Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president of the United States; a typical American

Table Of Contents

PAGE

INTEODUCTION, by General Joseph Wheeler ... 9

"A TYPICAL AMEEICAN"; introduction by Opie Read 25

CHAPTER I.— Theodore Roosevelt 33

Sketch of His Life. Marked Characteristics of the Man. A Product of the Age. Blood of Heroes in His Veins. In an Age of Materialism He Stands as the Great Exponent of the Virtues. His First Historical Work. Ambitious to Do Deeds Rather than Chronicle Them.

CHAPTER II.— "Birth, Lineage AND Boyhood" ... 46 Descended from Good Old Holland Stock, His Ancestors Among the Earliest American Pioneers. Delicate in Health, His Masterful Spirit Wins for Him a Stalwart Frame. Early Develops the Qualities of a Leader.

CHAPTER III.-College Life 57

Enters College at the Age of Eighteen. Develops a Taste for Hunting and Natural History. Is Active in all College Sports, Especially. Wrestling and Boxing. Graduates in 1880 with High Honors. Membership in Clubs, Etc.

CHAPTER IV.— A New York Assemblyman .... 72 At Once Attracts Attention to Himself as an Uncompromising Foe to Machine Rule and a Friend of Good Government. Striking Promise of a Remarkable Public Career. Not Even the Danger of Bodily Violence Could Deter Him. A Revelation to the Rowdies.

Hv-X

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER v.— In National and City Politics ... 92 Recognized as a Factor in National Affairs. A Leader of Men, Loyal to the Best Traditions of His Party, but Intensely an American. Maintaining a Splendid Independence. The Forlorn Hope in the Eace for Election as Mayor of New York City.

CHAPTER VI.— Ranching in the Bad Lands .... 109 Comrade with the Cowboys. Wins the Confidence and Esteem of Hunters, Ranchmen and Pioneers. ' ' Busting ' ' Bronchos. Adventures with Wild Beasts. Thrilling Fight with a Grizzly.

CHAPTER VII.— Roosevelt as an Author .... 129 First Author to Become President. Beginning as Editor of His College Paper, He Develops Striking Literary Talent. Success of His First Work, "Naval War of 1812," "Winning of the West," ' ' The Strenuous Life and other Essays, " " Oliver Cromwell. ' ' A Voluminous Writer.

CHAPTER VIII.— Home Life and Religious Tendencies 153 Romance of His Boyhood. In the Home and Family. "All Children Should Have Just as Good a Time as They Possibly Can." Holding to the Faith of His Fathers. An American Citizen Can Take His Bible and the Constitution of the United States into the Caucus.

CHAPTER IX.— Crusade for the Merit System . . 170 Roosevelt's Work in the New York Legislature Bears Fruit. Appointed Civil Service Commissioner by President Harrison. Shows Great Preparation for the Work. Offends Spoilsmen of Both Parties. Ably Supported in the Senate and House.

CHAPTER X.— Purifying City Politics 183

Roosevelt Appointed President of Police Board of the City of New York. "I Will Enforce the Law." Merit System Governs in Police Force. Sunday Closing Law Made Operative. Attempted Assassination by Dynamite.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. €$

PAGE

CHAPTEE XI.— Assistant Secretary of the Navy . 199 KebuiWs the American Navy. Introduces Target Practice ^\ith Powder and Ball. Active in Prej^aration for War with Spain. Advises Ordering Commodore Dewey to the China Station. Kesigns for Active Duty in the Field.

CHAPTER XII.— Formation of the "Eough Eiders" 217 Friendship for General Leonard "Wood. A Month WeU Saved. Cowboys, Hunters and Clubmen Eally to His Standard. The Best Fighting Material that Ever Marched to the Field. Drilling, Preparing and Embarking. Landing on Cuban Soil.

