As the presidential train proceeded through upstate New York, Roosevelt finished a short meeting with his foreign policy advisors. He felt prepared for the conference. He knew the issues, and he felt that his role would be more as a facilitator and moderator. Both sides wanted peace. Japan would be negotiating from a position of strength. The Japanese had clearly prevailed in the war. On the other hand, Russia had nothing. The dire position that Russia was in was the reason that the meeting with Witte had surprised him so much. He had been under the impression that the Russians would want to end the conflict and would be negotiating in good faith. While he hadn’t heard much about the personality and style of the Tsar, he was upset and disappointed by Witte’s characterization of him. He, the president, the organizer of the peace conference, had knowledge that no one else on the train had: the conference had no chance of succeeding.
Just as the last member of his policy team started to leave the conference room, Roosevelt grabbed him by the sleeve. “Charles, please stay. There is a matter I need to discuss with you.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” replied Charles J. Bonaparte. He sat down as Roosevelt closed the door and joined him at the table. He had appointed Bonaparte as secretary of the navy earlier that year, and Roosevelt had been extremely happy with his choice. In addition to his background as a highly competent lawyer, Bonaparte had also proved to be a superb administrator. Roosevelt was doubly amused that a distant relative of Napoleon Bonaparte was a cabinet member. Bonaparte looked the part of a New York lawyer, always clad in high-starched collars and pinstriped suits. One of Bonaparte’s aides had provided Roosevelt with a highly detailed briefing on the situation in Russia. This young man had greatly impressed the president.
“Charles, remember that briefing on the situation in Russia that you had your aide give me about two, three weeks ago?”
“Yes, sir, I do. Quite impressive, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed it was. Who was the young man who gave that presentation?”
“That was Lieutenant Junior Grade Stephen Morrison of the United States Navy.”
“That’s right. He’s Oscar Leavitt’s son-in-law, correct? Isn’t he related somehow to the late Congressman Morrison? I seem to remember that about him. The young man speaks Russian, doesn’t he?” Before allowing Bonaparte to answer, he added, “He’s got those eyes that look right through you. There's a lot of anger in those eyes,” said Roosevelt, almost to himself. After reflecting to himself for a few seconds, he asked, “What can you tell me about him?”
“Well, sir, he is the late Congressman Morrison’s adopted son. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy, Class of ’93. His real father was a Jew, an influential rabbi in New York City, who disowned him years ago. He emigrated from Russia. You see, Morrison has Russian blood. He has always maintained an avid interest in Russia, and I believe he still has contacts in that country. I would venture to say that he is probably one of our country’s experts on Russian internal affairs.”
“Congressman Morrison was an Irishman, a Catholic. Is young Morrison a convert?”
“That’s somewhat interesting, Mr. President. Lieutenant Morrison is a Jew, a nonpracticing one to be sure. I talked with some of the late congressman’s staff about him before he joined my own staff. Congressman Caleb Morrison was legally Lieutenant Morrison’s step-father. The lieutenant, however, remains a Jew. I presume it is a long and interesting story as to how the religious situation all came about, but I really don’t know many of the details. Lieutenant Morrison is tight-lipped on the subject.”
“He certainly looks rugged enough. I’m a little surprised to learn he’s a Jew. What can you tell me about his naval career? Has he shown courage and initiative? For goodness’ sake Charles, why would the son of an immigrant rabbi want to be a United States naval officer?”
Bonaparte thought for a few seconds before speaking. “Mr. President, I really can’t answer your last question. I did investigate his background before taking him on as my aide, of course. The congressman had never used any influence on his son’s behalf. I learned that Morrison was nearly expelled from the Naval Academy for a severe hazing incident. Apparently, the word got out about his Jewish background shortly after he arrived at Annapolis, and he was pretty much ostracized during his four years there. The incident I’m referring to, interestingly enough, was a serious beating that he received at the hands of some other naval cadets. Of course, the hazing was because of his religion even though he was a nonpracticing Jew.”
“And he was the one nearly suspended?” asked the amused Roosevelt.
“Well, Morrison refused to cooperate with the investigating officials at the academy. He wouldn’t name the cadets who attacked him, although everyone, including Morrison, knew who had done it. It put the defenders of the honor code in quite a dilemma. He refused to betray fellow classmates, even when he was threatened with expulsion. Ultimately, they dropped the threat because he refused to name names. He went on to graduate second in his class.
“There have been other incidents since he received his commission. All apparently have involved ethnic slurs, and he has proven to be very quick to respond with his fists. Before becoming my aide, he served aboard the battleship Indiana where he worked with William Sims on that famous gunnery exercise a few years ago. After the Indiana won that gunnery competition, several crews were at the officer’s club at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Morrison’s counterpart from the Massachusetts, which just happened to finish second in the competition, was near him at the bar and quite intoxicated. Apparently, he made a comment that they lost unfairly because the Indiana had a ‘cheating Jew bastard,’ or something to that effect. It was very unsubtle. Morrison immediately pounced on him and beat him to a pulp.”
“What’s your personal assessment of this man, Charles? Would you trust him with your life?”
Bonaparte put his hand to his chin and stroked it, deep in thought. He appeared to be choosing his words very carefully. “What do I think?” he asked himself aloud. After nearly a minute of contemplation, the secretary of the navy looked up at the president and began to speak. “Mr. President, even though we haven’t worked together very long, I can tell you that Lieutenant Morrison is a highly intelligent, dedicated naval officer. He is a fearless individual who is not in the least bit timid about fighting if provoked. His loyalty to the United States and the United States Navy is unconditional. Yes, I would trust him with my life.
“There is another facet to him, sir. I, too, sense a deep anger within him. You mentioned his eyes. I’ve seen that anger, too. It’s almost as if he is a controlled volcano waiting to erupt. Mind you, he is a polite, controlled individual. I’ve never seen him lose his temper. I just have this feeling about him. I can almost imagine an explosive response to a provocation. I suppose I just don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand what, Charles?” asked Roosevelt.
Hesitatingly, Bonaparte replied, “He doesn’t look like a Jew, Mr. President. I never would have known. It seems to me that his life could have been so much simpler if he had converted when he was adopted. It’s almost as if he wears the issue on his sleeve, just daring people to engage him on the subject. I know my interpretation of his motives sounds terrible, but it seems that he wants it both ways: he wants to fit in, yet he doesn’t want to fit in. That’s what I don’t understand.”
“What do you know about his family life?”
“He was married less than a year ago. His wife is the daughter of Oscar Leavitt, whom you know. He, of course, was formerly the United States Minister to the Ottoman Empire. She is a very wealthy woman in her own right. They have no children. I don’t know a lot of other details because he is a very private person.”
A wife — that may complicate things, thought Roosevelt. He sat silently for a moment, taking in all that Bonaparte had just told him. He paused and then asked, “Would you trust this man to act unhesitatingly on behalf of his country, to carry out any mission for his government as an exemplary representative of the United States?”
“Absolutely,” replied Bonaparte without hesitation.
“Well, then,” said the president, “after dinner tonight, we need to have a private meeting. On my schedule, I will have the meeting listed as a briefing on the new battleships we are building.” Roosevelt stood up and looked at Bonaparte. “I have been advised to send an exceptional naval officer to England to work with Admiral Fisher on that new battleship they are building. In fact, the keel is scheduled to be laid for the new ship on October 2, and we need to send a representative for the ceremony. Why don’t we make the trip more than just a ceremonial visit? I believe that this Lieutenant Morrison is just the man for the job.”