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All Hail to the President! Theodore Roosevelt Comes to Utah, May 29, 1903
Theodore Roosevelt, photographed in 1903.
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All Hail to the President! Theodore Roosevelt Comes to Utah, May 29, 1903
By MICHAEL S. ELDREDGE
In 1903, the forty-fifth and newest star on the national ensign represented Utah. Since its statehood in 1896, Utah had enjoyed relative prosperity. This had occurred under the Republican administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, and, indeed, the state was in the midst of an evolving relationship with the party. When the Republican Party first organized in Utah in 1891, Frank Cannon lamented that few Mormons joined. 1 During the presidential election of 1896, Republicans and Democrats alike voted for the Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Then in 1900, the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket carried the state, even as a growing number of Latter-day Saints were switching from the Democratic Party of their fathers to the Republican Party. 2
When Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as the twenty-sixth president of the United States on September 14, 1901, at Buffalo, New York, he was forty-two years old and the youngest man to ever hold that office. Roosevelt was a progressive Republican who favored social, political, and economic reform, in opposition to the traditionally conservative policies of the nineteenth-century Democratic Party. While the funeral train bore the body of the recently assassinated President William McKinley back to Washington, Roosevelt confided in his colleagues his goal to break up the large trusts that controlled over 65 percent of the nation’s wealth—a problem presidents Harrison, Cleveland, and McKinley had largely ignored. 3 Within a few short months after taking office, Roosevelt declared his intention to implement his new conservationist policies; principal among them were his plans to irrigate the West and reclaim millions of acres of arid lands.
In the mid-1880s, Roosevelt had proved his ability to live “the strenuous life” in an area near Medora, North Dakota, where he ranched, hunted wild animals, herded cattle, and even chased down horse thieves. Now the president longed for the West again; he wanted to learn firsthand what needed attention, and he wanted to protect the forests and immense interior lands before industrialists destroyed it. On April 1, 1903, scarcely eighteen months into his presidency, Roosevelt began a two-month trip into the West. This trip established him as a “wilderness warrior,” a legacy of his love for the West.
By late May 1903, Roosevelt was nearing the end of his journey through the West. Over the course of sixty-six days, he had visited twenty-five states, travelled over 14,000 miles (averaging 212 miles a day), and delivered 260 stump speeches and five major addresses. 4 He had hunted in Yellowstone Park, camped in Yosemite with John Muir, and enjoyed the company of governors, mayors, senators, and congressmen eager to show off the young president to their constituents. Throughout the trip, he kept a close eye on the natural resources that he had sworn to protect and thought of ways to balance their use while conserving their legacy. Most of all, however, Roosevelt reveled in the adulation of thousands upon thousands of the people whom he came to see, people he considered to be his fellow pioneer frontiersmen and women. Among those he would visit were the people of Utah.
Presidential visits, although rare, gave Utahns a chance to demonstrate their loyalty and showcase their hospitality. Roosevelt’s visit promised special recognition for the state because of the remarkable irrigation system that Utahns had developed over the last five decades. Despite the sizeable contingent of Democrats among older generations of Utahns, both parties joined together in anticipation of the country’s attention. For once, newspapers around the country might highlight the good features of Utah. Shortly after seven o’clock on Friday morning, May 29, the pride of the Oregon Short Line, Engine No. 659, “one of the handsomest and finest ever run over the western roads,” arrived at Ogden’s rail yard, pulling the presidential train. 5 A hand-picked crew led by Abe Hatch drove the train to Utah with the president. The weather was absolutely beautiful in a week plagued by wind and rainstorms. The train came to a stop northwest of the depot, where the “Wye” junction either took trains into the depot, or switched trains to bypass Ogden altogether. Several dignitaries boarded the train, including senators Thomas Kearns and Reed Smoot, Governor Heber Wells, Judge George W. Bartch, Senator Clarence D. Clark of Wyoming, and Ogden Mayor William Glasmann. All but Glasmann remained on the train bound for the capital city. 6
A Union Pacific engine that pulled Roosevelt’s train. Pictured (left–right) are Joe Sorenson, engineer; George Smith, road foreman; Sam Welch, brakeman; Sam Murphy, fireman (in cab).
UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
In Salt Lake City, crowds began gathering at the Oregon Short Line Depot at 6:00 a.m., patiently awaiting Roosevelt’s scheduled arrival time, 8:30 a.m. By eight o’clock, journalists estimated that some 40,000 people lined the parade route that began on west South Temple Street and ran eastward to Main Street, thence south. The entire station platform was roped off down to South Temple Street. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., soldiers from Fort Douglas and the Utah National Guard marched up the platform and formed two lines. Minutes passed ever so slowly. Soon after 8:30 a.m., the unmistakable whistle signaled the train’s approach. The crowd began to chatter noisily as the anticipation grew to a crescendo. Then the train came into view, and the crowd began clapping and cheering. Engine No. 659 approached the station, with its immaculate enamel, polished brass, American flags, ribbons, and bunting. A picture of Roosevelt in a horseshoe frame hung on the engine’s front. The train pulled into the station, hissing blasts of steam while the cars ground to a halt.
A stereopticon image bearing the caption “Beautiful Salt Lake City receives an honored guest.”
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Three Secret Service men in Prince Albert coats and silk hats emerged from the car and spread out, their eyes scanning the scene. Next came the journalists, followed by senators Kearns and Smoot, Congressman Howell, Governor Wells, and, of course, the president. The cameras began snapping. 7
After a “hearty” reception at the depot, the mayor of Salt Lake City, Ezra Thompson, escorted Roosevelt to his carriage, amidst a cheering crowd. The president “looked to be in the pink of condition, brown as a berry from the influence of the tanning winds and sunshine that he has encountered since April 1.” 8 Roosevelt climbed into the lead carriage with his personal secretary, Thompson, and Wells. The party then began the journey up South Temple Street. “As the carriage passed under the archway the buglers from Ft. Douglas broke into a fanfare and the crowd assembled waved their hats and cheered themselves hoarse, the president bowing right and left with his hat in his hand.” The procession continued up South Temple Street, with the shouts of the onlookers and “the glitter of steel” marking its progress. 9
Multitudes of mounted soldiers swung into the parade at 300 West and South Temple Street ahead of the carriages. Four Secret Service men walked close by Roosevelt’s vehicle, carefully searching the crowd, while two Salt Lake City policemen on horseback flanked the two-horse team pulling the lead carriage. Though the four Secret Service men around the carriage were the most visible, a second tier of protection—composed of 222 federal and state officers and soldiers—surrounded Roosevelt and spread throughout the crowd.
Everywhere people cheered as Roosevelt doffed his hat and flashed his famous grin. A cavalcade of carriages followed behind him, each one carrying dignitaries and government officials. As Roosevelt passed Civil War veterans, Indian fighter veterans, and Rough Riders, they saluted and then joined the parade. 10
The parade turned south at Main Street, where the tumultuous crowds included people in upper story windows. People crowded on marquees and large signs to get a better view of Roosevelt as he went by. The exclamations grew louder as the parade passed down the “canyon” of Main Street’s buildings and Roosevelt stood up in his carriage to provide the crowds with a better view. Everywhere along the parade route buildings were festooned with American flags and bright red, white, and blue banners and bunting. The crowd was jubilant. Truly, Salt Lake City gave Roosevelt an overwhelming reception.
At 500 South and Main Street, the parade swung to the east and continued to the City and County Building. More than 25,000 people— nearly half of them school children—crowded on the building’s grounds. Roosevelt’s carriage continued around the building, coming to a stop at its east entrance. The president exited his carriage and went through the building to a platform built for the occasion at the west entrance. When Roosevelt emerged, thousands of school children and their teachers greeted him with loud cheers and clapping. More than 12,000 children—“from the little tot of the kindergarten to the nearly grown young men and women of the higher schools”—packed the grounds and demonstrated their patriotism “in a manner that visibly moved the chief executive.” 11 Roosevelt obviously was pleased with the show of so many children. Mayor Thomson raised his hands to quiet the crowd, and for the first time since Roosevelt had arrived in Utah, the public heard him speak:
Roosevelt then stood on the small elevated stand while the various military units passed in review in front of the City and County Building. Looking concerned for the safety of the children, the president admonished the riders to proceed carefully. He returned the salute of each passing unit by raising his hat. When the Civil War veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic paraded by, he raised his hat even higher. Roosevelt reserved his most enthusiastic salute for four hundred horsemen dressed as his beloved Rough Riders, commemorating the regiment he had guided on horseback during the Spanish-American War. After sharing a few words with citizens who followed after the Rough Riders in buggies, the president departed for the LDS Tabernacle at 9:50 a.m.
