Extracts from a Speech
Title
Extracts from a Speech
Creator
McAdoo, W. G. (William Gibbs), 1863-1941
Identifier
WWP15980
Date
1919 October 15
Description
This speech made by William G. McAdoo nearly two weeks after Woodrow Wilson's stroke talks about the burdens Wilson has borne as president, and his response to the challenges that faced him.
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH MADE BY HON. W. G. McADOO AT THELAMBS CLUB NEW YORK CITY,
The Chairman has been good enough to refer to a very great man who is our President. He is not the President of any party - he is the President of the American people. He has for the past six years carried a load that is difficult for any one in this audience to realize. I, myself, would not have realized it if I had not been sitting beside him at the Council Table. The weight of these great problems, problems the like of which humanity has never faced before in all the history of the world, has become at times almost insupportable, but I am sure you will pardon me, talking as intimately as I do to you here, as friends who are all trying to serve our country in a great cause, if I say that no matter how dark the clouds were, how serious the problems or how furious the storm, I have never seen him falter nor lose his poise or his courage; nor have I ever seen him display any small resentments, but with a great soul devoted to America, thinking not of self but always of country, he has endeavored to discharge the duties which you put upon him.
As a result of all the great labors that he has done, the great cares and responsibilities he has carried, he is stricken with an illness, which, although serious, I feel sure he will emerge from well again.
I do not speak as a partisan, but I am sure that no greater calamity could dbefall the world at this time than a fatal outcome of his illness. In my humble judgment - and I say it because it is my honest judgment formed as a result of intimate contact with him for the past six years, that he is the greatest conserving liberal force in the world. At this time, if we are to save civilization, my friends, it is the conserving liberal force of the world that is to save it. We must think in new terms if we are going to meet the new issues and new problems that have arisen out of this great cataclysm of war. They require sane judgment, dispassionate consideration and courage, but above all things they do not require a partisanship in this serious time. We must deal with these problems without regard to partisan considerations, animated only by the single purpose of serving God, America and Civilization.
The Chairman has been good enough to refer to a very great man who is our President. He is not the President of any party - he is the President of the American people. He has for the past six years carried a load that is difficult for any one in this audience to realize. I, myself, would not have realized it if I had not been sitting beside him at the Council Table. The weight of these great problems, problems the like of which humanity has never faced before in all the history of the world, has become at times almost insupportable, but I am sure you will pardon me, talking as intimately as I do to you here, as friends who are all trying to serve our country in a great cause, if I say that no matter how dark the clouds were, how serious the problems or how furious the storm, I have never seen him falter nor lose his poise or his courage; nor have I ever seen him display any small resentments, but with a great soul devoted to America, thinking not of self but always of country, he has endeavored to discharge the duties which you put upon him.
As a result of all the great labors that he has done, the great cares and responsibilities he has carried, he is stricken with an illness, which, although serious, I feel sure he will emerge from well again.
I do not speak as a partisan, but I am sure that no greater calamity could dbefall the world at this time than a fatal outcome of his illness. In my humble judgment - and I say it because it is my honest judgment formed as a result of intimate contact with him for the past six years, that he is the greatest conserving liberal force in the world. At this time, if we are to save civilization, my friends, it is the conserving liberal force of the world that is to save it. We must think in new terms if we are going to meet the new issues and new problems that have arisen out of this great cataclysm of war. They require sane judgment, dispassionate consideration and courage, but above all things they do not require a partisanship in this serious time. We must deal with these problems without regard to partisan considerations, animated only by the single purpose of serving God, America and Civilization.
Files
Collection
Citation
McAdoo, W. G. (William Gibbs), 1863-1941, “Extracts from a Speech,” 1919 October 15, WWP15980, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.