Mr. Roosevelt has been known to the
public principally as a writer and a
rough rider. It was therefore singu
larly appropriate in at least one re
spect that it was in the musty atmos
phere of old books that he took the
oath to faithfully execute the office
of president of the United States,” and
to the best of his ability to “preserve,
protect and defend the constitution of
the United States.” On Saturday aft
ernoon, September 14, 1901, in the
library of the home of his friend, Ans
Iey Wilcox, and in the city of Buffalo,
N. Y., the simple ceremony' was per
formed. The president is dead; th?
president lives; long live our presi
dent!
Theodore Roosevelt is the twenty
sixth president of the United States,
and the fifth vice president to succeed
to the executive chair. John Tyler was
the first, succeeding William Henry
Harrison. Millard Fillmore was the
second; he succeeded Zachary Taylor.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln
brought Andrew Johnson into the
white house. Janies A. Garfield was
succeeded by his vice president, Ches
ter A. Arthur. Roosevelt has one ad
vantage over all these four men in
that he comes into his great office bet
ter known to the public than any of
them. Almost from boyhood he has
been more or less in the eyes of the
public.
This statesman, legislator, author,
Student, huntsman, rough rider and
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
warrior is r. deseendanl through nine
generations from early Dutch settlers
of New York. Along'this ancestral line
there have been infusions of Scotch,
Irish and French-Huguenot blood. The
present Theodor* Koosevelt is not the
first of his family to hold public office.
In successive generations its members
have beer, called to official duties in
city, state or nation. The father of the
president at various times held public
office in New York, and invariably re
fused money compensation for his
Services.
Of Delicate Hcnltli When a I,a<1.
Koosevelt was a pale and delicate
boy, the very opposite in health of
what he has since become. Plenty of
outdoor air and physical exercise soon
began to give liim a good degree of
bodily vigor, and in his college years
he became skilled in boxing and
wrestling.
In Harvard university he held good
rank as a scholar, giving especial at
tention to natural history and gen
eral historical subjects. After his
graduation from Harvard in 18S0 he
continued his studies at Dresden and
then traveled in Europe and the east.
Roosevelt Enters Politics.
In 1S81 Koosevelt, 23 years of age,
began hi* active life in New York. And
with him activity was activity. His
father had instilled into his mind a
contempt for the man who drifts
through an inactive life of comfortable
self-indulgence, achieving nothing.
He tried a plunge into New York
politic;. In his city district was a re
publican machine combination that
showed no disposition to recognize his
! desire to become a member of the leg
islature. He fought the machine and
defeated it.
In 1884 he appeared before the na
tion. His health troubled him and he
sought a new life at Chimney Hutte,
Dak., where he grazed cattle and led
tlie life of a cowboy. He became known
from Medora to Dickinson as the bold
est and bravest cattleman in the re
gion. He did what the cowmen did.
He lived as they lived. He commanded
the respect even of the desperadoes.
His lungs expanded, his body devel
oped and he gained a reserve of' health
that seems to have grown every year
since.
Turns to Literature.
He lost money on his cattle venture,
but he returned to New York a strong
man physically, and he made the race
for mayor of that city. He was de
feated. but he laughed. He understood
that the corrupt elements of the city
would not tolerate him, but he waited.
Meanwhile he wrote books—books on
hunting, books on western life, books
on eastern cities. His style in liter
ature was vigorous and pleasing. His
books sold well and the magazines
made great demand for his writings.
The public liked his breeziness, his ev
ident sincerity, his courage, and par
tially appreciated him even before he
became a national civilservice commis
-ioner in 18S9.
Once at Washington, he commenced
an enforcement of the law of the most
vigorous kind. He made himself dis
liked among- the spoilsmen of both
parties, but he held to the line of his
duty. He took the law as he found it.
lived true to his oath of office and made
the measure respected in many quar
ters where it had been sneered at be
fore.
Slmkes Up the Police.
From Washington he passed to a po
lice commissionership in New York
city. His peculiar ability to work, and
work on right lines, gave the corrupt
police force such a shaking up as it had
never had before. He was police com
missioner in every sense of the word,
unbribable, unapproachable, fair to
the fair-minded, severe on the crim
inal. His books continued to sell in
increasing number, and the public
through the press, began to have a
broader view of him.
When the Spanish-American war
came he was assistant secretary of the
navy by the authority of Fresideut Mc
Kinley. He had much to do with the
organization of the navy for the con
flict, and it has always been believed
that his influence largely contributed
to the sending of Admiral Dewey to
Hong-Kong, and thence to Manila
bay.
