Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star: War-time Editorials

by Theodore Roosevelt

IV

In the 1916 campaign Colonel Roosevelt and The Star were of the same mind. Deeply attached to the principles on which the battle of 1912 had been conducted by the Progressive Party, they were conscious of the futility of continuing the fight for those principles in a third party. The American devotion to the two-party system had been convincingly demonstrated again. The World War had been in progress two years, the Lusitania had been sunk without stirring the Administration to more than impotent words. Both thought that the Republican Party presented the only hope of accomplishment. Colonel Roosevelt was The Star’s choice for the nomination, but his nomination was too much to expect after the break of 1912, and it gave its support to Mr. Hughes.

Early in June, 1917, Mr. Irwin Kirkwood, Mr. Nelson’s son-in-law, on his way West from New York, chanced to meet Colonel Roosevelt on the train. A visit in the Colonel’s stateroom followed. The conversation turned to the seeming impossibility of a Roosevelt division for France, a subject in which Mr. Kirkwood was personally interested, for he had been assured service in France if the Colonel’s ambition were realized. The Colonel was discouraged over his failure to get active service and restless at the Administration’s slow preparation for war. Of the Nation’s whole-hearted support of the war he was certain, and the high thought with him at the time was to bring influences to bear on the Administration to speed up.

At this time Colonel Roosevelt was contributing a monthly article for The Metropolitan Magazine written long in advance of its publication. Daily, momentous problems of the war were coming up. Mr. Kirkwood felt strongly that the American people were eager to know what Theodore Roosevelt thought on these questions. If he could reach the public quickly, great good would result to this country’s cause. Recalling that Mr. Nelson had said, when there was criticism of the ex-President’s purpose to write for The Outlook, when it was first announced, he would be mighty glad to have him write for The Star, Mr. Kirkwood said:

“Colonel Roosevelt, wouldn’t it be fine if you could get your ideas on the war to the people before they were twenty-four hours old? The only way that could be done is through a newspaper.”

“By George!” said the Colonel, with emphasis, “I never thought of that: it sounds like a good idea.”

Mr. Kirkwood said if he would consider the suggestion, The Star would certainly welcome him.

“Such a proposition would not tempt me from many newspapers,” Colonel Roosevelt continued. “In fact I know of no others except The Kansas City Star and The Philadelphia North American from which I would consider it. The Star particularly appeals to me as being printed in the heart of the great progressive Middle Western country, and because, too, of my love and affection for Colonel Nelson.”

Colonel Roosevelt remarked that he would like to discuss the proposal with Mrs. Roosevelt and his daughter, Mrs. Nicholas Longworth, for he had great confidence in the judgment of both. On Mr. Kirkwood’s return to New York a fortnight later, Colonel Roosevelt said he was still “filled up” with the idea and asked Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood out to dinner at Oyster Bay with Mrs. Roosevelt and himself. Mrs. Kirkwood was unable to go. Mr. Kirkwood again discussed the proposal. Colonel Roosevelt’s position was that if The Star was still unafraid, he was willing to start. The next time the Colonel came to New York he had tea with Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood, and there was a further full and frank discussion.

“You, of course, know what you are doing,” Colonel Roosevelt said. “Many people do not like my ideas and probably many of your subscribers will be perfectly furious at The Star for printing my editorials.”

Both Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood assured him full consideration had been given to that phase, and while it was possible he and The Star might not always agree, that fact would not stand in the way of the arrangement.

So the agreement was there entered into. Colonel Roosevelt suggested that as 1920 was a presidential year the connection be for two years or until October, 1919, to which Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood assented.

Colonel Roosevelt said he never pretended to be much of a business man, but a formal contract was the usual thing; he had one with The Metropolitan. Anyhow he would gladly sign it. He was asked if he desired a contract and answered he did not.

“You understand and we do—” said Mr. Kirkwood.

Without waiting for the sentence to be finished, Colonel Roosevelt said quickly, “That’s all I want to know. Let’s don’t bother with a contract.”

And on that basis the Colonel wrote for The Star until his death.

Early in September I was delegated to go to New York, as Managing Editor of The Star, to discuss with the Colonel the details of his work for the paper. I met him at a hotel in Fifty-Seventh Street where he went on the days he came in from Oyster Bay. Mrs. Roosevelt was with him. Roosevelt was in high spirits, which was no uncommon thing. I recall vividly my introduction to Mrs. Roosevelt.

“Edith,” he said, leading me into the room where Mrs. Roosevelt was, “here is my new boss!”

I didn’t say it, but the thought came to me that I would prefer the task of “bossing” a tornado.

The talk that followed was that The Star had no desire to guide what he wrote; that it desired him to write whatever was in him, and it would print it. The Colonel said that was exactly what he wanted; he could do nothing else. We discussed the distribution over the country of his writings, which he left entirely to The Star, with the request that they be not offered to certain newspapers which had long shown a spirit of personal animosity to him and of habitual hostility toward his principles, a suggestion which was wholly agreeable to The Star. He asked about the length and frequency of the articles he was to write. It was agreed that an editorial of around five hundred words was ideal, and at the start there would be two contributions a week. Later they were more frequent. The Colonel said he would probably find it difficult to keep down to five hundred words, but he recognized the limitations of newspaper space and would do his best.

