26 



The National Geographic Magazine 



and the flag were going to part com- 

 pany. Mr Dooley spoke of the Su- 

 preme Court, as you remember, as say- 

 ing that four of them say the Constitu- 

 tion do follow the flag and four of them 

 say it do not; and then Mr Justice 

 Brown said, "You are wrong; some- 

 times it do follow the flag, and some- 

 times it do not, and I am the man to 

 tell you when it do and when it do not." 

 (Laughter.) 



In deference to that method of de- 

 scribing the decision of the Supreme 

 Court, and the effect of it, it seems to 

 me proper to say that nobody — expan- 

 sionist, imperialist, or anti-imperialist — 

 has ever really contended that the Con- 

 sitution does not follow the flag. The 

 question is not whether the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States is in force in 

 the Philippine Islands or in Porto Rico, 

 or in Hawaii, or in the Canal Zone, or 

 in Alaska, but the question is what par- 

 ticular restriction or limitation of the 

 Constitution is applicable to the par- 

 ticular place. 



It has been my fortune and the for- 

 tune of the lady who has linked her 

 fortune with mine, to be somewhat 

 peripatetic during the last four years, 

 and I assume that it is that fact that en- 

 titles us to the consideration of the 

 National Geographic Society. (Laugh- 

 ter.) I beg to announce that our trav- 

 eling is over, that we have ceased to be 

 the peripatetic members of this admin- 

 istration, and that hereafter Secretary 

 Root and Mrs Root will be found to fill 

 that honorable position. (Laughter.) 

 The Brazilian Minister and his lady, 

 who do us the honor of being present 

 tonight, have advised us that Secretary 

 Root has agreed to go to Brazil to at- 

 tend the Pan-American Convention at 

 Rio Janeiro. Now I advise the Brazil- 

 ian Ambassador to interrogate Mr 

 Root each month and each week, as to 

 whether he is going, because I have 

 had an experience with the Secretary of 

 State before he became the Secretary 



of State as to the value of promises of 

 that kind. He agreed to go with me to 

 the Philippines, and I interrogated him 

 each month and he promised each 

 month until July, when he failed me. 

 But it was his loss that he did not go 

 (laughter), as Senator Newlands will 

 testify. 



We are getting up a society of the 

 Philippine trip, and we are getting it 

 up because we find that we have talked 

 so much about the trip that nobody 

 will listen to us except those who were 

 on the trip (laughter), and we are de- 

 termined to have an audience. The 

 jokes which we regarded as exclusive 

 and well worthy of constant repetition 

 seem to tire even those members of our 

 families that ought to respect us, and 

 especially ought to respect the jokes, 

 however old ; but family discipline 

 wanes and we are made aware of the 

 necessity, as I say, of an organization, 

 an exclusive club of the visitors to the 

 Philippines. 



Seriously, ladies and gentlemen, I am 

 very grateful for the honor conferred 

 upon Mrs Taft and myself tonight by 

 this very magnificent dinner and as- 

 semblage. I feel deeply the humilia- 

 tion of not having been able to prepare 

 something worthy of your hearing, and 

 for that lack you must charge the cor- 

 rupt management of your association. 

 (Laughter and applause.) 



The Toastmaster 



It has been stated that when the 

 present Secretary of War was Gov- 

 ernor of the Philippines there came a 

 rumor to Washington that he was in 

 bad health, and the present Secretary 

 of State, who was then Secretary of 

 War, cabled over to the Philippines 

 and asked what was the truth of the 

 matter. The Governor of the Philip- 

 pines answered that there was no truth 

 in the rumor; that he had actually rid- 

 den fifty miles on horseback that day 

 without dismounting, and had arrived 



