The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-24
THE CAREER
OF ROOSEVELT
STORY OF HIS LIFE READS LIKE
Az IMPROBABLE ROMANCE. II
Born Weakling, He Made Himself
an Athlete, and Fate, or Something
Else, Threw Everything in His
Path---Wherever He, Was He Was
at the Head and Doing Things.
New York World.

NEW 4oTk w OTlu. #.
When the tanner enters den of
wild beasts the animals fawn at his
feet. measuring his whip With crafty
eyes and wondering whether they dare
TO spring. SO the grizzled old man
eaters of the republican national COM
mittee have crouchedI at the feet Of
Theodore Roosevelt, CHANGING furtively
at the whip Of the presidency, but
for which they would pick their mas
ter's political bones.
What an odd sequence of incidents
has brought this young man into this
position! Born one of the "Weaklings'
he despises. ne made himself an ath-
lete. Lacking in precocity, he logged
ly forced himself to learn, and is the
author of many books of greater or
less authority. 3D. Ill. '- s' ..z ,-a -
When he was barely of age it oc-
Cured to certain politicians that
young Mr.. Roosevelt would be handy
instrument to use in downing their
opponents In a factional row. They
regretted the idea later, as other poll
ticians have done since in larger fields.
The college boy whom Conkling de-
scribed as that dehtificial young man
with more teeth than brains" broke
into the local primaries and. bounded
thence into the legislature. He began
TO want to reform things. '-
The politicians were aghast, but
they saw q way to make use Of the
young mans valuable advertising.
They put him up as a straight repub-
ltcan candidate foE mayor of New
York. He was beaten, Of course; but
he had established a claim on his
party. A regular candidate for mayor
could not be offered a clerkship. Pres
ident Harrison put him on the civil
service commission-appare safe
and decorous shelf. He was not made
the head of the board, but that cut
no figure. He made himself the whole
thing. He kept the administration in
continual hot water, and got the num-
Der of places under civil service rules
pegged up from 1000 to 5000.
Then he went west and shot grizZ-
lies. Again a queer road to the presi-
dency-one never trodden before, but
it took him the right way. En- route
he stopped in at police headquarters
in New ork and closed saloons. work.
ing himself and the reform admins
tration out of a job in the process.
With another long jump he landed in
the office Of assistant secretary of the
navy-apparently a political grave
yard, for who ever heard Of the assist
ant secretaries of the navy who pre-
coded or followed him? More Roose-
welt luck. The Spanish war was COM
ing, and his chief, Long, was a law
yer and a member Of the Peace So
ciety. Roosevelt ran things as if he
had forgotten the assistant" in his
title, lavished money on target Eprac-
tice and wrote Dewey's orders, or got
the credit for 1t. |T
Another leap to the CORY field of war
as second In command Of Woods
Rough Riders. More luck. Woods
Incompatible pull, already in smooth
working order, lifted him to higher
spheres and Roosevelt became head
tI,N .Is
Juan Hill, or Kettle Hill, which was
just as good. He marched home,
khaki-clad and glory-crowned. Plat
wanted a. popular name to beat Frank
S. Black with. He took Roosevelt.
The democrats nominated the ice trust
against him. He scraped into the gov
ernorship. Then Plat wanted to get
him out, and threw him into the vice
presidency. Fate interviewed again and
made him president. 49,
Could any historical novelist invent
a more interesting or a more improb-