Book Reviews: Roosevelt and Daniels: A Friendship in Politics. Edited with an Introduction by CARROLL KILPATRICK. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1952. Pp. xvi, 226. $3.50.)

• Author: R.G. Tugwell
• Published date: 01 December 1952
• Date: 01 December 1952
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295200500452
• Subject Matter: Articles

718

possibilities

of

co-operative

research

effort

which

might

be

used

in

prepay

ing

an

analytical

as

well

as

statistical

work

on

political

behavior

in

each

of

the

states.

A

definitive

political

Americana

has

yet

to

be

produced;

when

it

appears

it

will

owe

much

to

such

pioneers

as

E.

E.

Robinson,

John

Gunther,

and

George

Gallup,

not

to

mention

the

many

studies

of

regional

politics

and

the

politics

of

individual

states.

University

of

Washington.

HUGH

A.

BONE.

Roosevelt

and

Daniels:

A

Friendship

in

Politics.

Edited

with

an

Introduc-

tion

by

CARROLL

KILPATRICK.

(Chapel

Hill:

The

University

of

North

Carolina

Press.

1952.

Pp.

xvi,

226.

$3.50.)

Friendships

in

politics

are

friendships

of

convenience;

and

in

spite

of

some

warm

protestations

on

the

part

of

both

parties

to

this

one,

it

was

no

exception.

But

it

lasted

a

long

time

(from

1912

until

1945)

and

it

was

useful

to

both.

To

the

older

man,

who

was

a

Southern

figure,

it

brought

preferment

when

his

friend

became

President;

to

the

younger

man

it

helped

him

with

his

early

ambitions

and

brought

persisting

party

support.

This

sounds

a

little

cynical,

and

it

ought

to

be

modified

to

this

extent:

Daniels

had

a

gift

for

loyalty,

and

when

he

perceived

in

Roosevelt-the-

Governor

a

future

President,

he

instantly

began

to

pour

out

toward

him

all

the

uncritical

faith

of

a

generous

nature;

and

the

President,

feeling

that

warmth,

responded

as

he

did

in

only

a

few

other

instances.

Daniels

was

a

prolific

writer.

His

vast

five-volume

autobiography

told

the

story

of

his

struggles

to

succeed

as

an

editor-proprietor,

of

his

adven-

tures

in

politics,

and

of

his

service

with

both

the

Wilson and

Roosevelt

administrations.

So

far

as

he

is

concerned,

this

compilation

of

letters

adds

nothing

to

what

was

known

before.

Neither,

in

fact,

does

it

add

to

knowledge

of

the

President.

It

is

useful

to

have

brought

them

together

in

this

way,

however,

so

that

their

influence

on

each

other

may

be

understood.

The

book

does

not

do

Daniels

justice

and

explains

none

of

the

Roosevelt

puzzles.

Daniels

was

much

more

of

a

good

angel

than

would

seem

just

from

the

letters.

They

furnish

only

glimpses

of

the

hard

core

of

decency

around

which

he

was

built.

He

was,

except

for

one

character-

istic,

a

pure

politician

of

the

Bryan

strain

and

tradition.

He

had

an

agreeable

surface,

he

observed

meticulously

the

political

amenities

(for

instance,

he

consulted

Elihu

Root,

Senator

from

New

York

when

he

was

about

to

recommend

that

Roosevelt

be

appointed

to

the

assistant

secretary-

ship

of

the

Navy,

although

Root

was

a

Republican),

and

he

put

party

before

policy.

But

this

last

did

not

mean

that

he

would

not

do

his

best

to

commit

the

party

to

a

progressive

program;

it

only

meant

that

if

he

did

not

prevail

he

would

not

secede.