CHAPTEE XIII.-SERncE ix Cuba 237

Brigaded with the Forces of a Fighting Man, The Affair at Las Guasimas, and the Loss of Precious Lives. The Eough Eiders Prove Their Heroism in Battle. From the Trenches to the Hospital. Graves in Alien Soil. After Peace, the Eeturn Home.

CHAPTEE XIY.— Eeturn of the Eegiment .... 263 The Eound Eobin, Ordered Back to the United States. Sick, Wounded and Well on the Voyage Home. Landing of Eough Eiders at Montauk Point. Angels of Mercy in the Hospitals, Mustered Out. Back to the Old Life, where a Eough Eider May Eide.

CHAPTEE XY.— Go\-ERNOR of New York 288

Empire State Jubilantly Eewards Colonel Eoosevelt with Its Highest Office. Inaugurates Eeform in Every Branch of the Public Service. Establishes the Principle of Street Franchise Taxation. Dewey Day in New York.

CHL\PTEB X^^.- Eoosevelt in Chicago 308

Guest of Honor at the Hamilton Club Appomattox Day Banquet. Wonderful Memory Shown in His Eecognition of Individual Eough Eiders. Characteristic Incidents of the Man. First Enunciation of the Gospel of a Strenuous Life.

4 TABLE OP CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER XVII.— Honors Thrust Upon Him . . . 336 Nominated for Vice-President Against His Emphatic Protest. Sinks Personal Preference at the (Jail of Public Duty. Striking Figure in the Campaign. Presiding Over the Senate. Seeks Eecreation in a Post-election Hunt for Mountain Lions.

CHAPTER XVIll.— Assassination of President Mc-

KlNLEY 354

Leon Czolgosz Strikes Down the Head of the Nation. Country Plunged in Sorrow. Hope and Despair Alternate. "Nearer, My God, To Thee." End of a Noble Life. The Republic Pauses While Its President is Laid to Rest.

CHAPTER XIX.— Succeeds to the Presidency ... 369 Theodore Roosevelt Takes Oath of Office. Informed of His Chief's Death While Hunting in the Adirondacks. Solemn Scenes at the Administration of the Sublime Obligation. Declares He Will Carry Out McKinley's Policy.

CHAPTER XX.— Chief Executive of the Nation . . 379 President Roosevelt Takes the Helm of Government in Washington. First Official Act. Aims to Break Up Solid South by New Methods. Summons Booker T. Washington to a Conference. Appoints Reform Democrats to Office. Friend to Labor.

CHAPTER XXI.— The Future 394

What May Reasonably Be Expected from Such a President of Such a Nation. Believing in the Monroe Doctrine and American Control of the Canal at the Isthmus, in Reciprocity and Expansion, Mr. Roosevelt Is Strong, Upright, Honest and Aggressive, and Implicitly Trusted by a United People. America 's Golden Era.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Theodore Eoosevelt, President of the United States . .

Frontispiece

Mr. Eoosevelt 's Eesidence at Oyster Bay 40

Eoom in Mr, Eoosevelt 's House at Oyster Bay .... 48 President Eoosevelt in 1880, and also at the Age of Nine

Years 64

Starting for the Hunt, Keystone Eanch 112

"Busting" a Broncho 120'

President Eoosevelt on Horseback 144

President and Mrs. Eoosevelt with Family 16Q

Mr. Eoosevelt at Home 168

Mr. Eoosevelt, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy . . . 208

Mr. Eoosevelt in Eough Eider Uniform 224

Colonel Eoosevelt as a Eough Eider 232

Major-General Joseph Wheeler 240

The Charge up San Juan Hill 256

Landing at Montauk Point. Colonel Eoosevelt and General Joseph "Wheeler 280

William McKinley 312

Colonel Eoosevelt During the Campaign of 1900 . . . 344

A Fine Bobcat 352

President Eoosevelt Conferring with Senator Hanna . . 356 Exterior of Mr. Ansley Wilcox's Eesidence, at Buffalo . 362 President Eoosevelt at the Martyred President's Casket . 366 The Mountain Guide Finds Mr. Roosevelt in the Adiron-

dacks 372

Library of Mr. Ansley Wilcox at Buffalo 376

The White House, Washington, D. C 384

Baby Quentin, the Youngest of President Roosevelt 's

Family 392

The New White House According to Mr. and ^Irs. Mc- Kinley 's Plans 400 i^ooseveLX.

