citizens are familiar with them. Not a few of these opponents of a second term believe that their views should be enforced by an amendment of the Constitution. The matter is one, however, that the people themselves are able to meet in their own discretion from time to time. All Presidents, if we mistake not, since the early period of the Constitution, have desired and sought reëlection; President Hayes being, perhaps, the sole exception. It is a fact, however, that since the reëlection of Andrew Jackson in 1832, the American people have not seen fit to give any man two consecutive terms, excepting only Lincoln and Grant. For various reasons, it is not easy, under ordinary circumstances, to reelect a President. The incumbent who runs for a second term too often finds arrayed against him not only the consolidated opposition forces that fly the banner of the rival party, but also the indifference or the veiled hostility of many people in his own party, including hordes of disappointed office-seekers. The men who control

national conventions have learned how to esti mate all such considerations. It is, therefore, It is, therefore, not only a testimony to their belief that the conditions are exceptional, but also a clear evidence of their personal confidence in Mr. McKinley, and their warm regard for him, that they should have agreed with such freedom from doubt or hesitation that it was both safe and wise to make him their candidate a second time.

What Is

Whatever might have been known to Thought of the some individuals, it had certainly not President. been apparent to the public that Mr. McKinley had either exerted himself to secure a renomination, on the one hand, or said or done anything, on the other hand, in pretense that he did not wish it. So far as the public knew anything about it, Mr. McKinley had left the question wholly to the discretion of the party itself. His dignity in the matter had been absolutely unimpaired. It is not only since he came into the presidential office that he has exhibited tact and the ability to get along well with men. Through a long Congressional career, in which at many times he took extreme positions on pub. lic questions that were involved in the most raging controversy, Mr. McKinley held the personal good-will and friendship, not only of his Republican colleagues, but also of the Democratic members of the House. And this was not merely the politician's studied art of making friends and avoiding enmities, but rather the result of a gentleness and kindliness entirely compatible with strong convictions and firmness of purpose. Throughout his whole career, Mr. McKinley has been much more free than most successful pub.

lic men from self-consciousness and vanity; and his air and manner have always been of a kind to be characterized not so much by the word unselfishness as by the word self-forgetfulness.

Two

Sketches.

In short, there are many hundreds Character of men who know Mr. McKinley well, Democrats and Republicans alike, who testify that he is a courteous and manly Christian gentleman, whom they sincerely esteem for his admirable personal qualities. His work as a statesman and administrator is, of course, a matter about which opinions may differ widely. We publish elsewhere an article which is in some sense a personal character sketch of him, but is more particularly devoted to a review of his public work as President during the more than three years that have elapsed since he entered the White House, on March 4, 1897. It is not an article that purports to be written from the impartial and critical attitude of an outside observer. On the contrary, it comes from the pen of one who is close to the President and very loyally and heartily devoted to him. It is none the less the honest and sincere expression of its writer. Incidentally, it may be said here that the article which we also publish this month regarding Mr. Bryan, and which is from the pen of Dr. Charles B. Spahr, of New York, is also written in the spirit of full sympathy with its subject. And it also is a perfectly honest and sincere estimate set forth by a man of rare mental acumen and entire devotion to the truth as he sees it in all things, who knows Mr. Bryan intimately. We shall have occasion again, doubtless, to refer to Dr. Spahr's article about the gentleman who will in a few days receive the Democratic nomination at Kansas City. Let all men, of whatever party, try hard to believe, this year, that as private individuals and fellow-citizens the gentlemen who will head the opposing tickets are far above the reach of any darts of malice. Let each side vigorously suppress its cheap slanderers and defamers, and let the campaign be free from offensive personalities as regards Mr. McKinley on the one hand and Mr. Bryan on the other.

mous about that matter also. Several excellent candidates were named outside of the convention hall, not one of whom was fomenting any eager propaganda on his own behalf. Many Massachusetts and other New England delegates were prepared to support the Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy. The Hon. J. P. Dolli

The Movement

Soon after the death of Vice-Presifor dent Hobart, last November, it was Roosevelt. reported that the Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of War, would almost undoubtedly be the nominee this year for the Vice-Presidency. His name had been so generally agreed upon that it was admitted on all hands that no other name would be offered to the convention, unless Mr. Root should positively decline to accept a place on the ticket. The wisdom of the selection was heartily concurred in by Republicans in all parts of the country. Mr. Root, however, on reflection, came to the conclusion that he did not wish and could not afford to take so inactive a position. He made this decision firmly; his wishes were respected, and his name was no longer used in that connection. This declaration came, as we remember it, in January. Other names were then freely canvassed among Republicans, and among them that of Governor Roosevelt, of New York. The prospect was so little to Mr. Roosevelt's taste, and so out of the line of his aspirations and preferences, that he decided to go fur

HON. JOHN D. LONG, OF MASSACHUSETTS.

