第55章

answeredhim，“ThetroublewithRodneyisthathemisestimateshisrelationstocosmos“；towhichheresponded，“Cosmos——Cosmos？Neverheardofhim。YousticktoRodney。He’syourman！”Outsideofthepublicservantsthereweremultitudesofmen，innewspaperoffices，inmagazineoffices，inbusinessortheprofessionsoronfarmsorinshops，whoactivelysupportedthepoliciesforwhichIstoodanddidworkofgenuineleadershipwhichwasquiteaseffectiveasanyworkdonebymeninpublicoffice。WithouttheactivesupportofthesemenIwouldhavebeenpowerless。Inparticular，theleadingnewspapercorrespondentsatWashingtonwereasawholeasingularlyable，trustworthy，andpublic-spiritedbodyofmen，andthemostusefulofallagentsinthefightforefficientanddecentgovernment。

Asforthemenundermeinexecutiveoffice，IcouldnotoverstatethedebtofgratitudeIowethem。Fromtheheadsofthedepartments，theCabinetofficers，down，themoststrikingfeatureoftheAdministrationwasthedevoted，zealous，andefficientworkthatwasdoneassoonasitbecameunderstoodthattheonebondofinterestamongallofuswasthedesiretomaketheGovernmentthemosteffectiveinstrumentinadvancingtheinterestsofthepeopleasawhole，theinterestsoftheaveragemenandwomenoftheUnitedStatesandoftheirchildren。IdonotthinkIoverstatethecasewhenIsaythatmostofthemenwhodidthebestworkundermefeltthatourswasapartnership，thatweallstoodonthesamelevelofpurposeandservice，andthatitmatterednotwhatpositionanyoneofusheldsolongasinthatpositionhegavetheverybestthatwasinhim。Weworkedveryhard；butImadeapointofgettingacoupleofhoursoffeachdayforequallyvigorousplay。ThemenwithwhomIthenplayed，whomwelaughinglygrewtocallthe“TennisCabinet。”havebeenmentionedinapreviouschapterofthisbookinconnectionwiththegifttheygavemeatthelastbreakfastwhichtheytookattheWhiteHouse。ThereweremanyothersinthepublicserviceundermewithwhomIhappenednottoplay，butwhodidtheirshareofourcommonworkjustaseffectivelyasitwasdonebyuswhodidplay。OfcoursenothingcouldhavebeendoneinmyAdministrationifithadnotbeenforthezeal，intelligence，masterfulability，anddownrighthardlaborofthesemenincountlesspositionsunderme。Iwashelplesstodoanythingexceptasmythoughtsandordersweretranslatedintoactionbythem；and，moreover，eachofthem，ashegrewspeciallyfitforhisjob，usedtosuggesttometherightthoughttohave，andtherightordertogive，concerningthatjob。Itisofcoursehardformetospeakwithcoldanddispassionatepartialityofthesemen，whowereasclosetomeaswerethemenofmyregiment。ButtheoutsideobserversbestfittedtopassjudgmentaboutthemfeltasIdid。AttheendofmyAdministrationMr。Bryce，theBritishAmbassador，toldmethatinalonglife，duringwhichhehadstudiedintimatelythegovernmentofmanydifferentcountries，hehadneverinanycountryseenamoreeager，high-minded，andefficientsetofpublicservants，menmoreusefulandmorecreditabletotheircountry，thanthementhendoingtheworkoftheAmericanGovernmentinWashingtonandinthefield。IrepeatthisstatementwiththepermissionofMr。Bryce。

Ataboutthesametime，oralittlebefore，inthespringof1908，thereappearedintheEnglish/FortnightlyReview/anarticle，evidentlybyacompetenteyewitness，settingforthmoreindetailthesameviewstowhichtheBritishAmbassadorthusprivatelygaveexpression。Itwasinpartasfollows：

“Mr。Roosevelthasgatheredaroundhimabodyofpublicservantswhoarenowheresurpassed，Iquestionwhethertheyareanywhereequaled，forefficiency，self-sacrifice，andanabsolutedevotiontotheircountry’sinterests。Manyofthemarepoormen，withoutprivatemeans，whohavevoluntarilyabandonedhighprofessionalambitionsandturnedtheirbacksontherewardsofbusinesstoservetheircountryonsalariesthatarenotmerelyinadequate，butindecentlyso。Thereisnotoneofthemwhoisnotconstantlyassailedbyoffersofpositionsintheworldofcommerce，finance，andthelawthatwouldsatisfyeverymaterialambitionwithwhichhebeganlife。Thereisnotoneofthemwhocouldnot，ifhechose，earnoutsideWashingtonfromtentotwentytimestheincomeonwhichheeconomizesasaStateofficial。Butthesemenareasindifferenttomoneyandtothepowerthatmone