When war became a certainty Mr.
Roosevelt resigned his position in the
navy department, and with Gen. Leon
ard Wood organized the First volun
teer cavalry, better known as the
rough riders. Gen. Wood was colonel
of this regiment and Mr. ltoosevelt
lieutenant colonel. The members of
the regiment came from the first fam
ilies in the east, from ranches in the
west, came from wherever good horse
men, daring men and good shots could
be secured.
Form* Unique Regiment.
The regiment was the most unique
of its kind ever organized, and was
much scoffed at in the beginning. Be
fore it had been two days in Cuba the
wisdom of its organization was plainly
seen. The men were fitted for any
kind of campaigning. Their colonel
and lieutenant colonel took what they
took. The regimen t practically foraged
itself, and was first in the field and
first to be baptized with fire. At Las
Guasimas, Kettle hill and San Juan i1
gave up its bravest and best and went
on to victory.
Mr. Koosevelt was its colonel before
the end of the war, and pronounced by
THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY.
(View of the Interesting Group Which Will Make the White House Their Home.)
the foreign military attaches who ob
served his conduct in the field as one
of the first military officers of the day.
He was in Santiago at the surrender,
brought his regiment back to the Unit
ed States and disbanded it at Montauk
point in the fall of 1898. It contrib
uted among the volunteer troops more
to the success of the American arms in
Cuba than any other regiment formed.
In Chosen Governor.
The colonel became governor of New
York immediately after his return to
this country. As governor he stood
for radical taxation legislation and
| state control of the trusts. His term
was marked by a pronounced fight on
his part against the New York repub
lican machine. He did not seek the
vice presidential nomination last year,
but had it forced upon him, and he ac
cepted at the last moment. During the
campaign he made a trip of over 21,000
miles, speaking for the ticket, and was
received everywhere with popular ac
claim. Since his inauguration he has
presided over one extra session of the
senate, and made several trips
throughout the country, attending
public functions.
As to the real Theodore Roosevelt,
authentic things that he has said give
ample revelation as to what manner of
a character he will bring to the presi
dency. On “Americanism,”in an inter
view in 1893, he said:
“I naturally disapprove of the half
conscious spread-eagle Americanism,
which is ever exerting itself at the
wrong moments. I dislike it, of
course, when it is put forward as a plea
to excuse moral shortcomings of a
kind usually connected with public af
fairs. Nevertheless, in spite of this
abuse, I am sure that no man can well
play his part in our life who is not hon
estly American in heart, belief and in
stinct.
Admirer of Pnrkinan.
“If one wishes to find a typical Amer
ican, one may consider Francis Park
man. He always appealed to my admi
ration, because he made his life work
largely of the description of that fron
tier warfare between our backwoods
men and their foes which has been of
such incalculable importance in our
land’s history.”
In one of his published works he
says: “In speaking to my own coun
trymen there is one point upon which
I wish to lay especial stress; that is,
the necessity for a feeling of broad,
radical and intense Americanism, if
g'ood work is to be done in any direc
tion. Above all, the one essential for
success in every political movement
which is to do lasting good is that our
citizens should act as Americans, not
as Americans with a prefix and quali
fication—not as Irish-Americans, Ger
man-Americans, native Americans—
but as Americans pure and simple.
Opinion on Ca»(c.
“It is an outrage for a man to drag
foreign politics into our contests and
vote as an Irishman or German or oth
er foreigner, as the case may be, and
there is no worse citizen than the pro
fessional Irish dynamiter or German
anarchist, because of his attitude to
ward our social and political life, not
to mention his efforts to embroil us
with foreign powers. But it is no less
an outrage to discriminate against one
who has become an American in good
faith, merely because of his creed or
birthplace.”
Of caste he has written: “As for the
upper social world, the fashionable
world, it is much as it was when por
trayed in ‘Potiphar Papers,’ save that
modern society has shifted the shrine
at which it pays comical but sincere J
homage from Paris to London. Per
haps it is rather better, for it i.s less J
provincial and a trifle more American. j
But a would-be upper class based main
ly on wealth, on which it is the excep
tion and not the rule for a man to be
of any real account in the national life,
whether as a politician, a literary man,
or otherwise, is of necessity radically
defective and of little moment.”
ROOSEVELT AS AN AUTHOR.
During a Iluny Life He Han Found
Time for Much Writing'.
It is now nearly 20 years since Theo
j dore Roosevelt took a place in the
public eye as a man of affairs. Grant
■ ing him the prophet’s three score years
and ten, only a little more than a third
of his period of maturity has passed.
And yet 14 volumes stand to his credit.