Who goes ihefe ? y\q /\mericaq !

Braiq and spirit ar|cl bfaWr] and h\ea.f\, 'TvVas for him ihat Ihe qalions spared

Gachj \o Ihje years i^S qobles^ partj Jill from ihe Dulchi, Ihe (^aul and QeW Blossomed il-|e soul of l^ooseVelh

^ludenl, trooper and geqileman

LeVel-lidded Wilh times and kings-

His the Voice for a comrade's cheer, I-jis the ear When tl-]e saber rings.

T]efo shjades of tqe old days nrjelt

In the auick pulse oP l^ooseVelt.

l-|aqd that's molded to hilt of s^oi'd J

l-|e'art that e\/ef has laughed at fearj

I'ype and pattern of ciVic pridej Wit and grace of the caValier:

A^ll that his fathjers prayed aqd felt

(fleams irj the glance of F(oose\/elt.

Who goes thjere? l\n /\merican !

/Aan to the core — as men should be. Let him] pass through the lines alone.

Type of the sons of Liberty. l-|ere, v/t^ere his fathers' fatt^ers dWeit, t^oqor and faith] for I^ooseVelt!

GRACE DUFFIE BOYLAN

INTRODUCTION BY GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER.

It is no flattery to say that Theodore Roosevelt possesses to a remarkable degree the best characteristics of the ''typical American." He is learned, cultured, progressive and brave, an athlete, sportsman, ranchman, author, orator, politician, statesman and soldier.

I first knew this distinguished gentleman when, in ilpril, 18^9, he appeared in Washington as one of the three commissioners of Civil Service.

He came with the high reputation acquired as leader in the New York Assembly at the age of twenty-three, as a prominent champion of reform and opponent of Blaine at the Chicago convention when only twenty-five; as a candidate for mayor of New York city when barely twenty-eight, receiving as he did a larger percentage of votes than had ever before been polled by a Republican candidate, and as an author with more distinction than is usually enjoyed by a man then only thirty years of age.

Mr. Roosevelt was solicited to accept an appointment as Civil Service Commissioner on account of his long and relentless warfare on political jobbery and corruj^tion. He was a civil service reformer and an intense opponent of the spoils system. He entered upon his duties with / vigor and raised the office to one of very great importance, and by his persistent efforts constantly enlarged and increased the power and usefulness of the commission, never losing an opportunity to press upon President Harrison extensions and improvements which he regarded as advisable and important.

He seemed to carry with him a certain momentum in his progressive policy, and as he himself expressed it : " There is no shell separating the commission from the outer world. All is perfectly open." His policy and administration of the commission was often opposed and severely criticised by both his own and the opposing party, but in every case he promptly took the public into his confidence, gave all the facts to the press, and invited the most searching inquiry. This open, honest candor acquired the confidence

Introduction

of the country and kept him in the public eye during his entire six years of this duty.

When Mr. Cleveland became President, Roosevelt insisted upon a revision of the Civil Service rules, and procured an order from the Democratic President which added some thirty thousand positions to the classified service, bringing the total number of offices under the control of the commission up to 85,135.

Mr. Roosevelt devoted himself to showing Southern Congressmen (substantially all Democrats) that they were receiving a full share of the public patronage. I had many talks with him upon this subject, and he took especial pains to go over the records and point out the localities from which the appointees came, and he often had much to say regarding his Southern ancestry, showing in a way which he could not hide that his Southern relations and the Southern people in general had a very warm place in his big heart.

