Hot Time in the Old Town - Edward Kohn [111]
Almost immediately Bryan began planning to secure the Democratic nomination in 1900. His strategy was twofold: give a series of lectures throughout the country while publishing a memoir of the 1896 campaign. Both efforts were meant to keep positioning the silver question as a burning issue of the day. The sales of the campaign memoir, The First Battle, would eventually hit 200,000. Unwilling to compromise on bimetallism, Bryan refused to welcome back into the party the Gold Democrats who had bolted in 1896. “The gold Democrats, if they come back to the Democratic party,” Bryan stated, “must come as silver men. There is no room for two Republican parties in this country.” In other words, the Gold Democrats were no more than a wing of the Republican Party. Apparently there was room for two Democratic parties, as Bryan rejected the reunion of the silver and gold Democrats. Through 1897 Bryan succeeded in keeping himself and the silver issue in the public eye. He had no way of knowing that a “splendid little war” in the Caribbean would change the course of the 1900 election, his career, and the career of Theodore Roosevelt.
McKinley’s election that November made Roosevelt’s future no less uncertain. Roosevelt had served the party well and selflessly. The vast swath of middle and southern states predictably went to Bryan, all except for North Dakota, practically Roosevelt’s second home. December brought even more doubt as the New York state legislature began proceedings to appoint a new U.S. Senator. A Republican legislature meant a Republican senator, and there were only two serious candidates: Joseph Choate, the old Roosevelt family friend and political adviser, and the boss of the Republican machine himself, Thomas Platt. Nicknamed “Easy Boss” because he was always pleasant and courteous (even when getting ready to stab you in the back), Platt was almost assured of a seat in the Senate. Would this constitute for Roosevelt yet another obstacle to a Washington post?
Showing again his political savvy and ability to compromise, Roosevelt requested a meeting with Platt and turned down requests to speak on Choate’s behalf. Still, months went by without a word from the president-elect or his man Hanna. Inauguration Day came and went, and on the Police Board, Commissioner Frederick Grant now allied himself with Parker. With the main oversight body of the police force so publicly hamstrung, discipline in the ranks began to break down. Despite Roosevelt’s efforts to build a professional force in the city of his birth, his feud with Parker almost destroyed what he had created.
Finally, in early April came word that Roosevelt had been named assistant secretary of the navy. Platt had apparently been convinced that Roosevelt would do less harm in Washington than in New York. Such reasoning would be repeated in 1900, when Governor Roosevelt was being considered for a spot on the ticket with McKinley. Just as he had with the New York police, as assistant secretary of the navy he endeavored to bring modernity and professionalism to the Navy Department. With the hypochondriac secretary frequently out of the office, Roosevelt was left in charge to make purchases and give orders. This included his famous order to Commodore George Dewey to ready the Pacific squadron to attack the Spanish Philippines in case of war.
When war came in April 1898, Roosevelt’s friends urged him to stay on as assistant secretary. In a war in which naval battles were sure to figure prominently, they reasoned, what better way to serve your country—and what better path to advancement—could there be than a senior post in