(Secretary of the Navy.)

ver, of Iowa, had been brought forward by the delegation from his own State at the urgent request of a great number of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives at Washington. The Minnesota delegation had been instructed to present the name of ex-Senator W. D. Washburn, if it should seem propitious to do SO. A good many of the delegates from States still further northwest were favorable to the Hon. Bartlett Tripp, of South Dakota. The lieutenantgovernor of the State of New York, the Hon. Timothy L. Woodruff, had a strong support among his own constituents, and the great delegation of the Empire State at length unanimously agreed at Philadelphia to present him. The names of a good many other favorite sons were on the lips of the members of various State delegations. But there was no name found among all these candidates that seemed to meet the demands of a convention that proposed to do all things on the principle of perfect unanimity. With nothing else for delegates to discuss in the hotel corridors, the topic grew absorbing.

HON. J. P. DOLLIVER, OF IOWA.

ther than Mr. Root had gone, and not only to inform the party leaders in private of his decision, but also to prepare a formal statement for the public and give it to the press. This he did on February 12. It was as follows:

In view of the continued statements in the press that I may be urged as a candidate for Vice-President, and in view of the many letters that reach me advising for and

against such a course, it is proper for me to state definitely that under no circumstances could I, or would I, accept the nomination for the Vice-Presidency. It is needless to say how deeply I appreciate the honor conferred upon me by the mere desire to place me in so high and dignified a position. But it seems to me clear that at the present time my duty is here in the State whose people chose me to be governor. Great problems have been faced and are being partly solved in this State at this time; and, if the people so desire, I hope that the work thus begun I may help to carry to a successful conclusion.

How the

But it

The governor's position was apparMovement ently understood and accepted by Was Revived. everybody. Mr. Hanna, the Administration leader, ceased to consider him among the possible candidates for the Vice-Presidency. A governor is to be elected this year in the State of New York, and the demand among Republicans that Colonel Roosevelt should be accorded a second term seemed general and urgent. It was felt that he was as admirably fitted for the arduous and difficult duties of the chief executive of the great commonwealth of New York as he was, in every way, ill adapted to the passive and functionless role of the Vice-Presidency. Moreover, it was also felt that in no other way could the State be so certainly held by the Republicans this year as with Roosevelt renominated for his present office. This was his own attitude, and it had received the indorsement of Senator Platt and all the party leaders. so happened that the governor had supported and signed the so-called Ford franchise tax bill, under which street railway and other corporations holding valuable and lucrative franchises are required to pay taxes on the value of such franchises. Such corporations, in New York as elsewhere in the United States, are in politics. And it is a leading part of their business to make it desirable for political managers to be deferential to their wishes. Governor Roosevelt had not been deferential. They therefore decided that he ought to be put out of New York politics; and they are said to have made practical representations of their views. The Republican organization, headed by Mr. Platt, was led to the conclusion that the governor would be a weak candidate for another term, and that it would be altogether desirable for him to take the Vice-Presidency. In fairness, it should be added that the governor's belief in very radical canal improvements was said to have alienated the farmers in certain parts of the State, who are greatly opposed to this colossal enterprise. The Republican organization, in short, took the ground that Roosevelt would run brilliantly if named for Vice-President, and badly if named for governor.

Developed.