Feeling that he had accomplished the purpose for which he accepted duty in the Civil Service, he, after more than six years of labor, resigned to take upon himself the burden of duty as Police Commissioner in the city of New York.

When in the legislative assembly he had been chairman of a committee which investigated the New York Police Department. His report showed that he had very decided views upon this subject, and his study of the subject while in the legislature in a measure prepared him for this new duty.

He was notliing unless vigorous and forceful. Many were loud in praise, but he seemed to heed them not. To those who denounced him, he said : ' ' I am placed here to enforce the law as I find it. I shall enforce it. If you don't like the law, repeal it. ' '

I met Mr. Roosevelt at his office, and he showed the same enthusiastic devotion, and delighted to explain his efforts toward reform and good, honest government.

When Mr. McKinley became President he selected Mr. Roosevelt as his Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Here was a new field of operations for his tireless energies. He had already written a history of the navy of the United States, and this had required a research into the archives at Washington, and into the reports of the British and French officers and the logs of British and French ships, all of which was an excellent edu-

INTEODUCTION.

cation for the high position to which he was so suddenly called.

Mr. Roosevelt in this history of our navy says : ' ' There were no better seamen in the world than the American Jack ; he had been bred to his work from infancy, and had been ofe in a fishing dory almost as soon as he could walk. When he grew older he shipped as a merchantman, or whaler, and in warlike times, when our merchant marine was compelled to rely pretty much on itself for protection, each craft had to be handled well ; all that were not were soon weeded out by a process of natural selection of which the agents were French picaroons, Spanish buccaneers, and Malay pirates. It was a rough school, but it taught Jack to be both skilful and self-reliant."

In June, 1897, in addressing the naval cadets he repeated Washington's warning : " To be prepared for war is the most effectual means to promote peace," and with great emphasis he uttered these words :

"All the great masterful races have been fighting races. Cowardice in a race, as in an individual, is the unpardonable sin."

About this time, a year before our clash of arms with Spain, he said : ' ' The enemies we may have to face will come from over the sea; they may come from Europe, or they may come from Asia. Events move fast in the West; but this generation has been forced to see that they move even faster in the oldest East. Our interests are as great in the Pacific as in the Atlantic, in the Hawaiian Islands as in the West Indies. Merely for the protection of our own shores, we need a great navy; and what is more, we need it to protect our interests in the islands from which it is possible to command our shores and to protect our commerce on the high seas. ' '

He early became impressed that war with Spain was inevitable, and to prepare for it he infused life, vigor, snap and energy into every branch of the service.

He hastened the work upon new ships and repairs on old ones. He encouraged recruiting the navy to its full strength and increased the supply of coal at every station. He personally inspected the war- vessels and neglected nothing which would add to naval efficiency.

Senator Cushman K. Davis said :

''If it had not been for Roosevelt we would not have been able to strike the blow that we did at Manila. It needed just Roosevelt's energy and promptness. ' '

The records of the Department, February 25, 1898, show this confidential cablegram from Roosevelt to Commodore Dewey: ''Order the squadron, except Monocacy, to Hong-Kong. Keep full of coal. In the event of declaration of war with Spain your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast, and then offensive operations in Philippine Islands. Keep Olympia until further orders. ' '

I saw Mr. Roosevelt many times during this trying period and like all others with whom he came into contact, I was deeply impressed by his earnest, convincing arguments.

When war was actually declared, he said :

' ' My work here is done. I must get into the fight myself. ' '

It would extend the scope of this article too far for me to more than allude to the correspondence between our distinguished Secretary Long and Assistant Secretary Roosevelt, in which he was urged to withhold his resignation and remain in the Department where he was doing such valuable service ; but he had determined his course of duty, and in May we find him with a commission for himself as lieutenant-colonel, and with a colonel's commission for the then almost unknown Dr. Leonard Wood, en route to Texas to raise what was popularly known as Roosevelt's Regiment of Rough Riders, and officially as the First Regiment of United States Volunteer Cavalry. He only demanded good arms for his men and the chance to get them against the enemy. The rest to be left in his hands.

