Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-01-07
THED. ROOSEVHT'S INCOME


anything good OF President roosevelt,
and | want to believe wnat | read of
him in friendly newspaper the other
! day. That is the statement that up to
his becoming President his income
was only $4,000 year. His wites sim
liar income was also mentioned, which
seemed TO me both irrelevant and in
bad taste. Truly, dear fellow scribes,
we ought to draw the line somewhere,
and the inner cage OF the line ought
to be a mans nearthstone.
| want to believe that the President
lived on 800 a week all his life be.
cause 1t is creditable to him, and it
could convey to us that our new Presi
dent is one OF the simplest and most
modest OF the great men Of our gener
alton. But / have a private and most
excellent reason for believing that his
income was larger. And have anotn.
Ell reason, besides, which Is that he
could not possibly have managed on
the sum stated.
The President inherited a quarter
OF a million of money, which at per
cent would return him $4,000 a year
income. That would not be nearly
sufficient for him to maintain the
tastes, the comforts and the position
in society to which he was born. For
our President was not born to rude
or primitive conditions. but came into
the world a member OF proud stock
in a great capital possessing-in those
days especially-an exclusive and Gle.
waited society. From his majority un.
til now he has maintained his place in
that circle with town house much
OF the time and a country house, with
the minor eleganCes, the books, the
companions and the amusements call.
ed for by his training
Far from there being a tinge Of snob
bishness about him or his circle. the
facts are such that there can be no
right.minded man in the country who
Is not thankful that so well.bred and
highly polished a gentleman occupies
the chair at the head of our national
table, especially now that 1t Is laden
with the rich fruits of boundless pros.
| rerity which flows from a nation
whose outstretched arms reach ou:
over half the surface OF the globe.
Whatever has been President Roose
velts income, the nature of his neces.
stiles has made II very small, and, In
truth, he has been obliged to live as
thriftily and modestly as II II were
true that he enjoyed but the income
of a well.paid clerk. What n man has
In this world Is not what II costs him
to live decently. What he has is what
10 his over and above his absolute ne.
cessities. A private mans means are
like business mans profits-they
are what Is left over That is the
true view of the case. and in that lighI
the President has ever been a poor
man.
In addition to his small income from
his estate he has enjoyed occasional
short seasons under salaries for pub
lie service-small salaries always. But
this source of his revenue has been
less than what he has earned with his
pen. Fortunately for all of us who
read good books, and fortunately fol
his fame and for his capacity to enjoy
the making of books. he has beer
Obliged to turn into literature almost
everything he has known and done. He
has written his ranChing experiences
he has immortalized his experience as
a hunter, he has cashed his knowledg,
OF his native city in the form of his
tory, he has turned his hours of pleas
ant study into new literature in sucl
forms as his life of Cromwell he ha!
even made a book of his short anC
spirited experience as a soldier. Hi
necessities and his literary gift joined
hands in forcing him to do this. AnC
II is well for us that this was the case
Thus far Theodore Roosevelt round
cd out this much of an active, useful
exemplary life. He has given us tn,
benefit OF his good birth and stric
training whenever he has held Office
He has set our young men OF means
nc eded example in choosing a publ
career. He has emphasized this IL
exchanging the civil for the militar,
service when war was afoot. He ha
done everything that was good an,
true and worthy. but he has neve
done the impossible. He has not live
on $4,000 a year.-Julian Ralph, 4
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