The morning times., 1895-07-07

time may come when the president will
find himself i'll the minority upon some
questions. Like the good American that
he is, he win undoubtedly bow TO the
majority's viii when that time arrives,
though IL is also very probable that he VIII
do his level best tofpreyent the necessity
OF such submission. 4As TO his assuming
the duties OF the chief OF police, it is not
likely that he willStake a hand i'll the
actual ferreting oaE of crime which is
the real work Of the Chief and the detective
bureau, though 1t lssceFfain, beyond queS-
ton, that he viii continue in his efforts
to bring about and maintain the most
rigid discipline in the force.
On the whole, Commissioner Roosevelt
has the earnest supphrt Of the majority of
New York's citizens. They do not care
one jot If, as cha rged,:he is keeping a
sharp weather eye to the future OF Roose-
welt. What they want isa proper adminis-
tration Of the police department of the
city government. II. in accomplishing this
Mr. Roosevelt helps himself well and
good, but If his unusual and somewhat
quaint methods shall after all result in
failure, something decidedly heavy will
surely fall upon him.
Down to the present time be has had the
most earnest cooperation of the other
members of the board-a cooperation, by
the way, that is not really q bIiud, and
slavish obedience to his expressed wishes,
but the carrying out of the laws as they
understand them tv sincere, though by
no means infallible, earnest men
MR.. ROosEyELT's FAMILY.
Though Theodore Roosevelt is not large
of person, he is not a little man, but would
be spoken more accurately as of the medium
height and statue. He dresses unobtrusiveIy,
wearing brown sack suit and derby hat
when at his official duties and his manner
| is as distinctly non-official as can Well be
imagined But he means every word he says
and he expects to be obeyed by those whose
duty it is TO accept his dictum, as the
police have already found out
Hisfather, Theodore Roosevelt, was a son
of Cornelius Van SChaick Roosevelt, mil
| lionaira merchant, one Of whose sons, Robert
BaTnwell Roosevelt, uncle TO the present
police commissioner, is best known, perhaps,
because of his prominence as a fish cul
turist, but, like his nephew, has taken,
hand IN politics and literature. He
served some years ago as United States
Minister TO the Netherlands, and, in 1892,
as a member of the Democratic National
Committee, when his once popular but now
almost forgotten book, Five Acres Too
Much, y was dragged out and used as cam
paign document by the opposition, but
as the country Well remembers, with
out great effect. This book was a sort
of buTlesque on Horace Greeley's Ten
Acres Enough, and when published had a
great vogue as work of humor. But in
its pages the uthoT had a great deal of fun
with the Irish, and it was this that caused
| its resurrection in 1892, and made Bob"
Roosevelt declare that man an idiot who
writes a book.
The present Theodore Roosevelt, then
| enjoyed every advantage that could be be-
slowed by wealth, social position, and po-
litical associations. He was sent to the
| best preparatory schools and then to Har-
| ward where he was graduated in 1880,
not only in good standing with the faculty,
but also greatly respected by the students
us perhaps the best boxer in his class, having
! on several occasions greatly humbled the
/ pride Of various bullying chaps of greater
avoirdupois than himself.
| MR.. ROOSEyELT'S APPRENTICESHIP.
When he came out of college he enteredthe
law office of his uncle, but even then had
| the desire, so frankly expressed to me the
! other day, to engage in ''the work of
| governing" When, therefore, long be-
| fore he had been admitted to the bar. he
! saw chance to be noplinatcd 10 the as
| sembly he reached out and took the chance,
winning Handsomely ar the polls before
| he had been a voter two years. He re-
mained in the assembly for three conSccu-
tive terms, and his savings and doings were
constantly talked about, for, as legIsla-
tor, he was as quiet, as quaint and pictur-
esque as he now is az president OF the police
board. During the session OF 1SS1-'S2
he devoted a great GealOf his attention to
the study parliamentary forms andGsagcs,
and so successful was he in aCquainting HIM
! self with the methods of procedure, and so
solid was much Of his work, that he was
made the leader of his party during the next
SesSion-that of 1SS2'S3. 1t was in this
session that he took up civil service re-
form, with which he has since been so
prominently identified. He also inter
ested himself in the regulation of primary
elections and several matters OF special in
terest in municipal government. The next
year he was chairman of the committee on
cities and gave much attention TO certain
things in New York.
Perhaps his most exciting experiences
while amember of the a ssembly came when
he wasa candidate in SS3 for the speaker
ship. His canvass for that office was
decidedly picturesque, for he made il a
point to visit IT his ownhome every member
of the lower house, who, by any apparent
possibility could be induced to vote for
Roosevelt. Some of the AsSemblymens
homes were located, of course, in regions
decidedly rural, not to say primitive, and
several times the candidate was under
necessity of making long tramps along
countryroad DIS. .occa sionally attn light. between
railroad stations and the ASSemblymen s
farm houses. On one occasion Roosevelt was
taken for n confidence man by tn efamily
of an Assemblyman he wished to see, and
almost driven a way at the point of the pitch
fork by the "hired help" 1t is worth re-
cording, no wever, that Roosevelt secur ed the
vote of that particular legislator.
In 1884 he was chairman of the New
York delegation to the National Republican
convention which nominated Mr.. Blaine
for orthepresidency, and the course of no dele
gate to that body attracted more attention
than Roosevelt's.
Since his three years as Assemblymau
Mr. Roosevelt has never rreceivedanoffcea at
the hands of the people, though in $50 he
ran for mayor of New York, and made
right lively canvass while ne was about it.
His appointment as member of the civil
service commission was made by President
Harrison, but he was retained by President
Cleveland, and held the officeun tilappointed
to police commission by MayorStrong.
ROOSEVELT, THE RANCHMAN AM
NIMROD.
Side by side with his life as a pol
tician Theodore Roosevelt has lived tn
life of western ranchman, hunter ant
fisherman. AS q sportsman he has beei
known to thousands who have paid litt
attention to his political career. 1t il
said of him that when in the west amoni
the cowboys aud the hunters OF the Rockies
he has always shown the same willingness
to govern that has been manifested by hin
in the east and as he is an eXccllen
shot, a superb rider and a master of tn,
pioneers craft he has invariably sue
ceedcd in winning and holding the respec
of those with whom he came in contac
in the wilds
I Many stories have been told of hi
80. Il,