When it became apparent that the troops at Tampa would compose the first expedition of active operations, Roosevelt, then far off in Texas, burdened the telegraph lines with dispatches until orders reached him to go with his fine regiment and become a part of the cavalry division which I commanded at that place. Learning the hour of his arrival, I met him with staff-officers at the train, expecting that the regiment would need much after their long journey. Roosevelt, Colonel Wood and other officers were all in fine spirits, and assured me they had everything and that they would be comfortable in the cars that night. The next day I put them into camp, and in an hour the entire regiment was out upon drill.

It was here that it was my privilege to enjoy my greatest intimacy with this young officer.

This was very close, as their brigade commander, General Young, was at Lakeland, thirty miles distant, with his other two regiments, and, therefore, the Rough Riders reported direct to me, their division commander.

Both Roosevelt and Wood urged me to frequent inspections, to be present at their drills, to examine into their equipment and administration, and they frequently came to me, generally together, laying before me their methods of drill, discipline, etc. They were anxious to be assured if their methods were the best, and that they be corrected if any change or improvement could be suggested. They had tactics and army regulations constantly in hand, and I was surprised to see how thoroughly they had become informed upon all that pertained to their duties as regimental commanders.

June 7 came, and with it Admiral Sampson *s telegram : ' ' If ten thousand men were here, city and fleet would be ours within forty-eight hours. Every consideration demands immediate army movement. If delayed, city will be defended more strongly by guns taken from fleet. ' '

It was in the quiet darkness of night that an officer of General Shafter's staff came to my tent with orders from Washington for us to embark at daylight the next morning at Port Tampa, distant nine miles from our camp. Immediately all was activity. Eoosevelt and Wood were before me in a few moments, received their orders, and in an incredibly short time their legiment, with all its equipments, was by the side of the railroad, ready and waiting for the cars. Soon after daylight Port Tampa was reached, and we were soon on shipboard, the promptness with which the Eough Riders were embarked being largely due to the indomitable push of the young lieutenant-colonel. The delay at Port Tampa until June 17 was caused by the false report that Spanish war-vessels threatened the course we were to sail.

On June 20 we reached Daiquiri, Cuba.

On the morning of the 22d the navy, with steam and naphtha launches towing large strings of boats, commenced landing our troops.

General Shafter put Lawton's division and Bates' brigade before us.

We felt this keenly, and knowing that the purpose was to get ashore promptly, we commenced landing with our own ship 's boats, rowed by our men.

Roosevelt's energy and push helped verymuch in this effort, and before night we had landed 964 officers and men of the cavalry division.

Siboney is on the ocean and is nine miles nearer Santiago than Daiquiri.

On the 22d General Lawton was ordered with his division, about five thousand strong, to march upon and capture the enemy at Siboney, so that the remainder of the troops and supplies could be landed at that place.

Lawton reached Siboney on the 23d, but found that the enemy had already evacuated that place and had taken the road toward Santiago.

At noon on the 23d General Shafter had not heard from Lawton and he ordered the commander of the cavalry division, with the 964 men of his command, to proceed to Siboney and put his advance close to the enemy.

The division commander ordered Young, Wood and Roosevelt forward and hastened on in person, and finally found the enemy stationed on the Santiago road between two and three miles from Siboney. He reconnoitered the Spanish position and after dark returned to Siboney. Before daylight these 964 dismounted cavalrymen were en march, and at a little after seven they attacked, and after a severe fight defeated a large Spanish force under Lieutenant-General Linares.

This was Eoosevelt's first experience under fire, and his superb conduct immediately established him as a brave and intrepid soldier.

