Amador ledger., 1900-10-05
THE PITH OF POLITICS.
I CBy ARTHUR J. P1LIsBuRYl

1t has seemed good and profitab BILE for
politics in the eyes of associated Bryan
ism to make Governor Theodore Roose-
Telt, of New York, Vice Presidential
candidate on the Republican ticket, the
particular target for their mortar batter
les engaged in mud throwing. Thisis to
be accounted for in part by the fact that
Mr.. Roosevelt rolled the Bryan part
Isans up quite little by his speech at
BIT. Paul and partly from envy because
pf the unique position which he has
hitherto occupied in the public mind
AS for William Mckinley, he has with
stood so many onslaughts from mortar
batteries hurting soft mud, and so little
bf it has stuck to him, that those bat
teries have been instinctively trained
upon another target in the hope that
results may be obtained. Even Mr.
Marcus A. Hanna has escaped being
assailed in thisc ampaign as he was as
sailed four years ago and only Mr.
Roosevelt is catching it. 1t won't hurt
him. He will come out of the bath as
dawless as he went into it and will
even shine with an added lustre. An
honest man of sense pursuing a COIL
Eistent policy with courage is invulner-
able to the assaults of malice even to
the heel.
Let US sketch, with she brevity of
wit, if without other quality of it, the
life line of the man who occupies the
second place on the Republican ticket
sort Of run our fingers over the keys as
it were, for an improvisation.
A feeble childhood that kept him
from playing roughly with other chill
dren until he was old enough to catch
The idea that, if he would become a
mar. he must, perforce, develop a man.
hood, with the result that he has at
tained the perfection of trained
athlete.
A youth given to study and sturdy
equipment for life's rivalries, college
bred and socially well bred, a manly
young man with manly ideals.
A youfg manhood given to travel,
adventure, to the hardening processes
OF frontier life, developing physical
courge, elf-possession, tact, and a thor
ough .kowledge of nature and of the
hardy, western type of Americanism
that lives closest to nature.
An entrance upon the serious bust
ness Of life with fixed purpose to lead a
life that would be productive of results
and results that will make the world
the better for his having lived. Am
bilious without being self,seeking.
Some men study that they may do
things. Others do things they, hardly
know how, usually "by main strength
and awkwardness." Theodore Roose-
Telt Is a knower and doer. He is a
man informed as few men are in
formed, and he is man who acts with
an energized executive force that few
men are able to match. He fills full
the measure of Ralph Waldo Emerson s
ideal man. "Wise to know and bold to
perform" which, Emerson declares,
''is the end to which nature works"
"What has Governor Roosevelt ever
dene2" That is the knock-down argu-
inent, Illuminated by every man who
would annihilate an adversary.
Theodore Roosevelt will be 40 years
old few days before his election to the
second higest Office within the gift of
any people.
At 2S he was elected to the New York
assembly. The ''push" took him up as
bright young fellow and put him in.
The push wished it hadn't, for he re-
manned there three terms fighting like a
tiger for every good thing and against
every bad thing, winning national
reputation in the New York assembly.
What other man ever won a high and
honorable reputation throughout the
nation in the lower house of any state ?
Two years after retiring from the as
5embly the Republicans of New York
city tried to make him mayor, but he
failed and President Harrison, in 1889,
made him a member of the Civil Ser.
vice commission, where he was supposed
to have forfeited all chances for politi.
cal preferment by extending the civil
service and establishing it on sure
foundation. He devoted six years of
the most assiduous labor to that work.
was the body, soul and spirit of the
commission and by his efforts extended
the classified service from 1000 officers
to 10000.
The next service he was called to was
that of president of the New York
board of police commissioners and the
result was reorganized police force
such as New York had not had before
and has not had since. To this work he
devoted night and day, rolling out of
bed at any hour of the night to 90 into
suspected districts to see if men were
on duty. The faithful officers were pro-
tected and promoted, the faithless ones
were discharged.
It was while serving as president of
the New York police commission that
President Mckinley appointed Mr..
Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the
Navy. From childhood he had been
deeply interested in the navy, had made
study of naval tactics and warfare,
and entered upon his new duties with
patriotic zeal.
He foresaw the war with Spain and
set about making the navy ready for
it. It was owing to his persistency
that vast sums were expended for am.
munition to be used in target practice
with the result that the man behind
the gun knew how to shoot
Having completed this work he re-
signed as assistant secretary of the
nayy to organize the Rough Riders