Earlier, while the parade had moved on to the City and County Building, people hurried from Main Street to the tabernacle to get a seat for the president’s address, which was scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. When the tabernacle opened its doors, a mass of humanity surged forward, “crowding, pushing and struggling” to find one of the six thousand seats. 13 The tabernacle was filled to overflowing and colorfully decorated, a state that combined with the appearance of the audience—men in their Sunday best and women in spring hats and holiday dresses—to make a festive scene. 14
Promptly at ten o’clock, the presidential party arrived at the northwest entrance, and the dignitaries and guests took their places in the choir gallery and the stand. Not another soul found a seat in the tabernacle; its aisles, staircases, and galleries were jammed beyond their capacity. At 10:10 a.m., the First Regimental Band of the Utah National Guard struck up “Hail to the Chief ” as Roosevelt entered the tabernacle, smiling and waving amidst the ecstatic crowd. As the audience continued its cheering, Senator Smoot introduced Roosevelt to President Joseph F. Smith and other general authorities of the LDS church. Smith and Roosevelt shared a private conversation that they both seemed to enjoy, while the onlookers roared their approval. Governor Wells appeared on the podium, and he and Roosevelt doffed their hats and posed for pictures. Still the crowd cheered; it was bedlam in the tabernacle.
Finally, Wells raised his right hand high over his head, signaling for the audience to quiet down. It grew relatively calm for a moment, but the applause began again as the crowd sensed the time neared for the president’s address. Again, Wells motioned for silence, and he then launched into a lengthy welcome speech, filled with approbations and platitudes. When he came to the conclusion of his remarks, it still was not time for the president to speak. Instead, Wells introduced Emma Ramsey, “the Utah Nightingale,” who sang a soprano solo, “The Flag without a Stain.” She finished to wild applause led by the president, whose appreciative attention made Ramsey blush. 15
The parade in honor of the president, making its way down Main Street. Roosevelt appears to be the figure in the center of this image.
UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Senator Kearns came to the podium, introduced the president, and ended by saying, “I now take pleasure in presenting to you our much beloved president, TheodoreRoosevelt.” Then came a sight that the Deseret News claimed had “never before been seen in Salt Lake”: when the president stood, the entire audience rose to its feet and “rent the air” with cheers and applause that were audible a block away. 16 Roosevelt looked over the audience as the ovation finally subsided, acknowledged Wells, and launched into his address. 17
Much of Roosevelt’s speech recalled a concept articulated by the historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893: that Americans must appreciate their frontier past in order to meet the modern “crisis of democracy.” Roosevelt and Turner agreed that the frontier—and the hardiness required to survive on the frontier—had been instrumental in shaping American institutions and “that mystical entity they both called ‘national character.’” 18 The president’s first statements at the tabernacle acknowledged that his progressive government promised a great deal toward helping conserve natural resources. He then tied the ideal of conservation to the Turnerian concept that the character of the people was a necessary ingredient in the effort to make arid frontier lands “blossom as a rose.” The pioneers in Utah, Roosevelt said, exemplified this ethic. The pioneers and their succeeding generations had not come to Utah to exploit the land and move on. They came to improve the land for their children and grandchildren. Roosevelt alluded to the egalitarian, aggressive, and innovative qualities of these people. They left for their children “an abiding home” and “an enriched heritage,” created not with a “boom growth” but with gradual, sustained growth. The president then connected Utah’s example to the expressed purpose of his western states tour: the conservation of national resources for generations to come. 19
Roosevelt praised Utahns for their achievements that were in accordance with progressive ideals. He pointed out that during the past decade the population of Utah had doubled and its wealth had quadrupled—even as its laborers received as high a compensation as laborers anywhere else in the world. Further, he said that although Utah was not known as a mining state, it had produced $30 million in ore the previous year, and its people had paid $5 million in dividends and invested the balance in labor and surplus, again illustrating progressive principles. 20 He also mentioned Utah’s agricultural products, such as grains, and its stock-raising industry, including wool, both of which promised to survive long after the depletion of the mines.
