The age-herald., 1900-07-22
ROOSEVELT NOT A
 WEALTHY MAN

Contrary to an impression which prevails widely the Governor is ont rich man. He came of the old families of New York, and inherited property which insured him a comfortable living according to the ideas of his ancestors. MT. Roosevelt has not been in business in the sense of devoting himself to mere moneymaking. He has been Civil Service Commissioner, Police Commis- sioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Colonel of Volunteers, and now is Governor of New York. All of this time his living has cost him more than his official salaries and the income from his inherited estate. Literary work is MT. Roosevelt's delight, but the world can never know how much the remuneration entered into the problem of keeping the pot boiling. It Is vouched for by one nearly related to the Governor that but for this revenue derived from the pen, Governor Roosevelt would have cut into his patrimony materially to sustain his family.
 Today Governor Roosevelt receives from all of his property and investments of ev cry kind the sum of $5,000 a year. As Vice-President of the United States his salary would be $8, GOO year, and this will represent his income. Literary work which Is now delight and material addition to his income, will, presumably be thought inconsistent with the dignity of the Vice Presidency. MT Roosevelt talked about tUlS ldSL HlSnt, Wfen II ndQ become aDDa- rent to him that he could no longer resist the inevitable. He argued that 1t would be necessary for him to suspend most, if not all of his literary engagements, which were entirely proper for him as the Governor of New York. He decided that election to the Vice-Presidency meant living on an income of $13,000 year. Vice-Presidents have done this. The late Vice-President Hobart did not He maintained an establishment, and entertained on scale that cost far more than MT. Roosevelt will be able to spend.
 When it came to the point of deciding to waive personal considerations and to remain passive, MT Roosevelt talked plainly. He. said it must be understood that he would rent a modest house on N street, at the capital, and do but little in a social way. His obligations to his family required that he should live within the in come of the office and his estate. Upon this he was determined.
 When Theodore Roosevelt was civil serv- ice commissioner, ten years ago. he wrote letter which will be read with extraor- dinary interest at this time. The letter was private; it dwelt upon the attractions and possibilities of political career. At that time MT. Roosevelt was reluctantly deciding that he could not make a profess sion of politics, and was turning to ltera- ture as his vocation. The recipient of the letter, MT. Edward Atwell, has chosen an suspicious time to make 1t public This is
 
 "If a man has political foresight who lives in a district where the people think as he does, and where he has great hold over them, then he can seriously go in for a continuous public career, and I suppose in such a case it is all right for him to shape his public course more or less with a view to his own continuance in office. am a little inclined to envy a man who can look forward to a long and steady course of public service; but in my own case such a career is out of the question, and person. ally 1t seems to me that a mans comfort and usefulness in public life are greatly impaired the moment he begins to worrying about how his votes and actions will affect his own future. When I was in the legis- lature I soon found that for my own hap piness, as we'll for the sake of doing good work, had to cast aside all thought of my own future ,and as soon as I had made up my mind to this and voted sim ply as I thought right, not only disre- garding people themselves, if I honestly thought them all wrong on a matter of principle, not of mere expediency, then I began to thoroughly enjoy myself and to