The governor and many of his friends How It Was held the view that the very thing which might have made him unpopular with certain corporations was sure to make him strong with the voters; and that the threat to drive him out of New York politics would do as much as anything else to assure him popular victory. This revival of the talk of Governor Roosevelt as a Vice-Presidential candidate came just before the opening of the convention at Philadelphia. The governor adhered to his position, however, and reiterated his decision. Mr. Quay, Pennsylvania's unrivaled political

SENATOR ALLISON, OF IOWA.

great

manager, was called upon to aid in solving the Vice-Presidential problem, and in a few hours Pennsylvania's great group of delegates was added to that under Mr. Platt's control from New York in active promotion of the plan to confer the nomination upon the unwilling governor. The programme was aided not a little by the fact that the administration itself, as represented by Senator Hanna, had not selected a candidate, but had left the matter to take its chances in the convention. It is true that Senator Allison, of lowa, had been urgently requested to accept the position; and, if he had been willing, it would have been his unanimously. Mr. Allison did not want it, and had said so in a tone that was entirely conclusive. Meanwhile,

But

Governor Roosevelt 3 unbounded popularity in the Far West, and the devotion to him of the young Republicans of the Middle West, began to crystallize about the nucleus that had been provided in the definite action of the Pennsylvania men. The two movements taken together quickly reached the point where unanimous agreement upon any other name seemed impossible; and it was fated that all things in this convention should be done without a dissenting voice. A series of Western States, like Kansas and Colorado, where Populism and Bryanism are especially strong, demanded that Roosevelt should cept. All important ele. ments in the convention soon reached the same conclusion. His terse and vig orous speech seconding Senator Foraker, who had proposed President McKinley's name for renomina. tion, added the final touch. His name was presented by the Hon. Lafayette Young, secretary of the Iowa dele. gation, in a speech withdrawing Mr. Dolliver and eulogizing the man whom Mr. Young himself had accompanied in the Santiago campaign. Governor Roose. velt received every vote in the convention-excepting, of course, his own.

ac

ress of the Presidential campaign, the editor of this Magazine asked Mr. Roosevelt, who was then president of the New York Police Board under Mayor Strong, to write an article on the office of the Vice-Presidency, together with comments upon the three prominent Vice-Presidential candidates; namely, Mr. Hobart, Mr. Sewall, and Mr. Watson, of Georgia. A very interesting article was forthwith produced, and

it will be found in the REVIEW OF REVIEWS for September, 1896. Among other things in that article well worthy of citation, Mr. Roosevelt made the following remarks:

The Vice-President should, so far as possible, represent the same views and principles which have secured the nomination and election of the President, and he should be a man standing well in the councils of the party, trusted by his fellow party-leaders, and able, in

the event of any accident to his chief, to take up the work of the latter just where it was left. . . . One sure way to secure this desired result would undoubtedly be to increase the power of the Vice-President. He should always be a man who would be consulted by the President on every great party question. It would be very well if he were given a seat in the cabinet. It might be well if, in addition to his vote in the Senate in the event of a tie, he should be given a vote on ordinary occasions, and perchance on occasions a voice in the debates. A man of the character of Mr. Hobart is sure to make his weight felt in an administration, but the power of thus exercising influence should be made official rather than personal.

These suggestions touching the official status of the Vice-President were, of course, made in connection with a theoretical and historical discussion rather than as a matter of immediate urgency. It is needless to add that Governor Roosevelt would not for a moment have permitted himself to be nominated if he had not felt that he could meet his own tests as to the necessity of harmonious relations between the Vice-President and the Administration. Mr. McKinley,

Future. Roosevelt, be it said, has made no sacrifice of principle. Through all his public life he has shown himself willing to do hard work steadfastly in positions where no one could accuse him of seeking anything else except the service of his country through his party. It is exactly in that

spirit that he yielded his own preferences at Philadelphia to what finally came to him as a unanimous party demand. We do not believe the sacrifice ought to have been demanded; but doing what he believes to be his duty has become a fixed habit with Theodore Roosevelt. His friends will not for a moment attribute to him any reason for changing his decision at Philadelphia other than his belief that it was his duty. The party to which he now shows such loyalty will have a strong sense of allegiance to him in return. He will be forty-six years old on October 27, 1904. If one must indulge in predictions, it is far safer to prophesy that he has thirty-five or forty years of active and valuable public life yet before him than to assume that the Vice-Presidency would necessarily end his political career. Four years of constant observation and study of national affairs from the safe vantage-point of the chair of the presiding officer of the Senate, added to Governor Roosevelt's existing qualifications as an executive officer, would make him unquestionably the best-equipped man for the