Roosevelt again referred to the multiple problems of irrigation, natural pasturage, and forests and said that these things needed to be treated uniformly as one resource. This formed a basic tenet of his agenda to preserve, not exhaust, natural resources. He spoke of preserving the land against the few wealthy speculators for the benefit of people who made the land their homes. The question was how to make arid and semi-arid lands produce not only the greatest number of high-quality horses, cattle, and sheep this year, but also for years to come. The range lands should not be overgrazed, but should be treated as a capital investment and managed for prudent growth. He spoke of summer and winter ranges that must be expanded within a complex system that would preserve grazing pastures from over-use. Irrigation was essential not only to stockmen, but to agriculturists as well. The president warned of the dangers of overgrazing in the forests and said,
Roosevelt—once a stockman himself—did not have to tell an informed audience about the dangers of overgrazing. He admitted he was not sure of the best answer to the problem, and he remained unsettled about what was the best method of solving the issue.
The greatest objective of Roosevelt’s forest and land policy was to provide families with a continuous supply of timber, grass, and most importantly, water, not only for their present use, but for future generations as well. “While citizens die, the government and the nation do not die.” 22 He emphasized that no matter what policy the government decided upon, it was up to the states to believe in it and sustain it. Without the support of the people of Utah, the policies were doomed to fail.
Roosevelt next spoke about the importance of irrigation. He made direct reference to the leadership position that Utah enjoyed over the rest of the nation. “Here the government had to a large degree to sit at the feet of Gamaliel in the person of Utah: for what you had done and learned was of literally incalculable [value] to those engaged in farming and getting through the national irrigation law.” 23 In Turnerian fashion, he acknowledged the role of frontier ingenuity in the widespread use of irrigation from the beginning of the Utah Territory. The pioneers developed an irrigation system, Roosevelt remarked, “to a degree absolutely unknown on this continent before.” He commented that the federal government necessarily controlled all the major rivers and streams, but he recognized the concern of farmers that their water source would remain unchanged and promised that no disruption in the water supply would occur. The biggest mistakes, Roosevelt argued, were the decisions hastily made; accordingly, federal officials charged with enforcing the law would move with caution. Again, he referred to the Turnerian principles of “the sturdy courage, the self-denial, the willingness with iron resolution to endure the risk and suffering of the pioneers.” 24 He ended with a hearty thank you to Utah from the federal government for all the state had done to advance the causes of protecting the watersheds and to perfecting knowledge of irrigation.
The president expounded extemporaneously at several points during his speech, making it much longer—the longest speech of his western tour— and loud applause caused him to pause frequently. When he finished, bedlam returned to the tabernacle, and Roosevelt seemed delighted. He motioned for quiet and then introduced his Secretary of the Navy, William Henry Moody, who spoke briefly. Moody’s comment, “I hope you have in your heart a warm spot for the American navy,” elicited a prolonged applause from the audience, to which he replied, “I see you have.” Utah’s governor, Moody explained, had requested that one of nation’s battleships bear the name of Utah. Again the crowd replied with enthusiasm and again Moody remarked smartly, “I see you wish it too.” The secretary then assured the group that if the navy could get five new “splendid, powerful battleships,” one of them would be called Utah. 25 The comments of both Roosevelt and Moody bore witness to the changing relationship between Utah and the federal government.
The interior of Thomas Kearns’s mansion. Note, in the corner, the hat rack—a gift from Roosevelt to Kearns.
UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
With the end of Moody’s remarks, the events at the tabernacle concluded at about 11:30 a.m. Roosevelt climbed back in his carriage and was whisked up to Senator Kearns’s mansion on South Temple Street. Onlookers lined the street, hoping to catch another glimpse of the president, and yet another crowd gathered at the Kearns residence. By then, Secret Service men, policemen, and soldiers completely surrounded the mansion. Roosevelt alighted from the carriage and, with Senator Kearns, climbed the marble steps in front of the mansion, pausing for a brief moment at the top of the stairs to turn around for pictures. Inside, Roosevelt met the senator’s wife, Jennie Kearns, and the party quickly went to the dining room where about twenty dignitaries and guests had just arrived from the tabernacle. A “T” shaped table was set, and the president took his place at the head of the table. With no formal speaking planned, the gathering soon evolved into loud conversation, with the tinkling of glasses and plates. The talk grew animated, with “the president taking the lead” in humorously relating “yarns” from his western tour during the McKinley-Roosevelt campaign. 26
At 1:30 p.m., the Secret Service passed the word to hitch up the president’s carriage waiting on “F” Street, the signal that Roosevelt was about to leave for the Oregon Short Line Depot. First, however, the president made a quick stop at the Alta Club. When Roosevelt finished at the tabernacle, several city officials, political people, and leading citizens had gathered at the Alta Club in anticipation of a promised visit by Roosevelt. 27
A few minutes past 1:30 p.m., Roosevelt’s carriage pulled up to the entrance of the Alta Club, and the president entered the building. Not many people remained, however. A rumor that Roosevelt had gone directly to the depot via 100 South Street had sent the crowd scurrying to the Oregon Short Line station. The few Alta Club members and employees present were treated to a private, albeit short, moment with the president. He shook hands, signed the register, and then left for the depot.
A huge crowd surrounded the station when Roosevelt arrived. He conversed with the reception committee and senior officers of the military detachments and then quickly boarded the train for Ogden. It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon.
The Roosevelt Special pulled into the Ogden Depot shortly before 3:00 p.m. with Mayor William Glasmann and a welcoming committee of prominent Ogdenites waiting on the platform. 28 The scene that took place in Salt Lake City earlier that morning was repeated, this time with Mayor Glasmann replacing Mayor Thompson in the lead carriage. Before the parade commenced, Glasmann leaned over to the president and told him that an assembly of children awaited him in Lester Park and would be honored to hear a few extemporaneous words. Roosevelt replied that “if conditions were favorable, he would say a few words to the children.” 29
The parade led off with an automobile brigade. The same military and veterans’ groups—Civil War veterans associated with the Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish-American War veterans, and Rough Riders— gathered to greet the president, only in smaller contingents. Drill teams from the Woodmen of the World joined the veterans and acted as an honor guard behind policemen and sheriffs from Weber County. 30 The parade proceeded throughout the city’s thoroughfares, but at Lester Park, the situation became unsettled. From Twenty-fifth Street and Jefferson Avenue, the president’s carriage took a detour through Lester Park, while the rest of the procession continued north on Jefferson Avenue to await the return of the presidential entourage. At the park, children from the public schools, Weber Stake Academy, St. Mary’s School, and the School for the Deaf and Blind gathered with their teachers and parents to form a sizeable crowd. Behind the students, a large American flag blocked the view.
This stereopticon image depicted “Utah’s snow-capped mountains and sturdy citizens greeting President Roosevelt at Ogden.”
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The Secret Service had not received word that Glasmann intended to stop. Instead, the carriage continued along the path that took the carriage out of the park. Glasmann stood up and asked the Secret Service to stop, but the carriage went somewhat further along the path than Glasmann intended. A large, upright flag display caught the attention of the Secret Service agents, and they ordered the carriage to proceed. Meanwhile, an excited crowd of adults ducked under the ropes and surrounded the carriage, grasping at the president’s uplifted hands. The students and parents were confused at the chain of chaotic events and became exasperated when Roosevelt ordered the carriage to “move on!” 31 Glasmann’s planned speech by Roosevelt to the school children was a failure, and a disorderly crowd threatened to end Roosevelt’s visit. A few moments later the president’s carriage emerged from Lester Park, leaving behind many frustrated people.
The parade arrived at the center of Grant Avenue a few moments later. Roosevelt turned to Glasmann, apologized for the confusion, and asked the mayor to print his speech in the Ogden Standard. Then Roosevelt and the party of dignitaries climbed upon a substantial platform erected for the occasion. Following a rendition of “Hail to the Chief,” Glasmann welcomed the president to Ogden. Next, Senator Reed Smoot introduced Roosevelt. The senator called him a “statesman and a soldier; a patriot and a scholar.” 32 With that, a roar of approval and applause greeted the president.
