New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-28
ROOSEVELT PICTURES
THE GREAT HISTORIAN
Must Have Genius to Recon-
StruCt Immense PanoramaS
of the Past, He Declares.
ADDRESSES SIX SOCIETIES
Those Who Write of Americans
of o-day Will Have Much
TO Tell That Is I'm
pleasant, He Says.


Boston. Dec. 27.-Theodore Roosevelt
speaking on History Of Literature IN
symphony Hall tonight addressed mem
bcrs Of six national associations now
holding conventions here. He is president
Of one OF these socieues-the American
Hlstorica, Association. The other organ
izatons are the American Association Tor
Labor LEGISLATION. the American Socio-
logical Society, the American StdustcaI
Association. the American Economic AS
ISOLATION and the American Iohucal SCI
ence Association.
Mr.. Roosevelt discussed the ant of the
historian from the point OF view OF sell
ence, poetry, mythology and literature.
He argued that history should welcome
the entrance on IFS domain 81 every SCI
ence and that future historians should
make use OF material from every possible
source to convey vivid and lfciike pct
ures to others a. the past whose secrets
they lay bare.
Historian Must Have imagination
Mr. Roosevelt declared the great his
torian must be able 10 paint the life OF
the plain people, the ordinary men ana
women OF the time m which he writes 10
DO which requires HIM 90 be possessed oi
the highest kind Of Imagination. Conun-
uins. he said in part.
The great historian viii in as FUN
measure as possible present 90 Us ur
everyday life Of the men and women VI
the 1Sc which be describes. Nothing i.@l
tells Of this life Will come ainiss 10 MN.
Z Inn rfeFl. .. Fla. Irf4
weapons of their warfare. the Wills mat
I they wrote. the bargains hat they lnaue
and the songs that they sang "h'h w.
! toasted and made 'oNt-He must use thtH
all lie must .si u.s. OF the toli u me
/ ordinary times. and OF the play ~ Wul,.
that ordinary toll was broken lie muSi
never forget that DO event STANDS out tii
! tirely isolated. lie must trace from ~
obscure ana humble beginnings raCh OF
I the movements that IN IT'S hoNr oi tl-
umph mas shaken tuc world.
Yet BE must not forget mat tue uIh.-
that are extraordinary need especial por-
travail In Inc revolt against the Old ten
daucy Of historians TO deal exclusively
with the spectacular ana tue tNc'puohdi;
TO treat only OF war ana oldIoiS At'i
government, many modern "ilt,ci ia" q,
gore 10 the opposite extreme. Iue' ram
20 realize that Bon the lives Of nations -
i'm the lives of meU TIER" are Nv'iN -"
| fraught with We.euty achievement. Nlln
triumph or defeat WITH JOY ol H'Ii o.
that each such hour may d"trut"r an
The wears that are to come thereafter. or
may outweigh all the years Una. nay
gone before In the writings OF on %.
torlaus as in The lives %, ouf o'g ma,
citizens We can dtr,ii ,'. 'covorvday ire
Witch counts mo-t. nor vel that seasons
come %hcn oidi.saiF ,i". ..r.', cori.rdine
eut n'ug - A. o, -; ~ o,.uT ,io ogfcolr. Of
v'Ics4 STRIFE determines wh,ther the ma
don shall walk 100 the. glory OF =, .;.''
ing or ~ lne sI" ,',s, d.,I win he DAYS
~ co,nrnor Things. and deal with thcm
so that they shall interest us in retd i'.E
Of them as our Own 'oli.i' ,'. ,rcTI lie
terrs' u, u the rnauges that come almost
unseen. the slow and gradual Crown I,a'
TRANSFORMS ioI 700 c' o., ,t.,t t,c,. e,ard
[ LI,h an noe - or FAR below 'Ic level on
which their forefathcrs stood. ~" must
also trace me SIea, .f .a,I' S..I .'' .,i...,-
terrupl ana u'' 'e We .'f,o,1 ., f, blind
, ~ a-e II,.S of nhpromcna .hau to fine
other lie must ever remember that while
the worst "0eher ". ... ..'..o.,,..- ....
euIitl u ,u, mics No. whites vIvidlv he
cannot write trutlfuily. FOR no amount "'
dun. painsiaklag d'ialI N". "." .t ~
the whole ituth unless lhr E'I''. DEP '"..
90 paint Oh" tuih
. Il vod,., iIn,t.sear+
truths u 'N"'J
Concluding Mr. Roosevelt stated that
,.. Americans OF the
'lloS' WHO IT,"
rture what the Americans OF l'-d'N ana
| OF YESTERDAY nav "O''
va 30 -. Who, tho tale ie finally
"a lite. that r will show hat the
,..o.,,i,o s,,. eood ir our national
/ 80 ....,...i,t 80. forces v6rHlue for evil
I IN H., .vitb many blunders and short
! ,,,,,,,,s with much haltine and turning
/ a,,9. fro,, the path. We shall yet in the
,,d proye our faith %. our works and
/ chou. 70, orr lives our belief that right
eorsress exaltcth a nation
Legislation was the first to begin Its