El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-03

: alone. Yet within short time he was
I one Of its most notable members
His first imbrOgliO Of note arose
| around the report Of a railroad bill BY
| the railroad committee of which Roose-
Welt was a member. The orders from
/ above were to bottle IL up" The rail-
J roads did not like the measure and the
| majority of the machine men on the
| railroad committee showed signs Of
| fayoring- their instructions.
But Mr. Roosevelt interviewed He
asked TO see the bill and calmly placed
( II IN MS pocket, declaring his intention
| OF making a minority report on the
measure to the assembly. His action
! threatened a personal encounter. but
In the end the machine men agreed to
make report, with the result that
the bill was bottled up in the assembly
I instead of in the committee.
The fame Of the young legislators
/ Daring won him many friends, how
ever, and though the measure was as
| effectually killed in open session as it
would have been in committee, the
fight he made showed plainly his cal
iber.
Fights Machine Again.
Another instance Of his early state
legislative career was the fight he
made upon the bosses in the matter OF
lmpeachlng corrupt Judge RoOse-
welt stood alone in the fight The
Judge was machine man. man to
be shielded But Roosevelt arose time
after time and demanded that his ju-
dicial record be investigated.
Overwhelmingly against the inTestiga-
ton Roosevelt kept on fighting At
! the end Of a week the papers took Up
the fight and then the people The re-
suit was that on the eighth day pub
Lefty sWayed the legislators and they
reversed themselves. registering an oV-
4 erwhelming majority for the investi-
cation
Mr.. Roosevelt was two years in the
legislature, becoming the leader Of his
party and one Of the most influential
nj he ~ ~
ouShly organized his district and sue
ceeded in electing his delegates to
the national Republican convention or
1884. He himself was elected a dele
gate at large from the Empire state
and his fellows conferred upon him
the office OF chairman
Advent Into National Politics.
At the convention Mr.. ROOseveIts
work, in view Of his age, was phe-
nOmenaL He was 25 years old and
perhaps the youngest member of the
national body. Despite his youth, how
ever, he entered the fight with vigor
and vim, opposing the national com
mittee's choice for temporary chairman
and practically forcing the selection
OF a negro delegate for that position
He lost the great battle Of the ma
IlOnal meeting, however Both he and
uOuS tIght against the nomination OF
James @. Blaine for president Their
grounds seemed to them TO be beyond
reproach but in spite OF their fight
and his fellows captivating and cast
ing their votes for the popular choice
rather than follow the action Of other
delegates who broke with the Republic
can party.
with Blaine's defeat and the election
Of Grover Cleveland, Roosevelt sought
a ranch, and retired from politics for
the time being The ranch was in
North Dakota
Is Forced Into Retirement.
He now entered upon a term Of sor-
r1rr Z n IT.
was in eclipse and he was forced into
political oblivion In October OF 1884,
his mother passed away, to be fol-
lowed two days later by his wife.
Ranching became ROOsevelt's bust
ness rather than his pleasure. He
bought a cattle farm and entered upon
the rugged life Of plainsman, working
and riding with his men,
There are many stories told OF this
period of ROOsevelts career From a
tenderfOOt, a recruit from the effete
east, he speedily won the respect and
admiration of his fellows by his en-
thusiasm and feats Of daring. He en-
gaged in fist fights. chased horse
thieves, punched cattle and lived to the
fullest the rugged life then prevalent
in the west
ROOseveIts Political Recall
ROOsevelt's recall from the west
came in the fall Of 1886. He read in q
New York newspaper, long delayed in
transmission, that he had been chosen
candidate for the mayOralty Of New
York by the Independents. His candi-
dacy was seconded by the Republican
party
The, young Irancher Immediately
started for the scene of the
political battle There was small
chance of his election in a constituent
cy so strongly Democratic, but he made
a memorable fight and accepted his
defeat with good grace
Following his defeat he sailed for
Europe, where, shortly after his ar
rival in England he married Miss
Edith Kermit CarOW- Roosevelt had
known Miss CarOw from his early boy
hood She was 25 and he had lust
passed his 2Sth birthday at the time
of the marriage
On his return from his honeymoon
in 1883, Mr.. Roosevelt took the stump
for Cen Harrison And when the
newly elected president was forming
his cabinet he offered his services
Roosevelt hoped to be appointed as
sistant secretary OF state, but Mr.
Blaine, who had been appointed chief
Of that department, remembered the
strong fight made against him in the
rational Republican convention OF 1854
and objected to his proposed helpmeet.
offered Roosevelt a place in
the civil service commission in lieu OF
the state department job and ROose-
yelt accepted
The civil service commission was
then a little known institution. His
new duties, therefore. offered him al
most a virgin field of endeavor and ne
performed them so Wel that several
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