“Now,” he said, “if I get too highbrow, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’m no tender flower; I can stand criticism.”

His secretary had come into the room to receive dictation from accumulated correspondence. I arose to go. “Stay with us,” the Colonel said, “until I finish this; you are a member of the family now.”

Short, crisp sentences came from him as he dictated, each with the animation of a face-to-face conversation with the writers of the letters.

It was arranged that the Colonel was to take up his duties the first of October, and a few days after this meeting announcement was made the country over that Theodore Roosevelt was to write for The Kansas City Star. Immediately applications for the right to print the articles poured in from newspapers throughout the country.

Colonel Roosevelt came West in September on a speaking tour which included Kansas City. So he came into the office of The Star on the morning of September 22, 1917, and went to a desk which had been assigned him, with the remark, “The cub reporter will now begin work.” He was fond of that designation and often in conversation referred to himself as “The Star’s cub reporter.” With pencil he wrote out on newspaper copy-paper, with much scratching and interlining, the editorial, “Blood, Iron, and Gold,” which appeared the following day. His first editorial, however, was, a short time before, written on suggestion of Mr. Kirkwood, a brief piece on the death of Dr. W. S. Fitzsimons, of Kansas City, who was killed by a bomb in an airplane attack on a hospital in France—the first American officer to fall in the war.

The same day Colonel Roosevelt wrote another editorial for later publication. He was good nature itself that Saturday morning in the office, joked and chatted with members of the staff, and seemed to be enjoying the novelty of his new connection.

The following Sunday there was a luncheon of The Star family at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood, at which the “new cub reporter” made himself thoroughly at home. Editors, reporters, and men of the mechanical and circulation departments were there and had luncheon with the Colonel. He mingled with all and took delight in chatting with them of their work. During the afternoon he made an informal talk to “the family” out on the lawn, in which he commended the spirit of working together shown in the expression “The Star family.” He spoke, too, of his long acquaintance with the aims and purposes of Mr. Nelson which were the aims and purposes of The Star, and said, as he had said before, that The Star was one of two daily newspapers with which he would be proud of a connection.

The arrangement was that Colonel Roosevelt was to telegraph his editorials to The Star from Oyster Bay or wherever he was when he wrote them. They were put in type in The Star office and sent out from there for simultaneous publication in a selected list of about fifty newspapers. These included the best-known newspapers in the country and represented every section. The service was without charge beyond telegraph tolls, it being The Star’s wish to give the widest diffusion possible to Colonel Roosevelt’s ideas on the conduct of the war through the best channel in each city.

Frequently there were suggestions from The Star to the Colonel. Always he was gracious in his treatment of those suggestions, invariably writing along the lines indicated and often amplifying and bettering them. On the other hand—except in two instances—the Colonel’s editorials were printed just as they were written, and if any change in copy were considered advisable it was made only after he had been consulted by wire and had approved it.

From the start the country was much interested in the expressions from the Colonel. The newspapers which received them printed them faithfully and conspicuously. However, the service had been in operation not more than a fortnight before there came rumbles of disapproval and doubt, almost altogether from newspapers published south of Mason and Dixon’s Line.

One of the early editorials, entitled “Sam Weller and Mr. Snodgrass,” presented Uncle Sam, “eight months after Germany went to war with us, and we severed relations with Germany as the first move in our sixty days’ stern foremost drift into, not going to, war,” as the boastful Mr. Snodgrass, still taking off his coat and announcing in a loud voice what he was about to do. This drew from the mayor of Abilene, Texas, the following letter to The Star-Telegram, of Fort Worth, Texas, which was publishing the Roosevelt articles:

Abilene, Texas, October 3, 1917. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Tex. The Roosevelt article appearing in your paper of this date is nothing short of the expression of the thoughts of a seditious conspirator who should be shot dead, and, the Editor-in-Chief of your paper should be tarred and feathered for publishing it, and your paper should be excluded from the mails of the United States. You may publish this if you wish, and stop my paper.

E. N. Kirby
Mayor of Abilene

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram promptly published Mayor Kirby’s letter, under the caption “The Retort Courteous,” adding the following:

The Editor-in-Chief presents his compliments to the Mayor of Abilene and begs to say that should he conclude personally to conduct a tar and feather expedition in our direction, he will experience no great difficulty in locating the said Editor-in-Chief. Meanwhile we can assure him that his reception will not be lacking in hospitality or warmth.

The mayor of Abilene and the editor did not meet. Later, in an editorial devoted to apologists for the delay in making war who were saying, “Why cry over spilt milk?” Colonel Roosevelt referred to the incident, saying:

Recently the mayor of Abilene, Texas, expressed his disapproval of my pointing out that we, as a Nation, had wholly failed to prepare, by saying that I was “a seditious conspirator who ought to be shot dead,” and that the editor of the newspaper publishing the article “should be tarred and feathered.” Although differing in method of expression, this slight homicidal bleat of the gentle-souled (and doubtless entirely harmless) mayor of Abilene, Texas, is exactly similar in thought to the utterances of all these sheeplike creatures who raise quavering or incoherent protests against every honest and patriotic man who points out the damage done by our failure to prepare.