An admirable pamphlet just issued in New York, on "
Roosevelt and the Presidency," and signed by " A Spectator," gives a clear and convincing summary of the present political situation in the United States. The writer points out that the present Republican disaffection towards Mr. Roosevelt springs largely from the captiousness which at times seizes a great party, and thinks that he must be nominated, and if nominated elected, simply because there can be no alternative. The Democrats are thoroughly disorganised, and there is no other possible Republican. The opposition to Mr. Roosevelt arises from his crusade against the Trusts, his action in the Panama case, and a general fear that he may follow a too impulsive policy. With regard to the first ground, the writer points out that it is ridiculous to complain of a Presi- dent for enforcing the law. " Never since the Reconstruction period has there been so much need of a vivid sense of the supremacy of law as now." In the Panama business, unless we are to accept the absurd accusation of complicity, which no one believes, the President followed the ordinary etiquette of foreign affairs. The pamphlet concludes with an excellent defence of Mr. Roosevelt's integrity and vigour, which the writer thinks, though he differs from some of its manifestations, a most necessary and wholesome element in American political life.
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