The same violence of his likes and dislikes is shown in his
attitude toward the British and his espousal of the Irish cause. At
the time of the visit of the British mission to Washington, Vice-
President Marshall designated Senator Borah a member of the
committee appointed to escort the British visitors into the
chamber. This Borah resented as a personal affront.
"Marshall has a distorted sense of humor," he said. "He knows I
dislike the British and that I despise the hypocrite Balfour." This
feeling was probably due in large measure to the Irish lineage
which Borah can trace in his ancestry as well as a temperamental
dislike of the British methods of maintaining control over subject
peoples.
It is difficult to label Senator Borah from a political standpoint.
His most striking characteristic is his inconsistency. For a long
time in the early days of the progressive movement he displayed a
marked inclination to be "irregular" and he is to be found voting
for most measures for which the "progressives" claimed sponsorship,
but when the more radical leaders began to advocate the recall of
the judiciary, Borah rose up and delivered an invective the memory
of which lingers in the Capitol. It was one of the few speeches he
has made that had a permanent effect and, strangely enough, it was
the kind of speech that might have well been delivered by Root or
Knox.
Pages:
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198