going ahefcd because of the mistakes he may make. This Is a time when rapid action 18 needed and a pol icy of overcautious dealing Is apt to do moro permanent damage than tho Rooseveltlan policy, which has been moro or less Justly accused of being haety. "It seems to me that the harm Presi dent Roosevelt may have done is very rn.uch less than that which he has been accused of doing. For Instance, the panic of last year was fastened on Mr. Roosevelt by many persons who do not understand tho financial and monetary causes which made It Inevitable sooner or later. "Wo all ought to admire President Roosevelt for tho possession of those simple aud yet rare qualities of cour age and Integrity of purpose. These alone atone for a multitude of sins. The ordinary politician is timid and Inclined to be more or less warped and controlled by selfish and under ground Influences." "The reason Mr. Roosevelt appeals so to the average American is his Im mense vitality and his willingness and his desire to do his work in plain sight. He has gra-iped and has utilized per haps more, than any previous President' the iinmfcnso power of an aroused pub lic opinion. Ho has been criticised for doing things with so loud a noise, but usually that is tha only way espe cially In politics to do things effect ively. For instance, he could not have cleaned up the slaughterhouses of Chi cago In the quiot way which many people believe he should have tried. Instead he brought the packinghouse firms to terms by touching them In their one vulnerable point, the public demand for their product. In no other way could the danger to the public from diseased meats have been so ef fectively leadened. "The chief service that Mr. Roosevelt has performed has been to arouse the public conscience. Nobody couH pre tend tht he has settled the evils of monopoly, of which he has made so much In his administration, and I do not think that his methods of legal regulation are apt to prove of real va 1 lie. while they have In them the danger of power to oo a good deal of evli with the good. Tho chler evil or wpecial interests and special favor, of which Mr. Roosevelt has complained ill regard to the trusts, is far more conspicuous ami far more remediable in the case of the tariff. Under guise of the. theory of protection the tariff has been used as a means of giving special favors or. of obtaining special privileges. If the same aroused sense of Justice and fair dealing can be ap plied by Mr. Roosevelt to tho trust question we may possibly obtain In the end some permanent relief from politi cal domination of special Interests. Perhaps the most conspicuous omis sion of a public question in Mr. Roose velt's administration hus been the .cur rency question. Nothing has been 'done to simplify and strengthen our anomal ous and complicated currency system. for Instance by the elimination of the greenback, the reduction in tho quan tity and convertibility into gold of . the silver dollar. the( creation of an elastic bank currency "and the divorce of bank notes from the Government debt. At present we cannot pay the National debt without abolition of bank notes. But the worst evil of our currency system is one which all gold- using nations are having, ana this i the 'depreciation of the monetary stund- ard which was at the bottom of our panic and will have in the next 10 ars more effect in perverting the at tribution of wealth than all the trusts or than any other one cause. Those nearest to Mr. Roosevelt rec ognize his greatness. He gives many handles for criticism, but he is unwill ing to run away from criticism wnen he has a purpose to carry out. Personally I have taken great satis faction In that Mr. Roosevelt has taken up the public health movement. This Is really a part, as he said In his speech last May at tho White House, of the conservation of the "National efficiency. the other part being the conservation of the National resources. He has pre pared the ground for Mr. Taft to create In tho Department of the Interior, oy reconstructing It. a great and effi cient department of education, through which hundreds of thousands ot need less deaths and great waste of human productivity can be avoided. Mr. Gar,- field lias himself recommended In his reports the elimination of the bureaus In that department which do not belong there and the Inclusion of others that do belong there. Professor Jeremiah W. Jenks. pro fessor of political economy at Cornell University. It Is never safe to predlot a man's place In history, but there can be little question that President Roose velt's place among American statesmen will be a high one. He came to the Presidency at a time ripe for a leader of the people. He has understood their feelings, their aspirations, their preju dices even better than others, and in consequence he has been able to ad vance reform movements. He haa con tributed more than any other man to the moral awakening of the American people In methods of business and of politics. Even In International politics, with the able assistance of Secretaries Hay and Root, he has made this moral Influence felt. This moral uplift gtven by the first citixen of the republic to his fellow citizens, especially to young men, Is a greater social and political service than any specific political act, but his policies will also prove fruitful. The control of corporations, the build ing of the Panama canal, the establish ment of future peace by arbitration treaties, as well as by a strong navy, the uplift of the farming population, the conservation of our National re sources, the advancement of the civil service, tho promotion of young ener getic men on merit, are all policies that make for good to posterity. The Life of Roosevelt Recorded in Para graphs. TH1 ii HEODORK ROOSEVELT wa born New York City, October JT. 1S68. tho second son of Theodore Roose velt. Sr., a merchant and philanthropist. He prepared for college under a tutor and was graduated from Harvard College In 1880. In the f;amo year lie married and mule a trip to Europe. In 1S8I lie published his first book, "The Naval War of 1812." which v.i3 well received. Meanwhile he wa studying law, but "he abandoned It for politics, and In the Autumn of 1881 he was elected to the New York Legislature as a Republican and a champion of civil service reform, serving continuously until 1884. In the session of 1883 he was Re publican caiidhlate for the Speaker ship against a ijcinocratlc majority, and in 1884 was chairman of the committee onritles and of the special committee which Investigated abuses in the mu nicipal administration of New York. .In 1S84 he attended the National Re publican Convention at Chicago as chairman of the New York delegation, lie supported Senator Edmunds for the Presidential nomination. but when Blame was nominated entered actively in the campaign in his behalf. P'or two years (1884-86) he lived on u. ranch ho had purchased in North Da kota, studying the people and hunting- In 18SS lie publlslied " Hunting Trips of a Ranchman." In 1SS3 lie ran for Mayor of New York as an Independent Republican, but was defeated by the Democratic candi date, Abram S. Hewitt. In May. 1S8J, President Harrison ap pointed him a memhir of the United States Civil Service Commission. After making a record for strenuous devotion to the principles to which lie had early pledged himself, he resigned April 6. 189". to become Assistant Secretary ol the Navy. on the declaration or ivai with Spain he left the Navy Department to organ ize with Dr. Leonard Wood, an Army surgeon, the Klrst I'nited States Vol unteer Cavalry, popularly known as Roosevelt's Rough Rider. Dr. Wood became Colonel and Mr. Roosevelt Lieutenant-Colonel. Fur gallantry In the action at Lus (luaslmas tho latter was promoted to Colonel. Ih November. IS58. lie was elected Governor of the State of New York by a plurality of 18.070. He instituted an Investigation Into alleged frauds in the state canal system and favored the en actment of th'e Ford franchise la.w, providing for the taxation of corpora- . (Concluded on Taie 6 )
