I  aiii  willing  to  a„dmit  it  but  at  the t same  time,  cling  to  the 
belief  that  Wilson  s  going  over  there  at  this  time  was  a  bit  of 
monumental  conceit.  Col.  Rosevelt's  son*  Theodore  is  credited 
with  having  said  that  his  father  always  wanted  to  be  the "whole 
cneese  to . such  an  extent  that  if  he  went  to  a  funeral,  he  would 
not  be  satisfied  unless  he  took  the  place  of  the  corpse. 
When  it  comes  to  this  sort  of  thing,  I  feel  that  Wilson  has 
one  on  the  Colonel,  Whan  it  comes  to  the  final  accounting  for 
nis  stewardship,  Wilson's  unwillingness  to  surround  himself 
with  capable  assistants  is  going  to  weigh  heavily.  Just  now 
we  are  keeping  still  because  it  does  not  do  any  good  to  raile 
at  the  resident  while  peace  is  still  undetermined  but  I  know 
Hat  his  desire  to  run  everthing  hims&lf  has  cost  the  country 
+;1I12nS  dollars  that  could  have  been  saved  easily.  The  waste 
that ^has  taken  place  in  the  organization  of  the  army  is  almost 
scandalous .  That  is  not  generaly  known  now  because  the  men  who 
have  the  informtion  are  for  the  most  part  still  in  the  service 
and  have  to  keep  still. 
course,  it  wont  help  matters  any  and  it  wont  bring  back 
S;as;V°,  talk  about  it  but  it  does  get  my  goat  to  hear  people 
auout  what  a  great  man  Wilson  is  and  to  compare  him  with  * 
Lincoin  and  Washington.  Neither  of  them  ever  said  we  were  too 
Proud  to  fight. 
change  tne  subject  and  draw  to  a  close,  Madeleine  is 
spending  tne  winter  with  her  mother.  Our  place  is  somewhat 
and,it  would  be  rather  hard  for  her  to  be  alone 
with  the. children  through  the  winter.  The  boys  are  all  well 
Eacil  "tame  I  am  on  leave,  they  surprise  me 
whS  Tl  i^ey  Srw-  bab^  S^ett,  is  as  smart  as  a 
whip  and  1  believe  he  really  likes  me  though  he  has  seen  so 
little  of  me  ever  since  he  was  old  enough  to  know  anything. 
aiSre+J  trlo>  ®acil  entirely  different  from  the  other. 
t .Qtfq  they  Wlbl  be  when  they  srow  up*  Certainly  their 
tastes  will  be  very  different. 
If  I. should  neglect  you  again  for  as  long  a  time,  do  write 
vouaS,  th  d  bhe  fact  and  the..  I'  wont  have  to  inflict 
you  with  an  epistle  like  this  again. 
Witn  most  cordial  regards,  bo  yourself  and  Mr.  Brewster, 
Sincerely  yours. 
