The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-10-16
!26" PRESIDENT oftbe U. S.

United states civil Service COmmis-
sion. His ability and rugged honesty
IN the administration Of the affairs OF
that Office greatly helped to strengthen
his hold on popular regard
Police Co0miGsioner ia Metz
York.
Roosevelt continued in thal Office un-
III May l. 1895. when he resigned to
accept the Office OF Police Commits
sioner from Mayor Strong. He found
the administration Of affairs IN a de-
moralized condition but he soon
brought order out OF chaos Says James
A. Riis. who is an intimate friend Of
President Roosevelt:
We had been trying for forty years to
achieve "A system OF dealing decently with
our homeless poor Two score years be-
fore, the surgeons OF the police depart
meut had pointed out that herding them
in the cellars or over the prisons Of police
stations I'm fostering heaps. and turning
them out hungry az daybreak to beg their
way from door TO door was indecent and
lnhuman. Since then grand iuries, aoad-
emies of medicine. committees on phil
anthropic ciuzens, had attacked the foul
disgrace. but to no purpose. Pestilence
ravaged the prison lodgings. but sim they
stayed ] know what that fight meant
for j was one Of n committee that waged
II year after year and suffered defeat
every time. until Theodore Roosevelt
came and destroyed the nuisance IN
night i remember the carlcatures OF
iramps shivering in the cold with which
the yellow newspapers pursued him az
the time. labelling him the poor man
foe" And ] remember being just little
uneasy lest they wound him, and perhaps
make him think he had been hasty. But
not he. II was only those who did not
know him who charged him with being
hasty Tie thought thing out quickly
yes, that Is his way; but he thought u
out, and, having thought II out suited ac-
tion to his judgment. OF the consequences
he didn't think at all. He made sure he
was right. and then went ahead with per-
feet confidence that things would come
out right.
His AdOice 10 OrSanized Labor.
Mr.. Riis says he never saw Roose-
welt to better advantage than when he
once confronted the labor men at their
meeting place, Clarendon Hall:
The police were an the time having
trouble with strikers and their "pickets"
Roosevelt saw that Il was because neith-
er party understood fully the position Of
the other. and, with his usual drectness,
sent word 20 the labor organizations that
he would like to talk Il over with them
At his request / went with him 70 the
meeting Il developed almost immedi-
ately that the labor men had taken a
wrong measure Of the man. They met him
as a politician playing for points, and
u
were met Mr.. Roosevelt broke them on
short.
"Gentlemenr he said-with that snap
Of the jaws that always made people lis
tent asked to meet you. hoping that
we might come to understand one anoth-
er Remember please. before we 90 fur
ther that the worst injury anyone Of you
can do 10 the cause Of labor Is TO counsel
violence. II will also be worse for him
self Understand distinctly that order
viii be kept The police viii keep It, Now
we can proceed"
I was never 50 proud and pleased as
when they applauded him to the echo. lie
reddened with pleasure. for he saw that
the best In them had come out on top
as he expected Il would.
Attracted BY "yeIIotO" .NetOS-
papers.
It was Of this Incident that handle
was first made by Mr.. Rooseyelt's enc
mics in and out Of the police board
and he had many-to attack him:
II happened that there was a music
hall In the building IN which the labor
men met The yellow newspapers circu-
lated the he that he went there on pur-
pose 20 see the show, and the ridiculous
story was repeated until actually the
liars persuaded themselves that it was so.
They would not have been able 70 under
stand the kind Of man they had 10 do
with. had they tired. Accordingly they
feu into their own trap. d Is a tradition
OF Mulberry Street that the notorious
seeley dir,ser raid was planned by his en-
emies IN the department Of which he was
the head. in the belief that they would
catch Mr. Roosevelt there. The dinners
were supposed TO be his 'set."
Some time after that. Mr. Riis was
in Roosevelt's Office when police Of /
fetal Of superior rank came in. and re
auested q private audience with him.
They stepped aside and the policeman
gpoke in an undertone. urging something
strongly. AR Roosevelt listened Sud
denly j saw him sfralghteu up a. a man
reooHs from something unclean. and dis
miss the other with "a sharp No. SIR /
don't fight that way. The policeman
vent out crestfaiien. Roosevelt took two
or three turns about the foor struggling
evidently with strong disgust lie told