Life — March 2, 1916 — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“THEODORE, IF YOU DON’T STOP TAUNTING ME ABOUT UNPREPAREDNESS I'LL JUST SLAP YOU ON THE WRIST” Moses, but he is an admirable Aaron; a great minister. Yoke him up with his proper Moses and it is a great combi- nation, Moses to strike the rock, Aaron to direct the gush. x Now, heretofore, Mr, Root’s Moses has been Roosevelt. The two of them together would be a real alternative to Mr. Wilson and his Aaron. We want an alternative. We don’t know what will happen from day to day from now to November, or how tired we may get of the present admin- istration. Things may work out so fa- vorably to it that we shall want it to go on, but if not, we shall be loath to turn to a new experiment. For better or worse we think we know the combi- nation of Roosevelt and Root, and if we were badly enough scared or dis- gusted we might turn to that if we had a chance. But can it be offered us? Can Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Root get together and work together again, and can they unite the Republican party? It is hard to turn back the hands of the political clock. It would be hard to put William Barnes to work again for Roosevelt. The old Republican party and the Pro- gressives are still as far apart as any two political groups in the country. One stands for the old order, the other for a new one; yet they can do nothing 393 unless they can get together, and the most signal token of reunion would be the recombination of Roosevelt and Root. When the Republican party came to be half hog half bull it was turned out. There were enough people who wished neither to be trampled in the trough nor tossed in the air to put the Democrats in office. If the exigencies of the world-crisis can be made to supersede all other considerations and all former orders, the Republicans and the Progressives may get together and make a for- midable fight for the. Presidency. If they can, let 'em, but it will be some months yet before we can tell what they can do, and meanwhile the world- fire is burning fast and Mr. Wilson and his political family are all we have to meet it with. Their chance is not gone yet. It strengthens Mr. Wilson's hands in some respects for the country to grow more impatient than he is, Mr. Bryan is out speech-making for the pacifist attitude which helps to bring his views and the President's in sharper contrast. What damage Mr. Garrison's resignation did the admin- istration in the eyes of persons who favor military preparation is likely to be made good by this sharp detachment of Mr. Bryan, HE opinions of the Boston lawyers’ about proprieties in practice in the case of Mr. Brandeis have been very interesting. A season of candor in which lawyers say what they think about lawyers is obviously adapted to hasten the millennium. The laity would greatly appreciate a like season in New York wherein the brethren of the bar should discuss all the ethics of Interborough fees, and many other in- teresting matters of legal detail. There are very able gentlemen in New York, and not all Gentile gentlemen, whom the public, and perhaps even the Bar Asso- ciation, would be greatly interested to see stand trial for the United States Supreme Court in case the selection now pending should fail in the Senate, comicbooks.com