The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-09-29
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HARKIN, Dtrocaoe.
waahfnstea, D. G.
ROOSEVELT'S GRAVE.
wAahtnstea. D. C.

ROOSEVELTS GRAVE.
Oyster Bay. Sept. 25.-This is no
longer a stately and exclusive summer
colony. 1t is now a place of national
importance. calmly appropriated b.
the entire nation. That peculiar, rural
quiet which used to mark its Sundays
is no longer enjoyed by its residents.
on this day. a host. of strangers in
vades the town. monopolizing its
shady walks. keeping open its res
taurants and chartering all its motor
buses, which fill the main street with
a perpetual cloud of dust. The citizen
who used to place his slippered feet
on the railing of the, veranda without
fear of being seen, While he concen-
trated on the Sunday paper, now must
keep his feet firmly on the floor and
be prepared to answer the frequent
question of the invading strangers, is
this the way to the Coloners grave?
There is no printed sign to direct
the way. so that, unless the stranger
takes a bus. il is necessary to ask
questions. And large number of the
visitors obviously cannot afford the
bus fare. So they walk the mile and
half TO the grave from the station
which. oyster Bay being one of the
most beautiful communities in the
country. is well worth while.
Eventually. around a bend of the
road. YOU come upon a faded, wooden
arch, marked "Young's cemetery"
Upon entering this arch. you expect to
see the usual rows of neat tombstones,
closely clipped grass and flower beds
that are found in most cemeteries. but
they are conspicuously lacking. There
is nothing but a rather shaggy. I'M
trimmed hillside, with a hardworn
dirt path leading up 10 the crest. TAX
ing this path. you begin a steep ascent
and just as you are about to pause for
breath you suddenly come upon
grave right in the middle of the path.
They are building an eight-foot iron
fence around it now. but until very
recently 1t lay exposed upon the HILL
side, with an armed guard in a tiny,
rough pine shelter just a few feet dis
tant
Before this fence was started It
took the word of the guard to con-
vince each visitor that he had reached
his destination. rs this the grave?'
was the surprised exclamation of every
person as he reached the top of the
hill and looked about him. Evidently,
none was prepared for what he saw
just a sN-foot oval mound of grass
covered earth, profusely decorated
with bedraggled wreaths and tiny
American flags OF the kind that are
retailed in the five and ten cent stores.
II had been raining just the day be-
fore the visitor was there, and the coll
ors in the flags had run. and the
wreaths. which once must have been
impressive. were merely untidy clus-
ters of cloth. The flags had been left
by children, the guard explained. and
the central. largest and most bedrag-
gl9d wreath of all, by a foreign mis-
sion.
After the first few seconds of sur
prise, the men visitors stood silently
by with barred heads. but the women
besieged the guard with questions.
Aren't they going to take care of
the grave at all ?" asked one woman
who had come all the way from the
Middle West to see the grave, and was
rather disappointed. She looked about
at the few other graves, clustered on
the hillside. and evidently they did
not meet with her approval, either
All Of them were marked with small
inconspicuous headstones, while the
abundant grass that covered them had
not been cut once during the season.
The grave is taken care Of" replied
the guard. Someone Is always on
guard. day and night, to protect it."
But mean isn't there to be a vault
or anything" insisted the woman.
NO" declared the guard, Just an
iron fence for protection and a plain
headstone. Colonel Roosevelts wishes
were that everything should be as sim
pie as possible. He disliked ostenta-
ton"
Yes. but what will our foreign Wis
itors think of it?" a short stout woman
who told everybody she was from De-
troit. wanted to know. Look at the
way they bury their great men in
Europe. Even poets are placed in
Westminster Abbey, and Napoleon has
a beautiful tomb"
Theodore Roosevelt made his own
mr. ont hF1I
guard somewhat sententfously. BE
sides. which. he didn't care a rap what
Europe thought about his grave. As
he told his cousin, he wanted to rest
quietly here near his family. On a
clear day this spot is always visible
thru field glasses from Sycamore
HILL"
Tt As said that Colonel Roosevelt
selected this site for his grave the
year that he left the White House. 1t
is place he often visited in his walks
about Oyster Bay, so that he was well
aware of its rare charm. In the first
place, it is still wild and primitive,
much as the Indians must have known.
1t years ago. Tall. slim locust trees
throw a generous shade over the little
colony of graves on the hill. and just
few feet away, enclosed by wooden
fence, is tract of dense green wilder
ness, stretching for many miles Ac-
cording to the guard, this land is
worth thousands OF dollars, but the
wealthy residents of Oyster Bay who
own II will not sell 1T because they
wish to maintain t:,e exclusive atmos-
| phere of the colony. Far below may
| be seen the blue waters of Oyster
Bay. dotted with white sail boats. The
visitor who feels that the colonies
grave is not sufficiently impressive
should sit down on this hillside on a
sunny afternoon, let the wind sweep
thru his hair, and listen to the busy
| twittering of the many birds in the
nearby wilderness. Then. it will be
perfectly clear why the colonel. who
loved the open spaces. wanted to be
| buried here
It is fortunate that the grave Is so
near the home of the Roosevelts, be-