Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1904-11-18


won place in the literary world as
we'll as those Of politics and war.
No one denies his versatility, his
ability and his wealth of human in
terest and sympathy, and the friends
he has won are sturdy and steadfast.
He is a real exemplar of the strenu
Gus life.
Born of wealthy and distinguish
ed family, he had the usual handicap
Oh a prosperous youth. He was sent
to private school and was often call
ed dude by the boys of the public
school who saw him pass in natty
sailor suit. He had to endure the
sneers of the boys like Napoleon at
| the military school Of Brienne. FIRE.
| quently he had to fight the boys who
envied him, and sometimes these
fights were of daily occurrence for a
week. After a specially hard battle
one morning young Roosevelt said
to his companions:
Lets go around the block and
come back and lick EN-.
President Roosevelt has never COM
planned that the Presidency is too
strenuous. While it may wear him
out, he knows the position will never
rust him. Each year adds to the
resp possibilities and duties of the po-
sition, and any President must cult
vate an even temper if he wants to live
out his term. Even President Nc
Kinley, who was noted for his calm
and patient disposition. was almost
worn out by its burdens.
While President Roosevelt is of the
nervous temperament and wastes
much energy, he has the fortunate
quality of being able to finish piece
of work and dismiss it. 1t is not
his habit to worry over split milk or
worry afterward for fear some other
course might have been wiser. He.
reaches conclusion, and when he acts
| upon it believes he has done his best.
Mr.. Roosevelt is Mason, having
joined when he was az years old the
| Matinecock Lodge, at Oyster Bay,
shortly after he was elected Vice
| President. He took the first three
degrees in that lodge in 1901. Last
spring he accepted honorary member
ship in Pentalpha Lodge, Of Wash
ington, which was founded with Pres
ident Garfield as charter member,
| when the latter was in Congress. lie
is also an honorary member of FEEDER
al Lodge, No. 4, the Oldest in the Dis
trict of Columbia.
! He is the first President who can
| lay claim to being a New York club
man. Mr.. Roosevelt belongs to the
Century and University Clubs. as well
as to the Union League and ST. Mich.
olas Society.
After he left Harvard he went to
| Europe and earned membership in the
Alpine Club by climbing the Matter
horn and the Jungfrau.
Theodore Roosevelt is member
| of an old Dutch family which was
| founded in this country about the
middle of the seventeenth century by
! Klaas Martensen Roosevelt
| Born in New York city, October ~,
1853, he was prepared for Harvard by
private tutors. Young Roosevelt was
prominent in Harvard athletics and
was one of the editors of tie under
graduate journal-the Advocate. A
year of foreign travel followed his
graduation in 1880, and almost i'm
mediately thereafter he entered upon
public career.
His first position was that of mem
bership in the lower branch Of the
New York Legislature, in which he
sat during the sessions OF 1882 and the
two following years.
He was an independent candidate
for Mayor of New York city in 1880
with Republican Endorsement, but was
not elected.
President Harrison appointed him
| member of the Civil Service Com
mission in May, 1880, AMI he served
! as a memeber of the board and its
president for six years. displaying dur
ing the whole of that period a deter
/ mined purpose to enforce the law.
| In May, 1895, he resigned to be
come president of the Board of Police
/ Commissioners of New York city, in
which position he displayed equal
| fearlessness.
On the inauguration Of President
| Mckinley, in 1897, Mr. Roosevelt re-
signed from the Police Board to be
come Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
| in which position he served until the
outbreak of hostiities with Spain
| ind to his energy has been ascribed
| by some the readiness of the naval
| branch of the service to enter upon
that brief and brilliant contest.
When hoStilities were threatened
Mr.. Roosevelt left the Navy Depart
ment to become lieutcnant-colonel Of
a regiment of Rough Riders, of which
Leonard Wood was colonel A part
/ of this force embarked for Cuba with
the advance guard of Skaters army
on June IS, 1893. and took part in all
/ the engagements preceding the cap
ture OF Santiago, including especially
4 the battle of Las Guasimas and SAT-
Juan. On July II Roosevelt succeeded
! Wood as colonel OF the regiment
In September following Mr.. Roose-
welt was made the Republican candi-
date for Governor of New York. re-
ceiving more than three-fourths Of the
votes Of the convention. He defeated
4 Augustus Van Wyck. the Democratic
candidate, at the November election
l,byea plurality of 1900.
4 At Philadelphia. June rs, 1000, the
4 Republican National Convention unan-
imously nominated Mr. Roosevelt tor
/ the Vice Presidency. He was reluc-
tant to accept the nomination, but was
4 forced to do so by a combination Of