Perhaps the chief event of the week has been Mr. Roosevelt's
speech at the Guildhall. Timid, fussy, and pedantic people have
charged Mr. Roosevelt with all sorts of crimes because he had the
courage to speak out, and have even accused him of unfriendliness
to this country because of his criticisms. Happily the British
people as a whole are not so foolish. Instinctively they have
recognized and thoroughly appreciated the good feeling of Mr.
Roosevelt's speech. Only true friends speak as he spoke.... The
barrel-organs, of course, grind out the old tune about Mr.
Roosevelt's tactlessness. In reality he is a very tactful as well
as a very shrewd man. It is surely the height of tactfulness to
recognize that the British people are sane enough and sincere
enough to like being told the truth. His speech is one of the
greatest compliments ever paid to a people by a statesman of
another country.... Mr. Roosevelt has made exactly the kind of
speech we expected him to make--a speech strong, clear, fearless.
He has told us something useful and practical, and has not lost
himself in abstractions and platitudes.... The business of a
trustee is not to do what the subject of the trust likes or thinks
he likes, but to do, however much he may grumble, what is in his
truest and best interests. Unless a trustee is willing to do that,
and does not trouble about abuse, ingratitude, and accusations of
selfishness, he had better give up his trust altogether.... We
thank Mr. Roosevelt once again for giving us so useful a reminder
of our duty in this respect.
These notes of approval were repeated in a great number of letters
which Mr. Roosevelt received from men and women in all walks of life,
men in distinguished official position and "men in the street." There
were some abusive letters, chiefly anonymous, but the general tone of
this correspondence is fairly illustrated by the following:
Allow me, an old colonist in his eighty-fourth year, to thank you
most heartily for your manly address at the Guildhall and for your
life-work in the cause of humanity. If I ever come to the great
Republic, I shall do myself the honor of seeking an audience of
your Excellency. I may do so on my one hundredth birthday! With
best wishes and profound respect.
The envelope of this letter was addressed to "His Excellency
'Govern-or-go' Roosevelt." That the _Daily Telegraph_ and that the
"man in the street" should independently seize upon this salient point
of the address--the "govern-or-go" theory--is significant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account