The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (179 page)

BOOK: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
2.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

79.
Ib., 1022.

80.
White wrote many years later that he began this work—with TR’s full approval—in 1898, even before the gubernatorial election. “He did not want to be Governor of New York. He wanted to be President of the United States.” Whi.327.

81.
Emporia Gazette
, June 26, 1899. See also Kohlsaat, H. H.,
From McKinley to Harding
(Scribner’s, 1923) 76 ff. for anecdotes of this trip. He says that at several stops along the way crowds brandished “Roosevelt in 1904” cards.

82.
See, e.g.,
N.Y.T.
, June 29, 1899.

83.
In July 1969 Jesse Langdon attended the seventieth and last Rough Rider Reunion at Las Vegas. His two surviving comrades, Frank Brito and George Hamner, were too ill to join him. Walker, Dale, “The Last of the Rough Riders,”
Montana
, XII.3 (July 1973). TR on McK’s renomination: see
N.Y.T.
, June 30, 1899;
Trib.
, same date.

84.
World
, July 5, 1899;
N.Y.T.
, same date.

85.
Mor.1023.

86.
See Chessman, G. Wallace, “Theodore Roosevelt’s Campaign Against the Vice-Presidency,”
The Historian
, XIV.2 (Spring 1952).

87.
Trad.; see, e.g., Morg.225.

88.
Mor.1023.

89.
Ib.

90.
Ib., 918.

91.
Ib., 1023. See Young, K. H., and Lamar Middleton,
Heirs Apparent
(NY, 1948), and Williams, Irving G.,
The Rise of the Vice-Presidency
(NY, 1956) for indications of how insignificant the office really was at the end of the nineteenth century.

92.
Mor.1024; un. clip, TRB, c. July 1, 1899; Rob.195. Note: Corinne wrongly places the date of
Cromwell’s
composition in 1900.

93.
Probably Elihu Root, qu. Arthur Lee in TR.Wks.X. 169–70.

94.
Mor.1043; ib., 1046;
World
, July 9, 1899; Mor.1038–9, 1502.

95.
Ib., 1043, 1046. TR exceeded his word quota from Scribner’s by some twenty thousand words. The serial purchase price was $5,000, plus 15% in book royalties. Ib., 1049.

96.
Eve. Post
article, “Roosevelt the Ideal Contributor,” n.d., but c. Feb. 1919, TRB; Mor.1053; Lee in TR.Wks.X. 170.

97.
Wis.65–6.

98.
Mor. 1047.

99.
See
Trib.
, July 9, 1899;
N.Y.T.
, July 16. See also TR to HCL, July 21, Mor. 1036–9, for a complete account of the meeting with McK.

100.
Mor. 1037. TR was particularly scrupulous as the meeting had in fact been suggested by himself, in a letter to Secretary of State Hay on July 1, 1899. See Mor. 1024–5. His intention was to advise that Maj.-Gen. Francis V. Greene be put in command of the entire U.S. force in the Philippines, and that Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood be given similar powers in Cuba. Mor.1025.

101.
Secretary Long, who attended the meeting, was at any rate impressed. “I believe Roosevelt to be thoroughly honest, and his ambition is one for the good of the service. Sometimes, I distrust his judgment, but he is so above all purely selfish and dishonorable intentions that I esteem him very highly.” Journal, July 8, 1899, LON. As for TR’s reaction to the accession of Elihu Root to the Secretaryship of War, see Mor. 1041. His letter of congratulation is a startlingly cold document, avoiding direct compliments. It betrays more than a hint of anger that circumstances prevented TR himself being offered the position. Mor.1036.

102.
Ib., 1062. Ib., 1052–3 gives TR’s upstate itinerary.

103.
Ib., 1062.

104.
Ib.

105.
Ib.

106.
See, e.g.,
World
, July 5, 1899;
N.Y.T.
, Oct. 2.

107.
See Spector, Ronald,
Admiral of
the New Empire
(Louisiana State U., 1974) 111. Dewey was said by his family and friends to be a Republican (he remained mum on the subject himself) so TR naturally assumed that, as a loyal officer, he would support the renomination of his Commander-in-Chief. When Dewey subsequently announced he would, indeed, run for President, and under the Democratic banner, TR’s fury knew no bounds. Spector,
Admiral
, 106 ff., tells the full story of Dewey’s act of hubris.

108.
Ib., 104–5; Bee.261.

109.
TR had been hoping to ride in boots and breeches, as befitted a Colonel of Cavalry, but his brother-in-law Douglas Robinson protested that it would be “unwise, and … undignified.” Mor. 1072.