The official report of the division commander said: ''The magnificent and brave work done by the regiment, under the lead of Colonel Wood, testifies to his courage and skill. The energy and determination of this officer had been marked from the moment he reported to me at Tampa, Florida, and I recommended him for the consideration of the Government. I must rely upon his report to do justice to his officers and men, but I desire personally to add that all that I have said regarding Colonel Wood applies equally to Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt. ' '

On July 1, on account of the sickness of General Young, his brigade fell under the command of Colonel AVood, and the Rough Riders' regiment was commanded by Colonel Roosevelt during the San Juan battle and in all the engagements which terminated in the surrender of the Spanish army.

My endorsement upon Colonel Roosevelt's report contained these words: "Colonel Roosevelt and his entire command deserve high commendation. ' ' I also recommended and requested that a gold medal be awarded him for his gallantry at San Juan.

The conduct of Colonel Roosevelt was brave and- soldierly. He was always at the front, always active, always caring for his men and always solicitous in attending to every duty.

In August we sailed together upon the Miami for Montauk Point. He had become colonel of the regiment, and his excellent discipline and administration upon shipboard deserved high commendation.

I saw much of him on the voyage, which lasted something over a week. I many times repeated that his party would immediately seek him as their candidate for Governor of New York, and that his wonderful civil career, supplemented by his short but very brilliant record as a soldier, would cause the American people to finally elect him to the highest office within their gift. This expression of mine was published very generally in the papers just after we landed, and I think this view was very general among those who had followed Colonel Roosevelt's career from the time he entered public life.

The first prediction was verified three days after we landed by a formal tender of the nomination for Governor.

His distinguished career in that high position is familiar to the people of the entire country, and especially to those of the Empire State.

His reluctant consent to accept the office of Vice-President is fresh in our memory.

The fearful tragedy which caused the death of William McKinley, the most loved of all our Presidents, is constantly before us. We see it in emblems of mourning everywhere, in every city, town and hamlet in our land. We see it in the sad faces of our people in all walks of life.

We realize the extent of our country's loss when we contemplate the perfect public, as well as private, life of this great and good man.

We appreciate it also when we see the prosperity of our country during all the period of his administration, and especially in the preservation of our prestige as a nation and the glorious record of our arms on both the land and se^. And in all the nation's sadness no one has fdt the bereavement more than he who must bear the burdens and responsibilities which, in a sudden and unexpected moment, have been thrust upon him. That this new duty will be honestly, wisely and well performed those who know Theodore Roosevelt cannot for a moment doubt, and I believe that the dying moments of our martyred President were made more tranquil by the thought that his efforts for the glory, prosperity and happiness of our countrj^ would be continued by his successor with wisdom, courage and determination.

A TYPICAL AMERICAN.

Roosevelt represents the entire American nation. He is the first President of the New United States. His antecedents make him the typical American. He inherited no prejudices. He owes party allegiance to no political machine. A hero before the election, he is now an inspiration to every American boy. Though born in Mew York, the entire country claims him. His mother was from Georgia, and he himself was a cowboy in the West. One of his uncles was a commodore in the Confederate navy, and he recently remarked that more than half of the Rough Riders were the sons of men who fought in the army of the South. It would be difficult to find a man so '' geographically universal." For the first time in our history a man of letters is at the head of the Government. Nearly all of our Presidents have been strong and graceful writers on economic subjects— some of them have made startling phrases and have dealt in periods that would put to shame the literary hack; but Roosevelt is an all-round literary worker. He is prepared to write anything, on any subject— adventure, philosoph}--, international law. His education is thorough; he represents the college student and the college athlete. He is of the new and the old. While he reveres the traditions of his grandfather, he recognizes the force of his brother. With him old things have become new. He is the epitome of David's strength. Old things may have been wise for that day, but new things represent our power this day. If the man who is struggling on the hill-side will only stop to think of this fact it may be of advantage to him. We revere the past, but tradition may have hampered us. America, the most progressive of nations, may have been hampered by tradition.