Roosevelt opened with a reference to the beautiful valley as evidence for the wisdom of his irrigation policy. He then used the thriving sugar beet industry as an example of how innovation and irrigation agriculture could yield successful results. He mentioned the National Irrigation Congress
scheduled to take place in Ogden that fall. Roosevelt congratulated the Utah State Legislature for appropriating funds to set up such a congress, the first state in the union to do so. He stated there was nothing more important for the growth and well-being of the Rocky Mountain region than irrigation. Prosperity and adversity knew no state lines, for “fundamentally, we go up or go down together.” 33
Roosevelt speaking in Ogden.
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The president emphasized that everyone should think not only of his rights but also of his duties to his neighbor, by which he meant every other American, not simply those of the same class or region. He pledged the power of the federal government to accomplish these goals. Citing the proverb that the Lord helps those who help themselves, he stated that neither providence nor the federal government could help with everything. The government could merely give Utah the opportunity to accomplish its own goals. He expressed hope that Utah, and all the other states interested, would make the irrigation congress a success.
The president next turned to the internal difficulties America faced because of industrialization. Noting the progressive concern for social and industrial problems, Roosevelt called for cool heads and common sense in dealing with troubles at home and throughout the nation. Further, these complex questions called for new methods. He had acknowledged the presence of Civil War and Spanish-American War veterans—praising them, but especially praising their wives—and he emphasized that Americans must to learn from such veterans how to conduct their peacetime affairs. He pledged his part in doing what he knew his fellow countrymen expected of him.
Roosevelt next spoke of foreign relations. The president recalled a proverb he had learned during his cowboy days in North Dakota: “Don’t draw unless you mean to shoot.” 34 He said the advice applied to nations as well as individuals. America must treat other nations with absolute courtesy and not make claims that it was not prepared to back up. Roosevelt expressed his belief in the Monroe Doctrine and his intent to honor it. Alluding to his embrace of the theories of Alfred Thayer Mahan (an influential advocate of naval power), he said that he planned to go ahead with the buildup of the United States Navy. He argued that the Navy ought to appeal to everyone, including men who live on the plains, in the Mississippi Valley, or on the coast of either ocean. “I believe our interests in the Pacific are such that we need always to be ready to protect them in the Atlantic.” 35
With that, Roosevelt introduced Secretary Moody, who again announced the plan to name a battleship USS Utah, if Congress obliged him with what he wanted. Amid raucous cheers and applause, the president bid adieu to Ogden and boarded his carriage for the short two-block ride to the depot.
While the president toured Ogden, the Oregon Short Line Engine No. 659 detached from the Roosevelt Special to return to the Pocatello, Idaho, railroad yards. Union Pacific Engine No. 1831, appropriately decorated with flags and bunting, was attached as the pilot engine, with Engine No. 1835 assisting in the uphill pull to Green River, Wyoming. The train was ready and waiting when the president’s party arrived. Roosevelt said goodbye to Glasmann, Wells, Kearns, Smoot, and other dignitaries, and he and his party boarded the train. It was almost five o’clock in the evening.
About an hour later, the Roosevelt Express stopped at Echo Junction, where a crowd had gathered in hopes of glimpsing the president. They were not disappointed. Roosevelt emerged at the rear of the train and spoke for a few minutes. After expressing his pleasure at meeting with the people of Echo Junction, the president particularly mentioned the men and women “who came here with babies in their arms.” He had fully enjoyed his day in Utah and remarked that whenever he came to Utah, he was “struck with your prosperity, and with the evidence that it has been won primarily with the character of your men and women. . . . I congratulate you upon the State, but I congratulate you most upon yourselves.” 36
The president’s visit was over. It was not his first visit to Utah, or his last. Yet it occurred within the context of critical questions and events. Of prime importance was Roosevelt’s message on irrigation. Equally significant was his acknowledgment that Utah—particularly the Mormon pioneers—had led the nation in irrigation efforts. In the tabernacle, however, he chose his words carefully and avoided mentioning the LDS church at all. Instead, he invoked the principles of Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis by describing the pioneers as egalitarian, aggressive, and innovative—a characterization that could well apply to the early Mormon settlers. Further, his audience also knew that the Mormons had done much to develop irrigation techniques.