110.
Bee.261–2.

28: T
HE
M
AN OF
D
ESTINY

1.
See HCL to TR, Dec. 7, 1899, Lod.I.424. EKR to B, n.d., from Albany: “I think exactly as you do about the v.p. for Theodore—Cabot has a strange bias about it.” HCL to TR, July 12, 1899, LOD.

2.
Ada.275. See Jos.
passim
on HCL’s kingmaking role in TR’s life: “Much might be said of his strange behavior in this [vice-presidential] affair.” Ib. 108.

3.
Mor.1112.

4.
Ib., 1104.

5.
Ib., 1166; TR.Auto.318.

6.
A copy of the Message was sent to TCP by TR on Dec. 19, 1899.

7.
Che. 167–9. Even Elihu Root jibbed at the line about morality, and pointed out that most of the grand fortunes in America belonged to people whose industry and imagination had conferred “great benefits” on the community. “There is altogether too general an impression,” he chided TR, “that it is immoral to acquire wealth.” Dec. 13, 1899, qu. Che.170.

8.
Extracts from the Message are quoted in TR.Auto.324–5. Che.206; Pri.211.

9.
Che.94–5; Gos.207. See ib., 59–61 for Payn’s background.

10.
Pri.212.

11.
Che.92; TR.Auto.300. Significantly, TR chose to launch his investigation of Payn on May 27, 1899, the day of his big triumph on the Ford Bill. “If there has been any iniquity,” he wrote Secretary Youngs, “I wish we could discover it.” Che.93–4.

12.
TR.Auto.300.

13.
Che.95–6.

14.
Evening Post
, Dec. 13, 1899.

15.
Mor.1122–3.

16.
Che.172, 166–70.

17.
Ib., 172; TR.Auto.325; Che.251; Mor. 1320; Par. 127; Pinkett, Harold T.,
Gifford Pinchot, Private and Public Forester
(U. Illinois Press, 1970) 34, 53; Che.250. See Appendix A, “Conservation,” to Ch. 8 of TR.Auto., 323–325.

18.
Public Papers of Theodore Roosevelt, Governor
(Albany, 1900) 35–7;
N.Y.T
. clip, n.d., TRB; Che.251–3; Cut. 86–8. For Pinchot’s early and later relations with TR, see Pinchot, Gif-ford,
Breaking New Ground
(Harcourt Brace, 1947); Pinkett,
Pinchot;
Hays, Samuel P.,
Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890–1920
(NY, 1959). See Che.242–53 for a fuller discussion of TR’s environmental reforms at Albany. “All that I later strove for in the Nation in connection with conservation,” wrote TR in his
Autobiography
, “was foreshadowed by what I strove to obtain for New York State when I was Governor.” (299).

19.
Che.98; Mor.1131, 1130.

20.
Che.99–100.

21.
Mor.1131.

22.
Che.74, 101–3;
Eve. Post
, Jan. 19, 1900; TR. qu. Che.106.

23.
Pors.; FRE. int; Mor.1504. TR’s complex relations with Odell (which
lasted well into his presidency) are tracked by McC.,
passim
.

24.
Mor.1135–6; TR.Auto.302–3; Che. 107–108.

25.
Mor.1136.

26.
Che.108; TR.Auto.303.

27.
Ib. See also Che. 109. Ib. doubts that this meeting took place on the evening specified by TR, without offering any convincing proof that it did not.

28.
Ib.; Mor.1141.

29.
Sun
, Feb. 1, 1900; see also Mor. 1157 fn.

30.
Ib., 1157.

31.
Ib., 1139–40.

32.
Gar.213; Lee.530.

33.
HCL was Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Philippines. LOD.I. 404; Lee.338. For a clear-eyed analysis of the vexed subject of U.S. response to the Philippines insurrection, see Gov. 187–89.

34.
Mor.1343. See Bur.63 ff. for a short but excellent discussion of TR’s relations with the Philippines. Alfonso, Oscar S.,
Theodore Roosevelt and the Philippines
(NY, 1974) is the only book-length treatment of the subject.

35.
Mor. 1160–1. TR sent a similarly strong but courteous refusal to the Republican National Committeeman Henry Clay Payne. Ib., 1162.

36.
Mor.1157.

37.
Ib., 1161;
New York Tribune
, June 21, 1900.

38.
World
, Feb. 11, 1900; see
Trib.
, Feb. 13, 1900.

39.
Platt qu. Quigg, cit. Mor.1337. TR’s “rivals” included such minor figures as Cornelius Bliss, Timothy Woodruff, and John D. Long.