For their day our forefathers were unquestionably wise. To them the Constitution was a dead-set faith. At that time man's vision extended only to the limit bordering his lands. Beyond that was dark experiment. Shrinking within the limits of a narrow shell, *^ hands off" was the nation's watchword. Broad-minded Jeffersonism did not comprehend the entire

A TYPICAL AMERICAN". li

world. It did not gather the spreading force of geography. Isolation was his watchword and the national cry of his successors. "Hands off" they said, and our Congressmen were on that platform elected. Europe smiled, and we contented ourselves with what they condemned as our narrowness.

Years passed, and we had a merciless war. Premiers said, ''I told you so." There was no hope for America. With the hot wax of impulsiveness, she had sealed the letter of her doom. Germany, believing in the failure of all republics, gathered herself into a sardonic laugh. England, though a monarchy— the father, the mother of all modern republics— cried "Long live the queen, ' ' and yet mourned for us. Our war came to an end. In one part of the country there seemed to be chaos. Senators said, "We have failed. ' ' But out of that chaos came order. Up arose leaders of men who declared that secession had been a failure. They joined the Government without having changed their principle of the rights of States. Upon that platform they were elected, and the world of mankind was forced to declare that history had been baffled. The old order of things, the kings and queens, said they, were sleeping. Soon they will wake up. Rome taught us that such a thing could not be. Ancient Egypt declared its failure. Modern France laughs with us. The French revolution was a failure. Therefore this thing cannot stand. They called it a thing. They had lost sight of immortality. The assassin lifted his weapon as if to prove that monarchy was the only enduring form of government. Presidents sank down to die, but the Government still lived. Office may be ephemeral, but the people are eternal. The crown did not know this. They said that the scepter was God's word. We have taught the world that this is wrong. The people are immortal. The death of McKinley proved the ever-enduring life of his nation. Before the day of enlightenment such a death would have meant chaos. The education of man means the eternal element of society. Presidents die; the country lives.

But confidence is the essence of prosperity. Without confidence we are unsteady of gaze, fixing cross-eyes upon uncertainty. With confidence we are strong, and Roosevelt gives us strength. They said that he was lacking in dignity and he became the most dignified of men.

They said that he might not be executive, and one word put the nation at rest. They acknowledged that he was brave, but they said that bravery was not wisdom. The bravest were the wisest men of Rome. Bravery, sobered with responsibility, is the most conservative ruler. They did not know tliis at first but they know it now. Roosevelt is a patriot, and of such is the safe statesman composed. Men who stood closest to him were astonished. He surprised his most intimate friends. They had not taken into account liis devoted study of governments. Now they wonder at our short-sightedness. While riding in a carriage toward the McKinley house, Roosevelt pointed to a large building and remarked: ''There is the future President for all time. ' ' It was a public school. Some of the men who were with him did not understand this, but some of them did ; and one man, a Congressman, reached over and took his hand. To Roosevelt old men came and centered their hope. They felt that American institutions were safe. In him they knew was centered the entire country. At Canton were men of every party. For the first time in the history of the States there was no political creed. America was united against sorrow— against the world. At the steps of the house of woe the new President spoke words which must appeal to every American. "Boys"— he did not say ''gentlemen," he did not say ''fellow citizens," he said "boys," for his mind had flown back to a time when he was fighting for his country— "Boys, we must stand together. We have met at the bier of one whom we loved. He was the product of the entire country. We are the product of all the country. He loved us and we loved him. Among you I see men from Texas and men from Maine. Is it not a glory to know that we are all as one? They predicted that this could not be. We have shown them their error. I have one word to pledge you —that we are all of us American citizens. My life and my work belong to you. I am not your ruler but your friend in council. I ask no higher honor than to serve my country. The North and the South have passed away, and we have become as one. These soldiers that you see are but the expressive force of a State— Ohio. They are the sons of the men who followed our dead chieftain to the war. Some of them were on the other side. Let us honor them, for they are representative of our country. Among you occasionally I catch