Roosevelt argued that private enterprise could not build the dams and canals needed for reclamation in the West; progressives believed this enormous undertaking to be an obligation of the federal government. A year before the president’s Utah visit, on June 17, 1902, Congress had passed the Newlands Act, which established the
The three central figures in this image are (left–right) William Glasmann, Theodore Roosevelt, and Heber M. Wells.
UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Reclamation Service (later the known as the Bureau of Reclamation). 37 As revolutionary as the act was, Roosevelt knew it needed to be a joint effort between the government and the people; he knew he needed to enlist the support of Utah’s experienced irrigators to make reclamation work. Judging from the response at the tabernacle, he would get what he wanted.
The president’s careful omission of the name of the LDS church from his tabernacle speech hinted of another matter. Slightly more than a month before Roosevelt left for the West, Reed Smoot—in his capacity as senator newly elected by the Utah State Legislature—had called on Roosevelt. The president asked Smoot if he was a polygamist, to which Smoot “pledged”that he was not. 38 Roosevelt responded that Smoot’s pledge was good enough for him. When hearings began a year later over the matter of seating Smoot as a senator, Roosevelt championed the Utah politician. Without Roosevelt’s support, Smoot probably would have lost his seat. In later years, when Smoot was asked who the greatest statesman he ever met was, he quickly responded with the name of Theodore Roosevelt. 39
In his Ogden speech, Roosevelt spoke indirectly of problems with Colombia and the Panama Canal. His reference to the Monroe Doctrine and his use of the cowboy proverb—“don’t draw unless you mean to shoot”—alluded to a policy that became known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. 40 Later that year, Roosevelt confronted the issue of Colombia’s rejection of the Panama Canal treaty by supporting a revolution that created the nation of Panama and facilitated the recommencement of work on the canal.
Last, but by no means least, Roosevelt had a purpose for announcing the name of the proposed battleship Utah. Since the 1890s, Roosevelt had strongly believed in Mahan’s geopolitical theory of sea power. This theory went hand-in-glove with the president’s plan to complete the Panama Canal. Further, as the former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he knew the political capital that came with a state having a namesake battleship. At his speech in the tabernacle, and again in Ogden, Roosevelt wanted the excitement of the people to push through his appropriations agenda. Things did not work out according to the president’s plan. Five long years passed before the Navy Department could announce, in May 1908, that it had received approval for two new battleships. Finally, in December 1909, Utah received its christening. 41
In both speeches on May 29, 1903, President Roosevelt clearly articulated his progressive political agenda. Still, the enthusiastic response to his speeches indicates that Roosevelt remained popular in Utah midway through his first term. In the 1904 presidential election, that feeling resulted in Roosevelt receiving almost twice the number of votes from Utah than did his Democratic competitor, Charles Fairbanks. Roosevelt’s popularity lasted long after his departure from office on March 4, 1909. 42
Michael S. Eldredge is a lawyer practicing in Salt Lake City. A political and legal historian who concentrates on the Progressive Era, Eldredge has taught history and political science at the University of Phoenix for the past fourteen years.
NOTES
1 After serving terms as a Republican congressman and senator, Frank Cannon switched to the Democratic Party in 1901. He did so because of his commitment to free silver and other issues. See Frank J. Cannon and Harvey J. O’Higgins, Under the Prophet in Utah: The National Menace of a Political Priestcraft (Boston: C. M. Clark, 1911), 117–18.
2 Allan Kent Powell, “Elections in the State of Utah,” in Utah History Encyclopedia, ed. Allan Kent Powell (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994), 158. Many Republicans voted for Bryan in 1896 because of the silver issue.
3 Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex (New York: Random House, 2001), 28–29.
4 Douglas Brinkley, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America (New York: Harper, 2009), 509.
5 “Ogden, a Radiant City, Greets the Nation’s Chief,” Ogden Standard, May 29, 1903.
6 Ibid.
7 “Arrival of the Party in City,” Salt Lake Herald, May 30, 1903.
8 “A Brilliant Street Pageant,” Deseret News, May 29, 1903.