40.
Mor.489–50; Butler, Nicholas M.,
Across the Busy Years
(Scribner’s, 1940) 226.

41.
Lee.531–5.

42.
Butler,
Years
, 226.

43.
Mor.1276.

44.
Trib.
, Feb. 13, 1900;
New York Herald
, Apr. 27.

45.
Mor.1278; Dana to TR, Apr. 17, 1900, TRP.

46.
Mor.1291;
Trib.
, May 12, 1900.

47.
Foraker, Joseph,
Notes of a Busy Life
(Stewart & Kidd, 1917) 91–2. Foraker also claimed that McK said to him: “I hope you will not allow the convention to be stampeded for Roosevelt for Vice-President.” Qu. Lee.532. In view of the fact that TR and Foraker were bitter enemies later in life, this and the anecdote quoted in the text should be taken with caution.

48.
Long, Journal, May 10, 1900: “Personally, if I could be made Vice-President tomorrow, I should like it because of the honor.” LON. There are many other such wistful references in Long’s Journal and letters.

49.
Tha.II.342.

50.
Mor. 1264. TR had received similar warnings from Benjamin Odell and others. Ib.; Odell int. FRE.

51.
Butler,
Years
, 227; sketch, un. newspaper, in TRB; Pla.384 ff.

52.
Butler,
Years
, 227.

53.
Burton later attained the twin distinction of serving in the U.S. Senate and in a Federal prison. Ib., 228. Anecdote from Lafayette B. Gleason int. FRE. See also Butler,
Years
, 228. Robert B. Armstrong of the
Chicago Record
, who was eavesdropping outside on a fire escape, remembered the scene somewhat differently. TR, he wrote, was sitting on a wooden chair. Rising in a rage, as the others in the room sought to persuade him, he allegedly lifted the chair high and smashed it to the floor. Then he sighed, and capitulated. Memo in TRB.

54.
Butler,
Years
, 228; Lee.53
6
.

55.
Trib.
, June 21, 1900. Olcott, Charles S.,
The Life of William McKinley
(Houghton Mifflin, 1916) II.271 ff.; see also Lee.536; Morg.494.

56.
Lee.536; Olcott,
McKinley
, II.274.

57.
Sto.248; Butler,
Years
, 229.

58.
Lee.537.

59.
See Pri.220;
Trib.
, June 21, 1900. Lee.537.

60.
Olcott,
McK
, II.274–6; Morg.494–5;
Trib.
, June 21, 1900; Lee.537.

61.
Butler,
Years
, 229.

62.
Ib., 230–1; Lee.537.

63.
Reprinted in Mor.1337.

64.
Pri.221;
Her.
, June 20, 1900.

65.
N.Y.T.
, June 20, 1900; Olcott,
McKinley
, II.275–6.

66.
N.Y.T.
, June 20, 1900.

67.
Harper’s Weekly
, June 30, 1900; Morg.495; Lee.538; McK qu. Morg. 496.

68.
Marshall, Dexter, “The Real Story of How Roosevelt was Named for the Vice-Presidency,”
New York Press
, Dec. 8, 1907, is the source of much of the ensuing account. See also Mor. 1338 fn; Pla. 241 on Quay. Others echoed TCP’s opinion. See Abbot, Lawrence F.,
Impressions of TR
(Doubleday, 1919) 46; Sto.168.

69.
Pri.222.

70.
Quay had some Indian blood. See the moving account of his death in TR.Auto.158–161. Other descriptive material from Marshall, “The Real Story.”

71.
Ib.

72.
Ib.

73.
Ib. See ib. for Quay’s further motives in using this victory to get himself back into the Senate.

74.
Her.
, June 21, 1900; Watson, James E.,
As I Knew Them: Memoirs
(Indianapolis, 1936), 58.

75.
Albert Shaw, qu. Rii., memo in TRB; Rob.196.

76.
World
, June 21, 1900;
Her.
, June 22;
Harper’s Weekly
, June 30.

77.
World
, June 22, 1900; Mor.1340.

78.
World
, June 22, 1900.

79.
“Rose Coghlan’s Vivid Pen-Picture,” in ib. Miss Coghlan was herself an accomplished actress.

80.
Entire speech reprinted in TR.Wks. XIV.342–5.

81.
World
, June 22, 1900.

82.
Her.
, June 22, 1900.

83.
Mor.1342; ib., 1343.

84.
TR’s entire campaign itinerary is given in Mor.1508–10.
Philadelphia Record
, Nov. 4, 1900;
Her.
, Oct. 21. Bryan’s comparative figures were: 546 speeches, 493 towns, 18 states, 2,500,000 people addressed. For an extended discussion of the political issues raised by TR in the campaign, see Har.136–43.

Other books

Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
Too Darn Hot by Pamela Burford
Nicolae: The Rise Of The Antichrist by Lahaye, Tim, Jenkins, Jerry B.
Yankee Earl by Henke, Shirl
The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser
Seeing Other People by Gayle, Mike
Wings of Fire by Charles Todd
Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis C. Chen
Finding Christmas by Jeannie Moon