84 Presidential Addresses 



terestedly. Nothing can come to Root in the way 

 of reward save the reward that is implied in the 

 knowledge that he has done something of incalcu 

 lable importance which hardly another man in the 

 Union no other man that I know of could have 

 done as well as he has done it. He has before him 

 continually questions of the utmost intricacy to de 

 cide, questions upon which life and death hang, 

 questions the decision of which will affect our whole 

 future world policy, questions which affect the wel 

 fare of the millions of people with whom we have 

 been brought into such intimate contact by the 

 events of the Spanish War, whose welfare must be 

 a prime consideration from now on with every 

 American public man worthy to serve his country. 

 Root has done this work with the certainty of at 

 tack, with the certainty of misunderstanding, with 

 the certainty of being hampered by ignorance (and 

 worse than ignorance). And yet he has created, 

 not for himself but for the nation also, a wonderful 

 triumph from all these adverse forces. 



Those three men have rendered inestimable ser 

 vice to the American people. I can do nothing for 

 them. I can show my appreciation of them in no 

 way save the wholly insufficient one of standing up 

 for them, and for their work; and that I will do 

 as long as I have tongue to speak! 



