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FAMOUS LIVING AMERICANS

porarily vacant may be permanently vacated by those who have the right to occupy them at this time I'"[1]

Time has vindicated Senator LaFollette. Within less than a decade he has reached a position of recognized leadership and commanding influence. Most of the senators who sought to rebuke and discipline him have been retired from public life and many of his opponents in other fields of national politics have been hurled from the seats of the mighty. Every legislative advance, either in the regulation of railroad rates or in the revision of the tariff, has been a practical recognition of the political ideals of Senator LaFollette. The growth of the progressive movement within the Republican party is the concrete result of the Wisconsin idea transferred to the arena of national politics. Whatever part this movement may play in the future drama of American politics it will be compelled to reckon with the leadership of Robert M. LaFollette.

That Senator LaFollette was the "logical" candidate of the Republican party for president in 1912 is quite generally admitted by impartial students of contemporary politics. Also that he was the first choice of the rank and file of the party is undoubtedly true. The circumstances leading to his defeat in the convention are not a matter for discussion in this place. However, it is only fair to say that he was generally regarded at the close of the campaign of 1912 as stronger than ever in the confidence of the people who believe that he will continue for many years as a leader in the cause of democracy and representative government.

Modern civilization is complex, its problems are intricate. The conditions of present-day life reveal the utter uselessness of the old method of political diplomacy with its policy of evasion and compromise. The new statesmanship is concerned with the establishment of economic and social conditions congenial to the development of better and happier living.

The subject of this sketch typifies the essential honesty of

this new school of statesmanship. Honesty has always been

  1. ↑ A Personal Narrative of Political Experience, pp. 411-412.
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