The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-09-02
"THE HERO BUSINESS"

"rHE HERO BUSINESS"
President Roosevelt's latest activl-
ties are no less Rooseveltian. From
the problem Of amelioratng condl-
tons on the farms he has turned to
give the Rooseveltan glad hand to
the victorious American athletes on
their return from the Olympic games.
Walking abreast and whistling
"There'll be a Hot Time" they march
ed up Sycamore Hill Monday and
then marched down again like the
proverbial king of France But, be-
fore they went, the president had
something to say to them. You fell
lows have won a place for all time, :"
he said. But he added with char
acteristic reference to himself. II
feel like giving you the advice | gave
TO my regiment when It was disband-
ed: Remember that you are heroes
for ten days, but, when that time Is
up. drop the hero business and go to
work. Fifteen or twenty years from
now | should not like to meet some
seedy individual and be told that he
won at the Olympic games of 1908
and had done nothing since"
Whatever else may he said of Mr.
Roosevelt, he has some very credit
able ideas athletically. He believes
above all things, that all should in
dulge in some systematic physical ex-
ercise, not only for health's sake, but
TO enable one to accomplish more for
humanity and himself In this all-too-
short existence, This latter belief is
reflected in the hope that none OF the
Olympic athletes will let their accom-
,plishments rest where they are. But
Mr.. Roosevelt Is as truly hero wor-
shipper as lover of athletics, and
when he urges our athletes to drop
the hero business" 1t comes with a
little shock. We can wonder how II
will be with him after March fourth.
As president he has been hero.
Any chief executive must be of neces-
sity. Mr., Roosevelt has had the ad-
vantage Of the members of his regi-
ment They were heroes for ten days,
as he said; he has been hero as
president for nearly eight years. Is II
to be expected that he viii himself
drop the hero business when his
term as hero is ended? That is ques-
tionable. To want to be a hero is in
the nature of the man. To-day he Is
planning an extensive trip into Afri-
ca, the details of which he does not
hesitate to give TO the newspapers and
the public, even to his meeting with
Dr. Rainsford in the heart of the jun
gle. When he returns from that, he
is planning to keep his name before
the public with stories and reminis-
cences, paid for at unheard of rates
and illustrated, no doubt, by pictures
taken by Kermit
Many future occupations for Presi-
dent Roosevelt has been limited at. The
fact that he is comparatively such a
young man will undoubtedly make his
length Of days as ex-president out of
the ordinary He may he a senator.
or an insurance company president, or
he may take up any one of the score
or more Of occupations that have been
suggested, but 1t is certain that he will
not go into mi-retirement, as have
Mr.. Cleveland and most of our ex-
presidents. 1t Is In the Roosevelt
blood, evidenced almost daily in each
Of his children, to long to be 'in the
fore" and hero always For that
reason his advice to the athletes to
put aside heroics has not the weight
It might