And if we add the books in which his
1 " —1 1 ' .. ,
! name appears as editor and contrib
utor, like “The History of the Royal
: Navy,” and the book of which he and
Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge are joint au
thors, the total number of his books
1 is 21.
This would be remarkable in an
author whose sole occupation was
writing. It appears still more so in
a man to whom authorship is but an
incident, when we recall that he has
served three terms in the New York
legislature; that he was for five years
a member of the civil service commis
sion, and for three arduous years pres
ident of the board of police commis
sioners in New York city; that he has
; been assistant secretary of the navy,
commander of a regiment in the war
with Spain, governor of New Y'ork and
vice president of the LTnited States.
Furthermore, to appreciate fully
the size of Mr. Roosevelt’s product as
an author we must bear in mind two
_VJ
MRS. THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
mure ilungs—me cnaracxer ox ms I
work and the diversity of his sub
jects. Most of his books are not such
as could be written off-hand. His “His
tory of the Navy in the War of 1812''
and his “Winning of the West”involved
a great deal of searching among
ai'chives and old manuscripts in state |
and national government offices, in j
libraries and in private collections.
His subjects include naval history, I
military history, frontier history, mu- j
nicipal history, sport, biography, bi- !
ology, polities and book reviews.
Mr. lioosevelt’s style is that of a
plain man telling a straightforward
story. After reading his books you
are certain that he never paid any at
tention to his style, and the evidence
is, not that the style is not good, but
that there is absolutely no straining !
after effect. He is essentially a prac
tical man, but he is well endowed with
imagination, and this gives to his work !
an occasional poetic touch that ap- |
peals to the reader’s sympathies. H*
has, too, a power of coining’ striking
phrases and of putting things in a
way that catches the attention. “Tho
strenuous life” is a phrase with a
meaning that could not be put again
in so few words. In a recent speech
he spoke of our war with Spain as
“merely a bit of the police work of
the world.” Once before he spoke of
it as “a bit of rough surgery.”
These utterances reveal the man.
He has written much. The titles of
some of his best works are: “Life of
Thomas Benton,” “Life of Governeur
Morris,” “Ranch Life and the Hunting
Trail,” “The Winning of the West,”
“History of New York City,” “Essays
on Practical Politics,” “The Wilder*
ness Hunter,” “Hero Tales from Amer
ican History,” “Naval War of 1812.”
Tlie First Lady of the Land.
Mrs. Roosevelt is a handsoma
woman, well educated, and thorough
ly familiar with the requirements of
society. She is a warm admirer of
Mrs. Grover Cleveland, especially as a
wife and mother, and warmly ap
proves the declarations of the former
president's wife that children belong
exclusively to the home and fireside,
and should never know they are ob
jects of public interest, especially
during a political campaign. She is
careful to screen her children in all
ways possible from photographers,
and likewise shuns publicity herself.
She declares children, if promiscu
ously admired, become self-conscious,
vain and conceited, and lose their
trait’s of innocence and loveliness.
HIS CAREER IN OUTLINE.
A Brief Chronology of Mr. Roose
velt*!* Life.
Born—New York, October 27, 1858.
Educated—Cutler’s private school,
New York; and Harvard. Graduated
from Harvard, 1880.
His Favorite Studies There—History,
philosophy and government.
Elected to State Legislature—1883.
Defeated for Mayor of New York—
18S6.
Became Noted as New York Refornt
Police Commissioner—1895.
Served as President Harrison’s Ap
pointee on National Civil Service
Commission—1889-1895.
President McKinley made him as
sistant secretary of navy% 1897.
Organized the rough riders and
fought at their head at San Juan.
Was elected governor of New York,
1898; plurality over Augustus Van
Wyck, 18.000.
Was elected vice president, 1900.
Took the oath of office as president
of the United States September 14,
1900.
Married Miss Edith Kermet Carow
m lbSb. lias six children—four boys
and two girls-—and lives at Oyster
Bay, Long- Island, New York.
ROOSEVELT’S CAB1XET.
McKinley's Conncilors "Will Stand by
the Xew President.
It is almost certain that the cab
inet of President McKinley will be
the cabinet of President Roosevelt.
He not only requested them to re
main, but stated to them that they
were his choice for the positions
which they were occupying. All of
the members including Secretary
Hay complied unconditionally. In
■the event of Secretary Hay's retire
ment (sooner or later) it is altogeth
er probable that Secretary of War
Root will succeed to the state port
folio. This will make an opening for
at least one new man to take charge
of the war office. No other changes
under present circumstances are even
remotely likely.