9 Ibid.
10 The First United States Volunteer Cavalry, formed in the Spanish-American War, was known as the Rough Riders. Roosevelt acted as second in command of the Rough Riders, and his regiments numbered approximately 1,200 officers and enlisted men. He took about 560 men to Cuba, and the rest did not see action. The Rough Riders were recruited mostly from cowboys, prospectors, and hunters from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, territory much like Cuba. They disbanded on September 15, 1898. The Rough Riders who accompanied Roosevelt on his trip west were a loose organization of veterans, admirers, and imitators; there was no formal organization of Rough Riders.
11 “President Gives Advice to School Children,” Salt Lake Herald, May 30, 1903.
12 “Utah’s Best Crop Gives Greeting,” Deseret News, May 29, 1903.
13 Because it was the largest auditorium in Utah, the LDS Tabernacle hosted many ecclesiastical and secular events. “Roosevelt Day: A Glorious Occasion for Salt Lake,” Salt Lake Tribune, May 30, 1903.
14 “Tribute to the Pioneers,” Deseret News, May 29, 1903.
15 “Tabernacle a Mass of Enthusiastic Humanity,” Salt Lake Herald, May 30, 1903.
16 Ibid.
17 “Tribute to the Pioneers,” May 29, 1903.
18 Richard Slotkin, “Nostalgia and Progress: Theodore Roosevelt’s Myth of the Frontier,” American Quarterly 33, no. 5 (Winter 1981): 608. Roosevelt endorsed Turner’s frontier thesis, even though it seemed to conflict with the thesis of his Winning of the West. Roosevelt considered that Turner’s thesis supplemented and corrected his own writings. See also Brinkley, Wilderness Warrior, 241, for an account of Roosevelt’s speech before the Historical Society of Wisconsin, which Turner attended six months before he delivered his famous thesis.
19 “Practical Talk by President at Tabernacle,” Salt Lake Tribune, May 30, 1903.
20 Ibid.
21 Theodore Roosevelt, A Compilation of the Messages and Speeches of Theodore Roosevelt, 1901–1905, ed. Alfred Henry Lewis (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1906), 454.
22 Ibid., 455.
23 Ibid. Gamaliel was a famous Jewish teacher. Roosevelt’s language echoed that of Acts 22:3.
24 Ibid., 456.
25 “Secretary Moody Says Utah Will Be the Name of One of New Battleships,” Salt Lake Herald, May 30, 1903. Roosevelt was a devout disciple of Alfred Thayer Mahan, who took the world by storm with his 1890 publication of The Influence of Sea Power upon History: 1660–1783.
26 “Presidential Breakfast and Guests,” Deseret News, May 29, 1903.
27 “Alta Club Reception to President’s Party,” Deseret News, May 29, 1903.
28 William Glasmann was the owner of Ogden Standard, the major newspaper of Weber County. He served as Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives in 1901, just before he ran for mayor of Ogden. In all, he was elected for three terms as mayor, in 1901, 1903, and 1909.
29 “Children in Lester Park,” Ogden Standard, May 30, 1903.
30 “Radiant City,” May 29, 1903.
31 “Children in Lester Park,” May 30, 1903.
32 “Radiant City,” May 29, 1903.
33 Roosevelt, Compilation of the Messages, 457.
34 Ibid., 460.
35 Ibid.
36 “President Roosevelt Bids Farewell to Junction City,” Ogden Standard, May 30, 1903.
37 Brinkley, Wilderness Warrior, 422–24
38 M. R. Merrill, “Theodore Roosevelt and Reed Smoot,” Western Political Quarterly 4, no. 3 (1951): 440–53.
39 Ibid.
40 Morris, Theodore Rex, 215.
41 Michael S. Eldredge, “Silver Service for the Battleship Utah: Naval Tradition under Governor Spry,” Utah Historical Quarterly 46, no. 3 (Summer 1978): 302–318.
42 Unlike today, the presence of the President of the United States brought a sense of respect and dignity to the gathering. The majority of the accounts of President Roosevelt’s visit to Utah on May 29, 1903, were taken from four of Utah’s leading newspapers, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Salt Lake Herald, and Ogden Standard. Almost without exception, they praised Roosevelt and honored his presidency, even though sharp lines divided the newspapers politically.
