The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-02-10
ROOSEVELT. THE HUMAN

Rochester Post-Express: Kipling
may not have known that he wrote
some poetry about Colonel Roosevelt
but he did.
And this is 1t:
! He turns his keen. untroubled
Home to the instant need Of
things.
And that was Colonel Roosevelt.
| He died as he had lived, with q hgnt
in his mind, kindness in his asso-
fciaticns, and truth and honor IN his
great fine heart.
For a matter Of almost twenty
years now / have written editorial
paragraphs on this page, Win
! Colonel Roosevelt as their protago-
/! mist He was strong meat for the
photographers Of the daily press, ana
for the cartoonists. No man OF ms
generation was source OF more
/ copy than he. That was because of
his yirile. vivid personality. And no
man ever laughed more heartily over
pictures and paragraphs at his ex-
pense than he. remember talking
with him on this subject years ago,
during "a republican state convention
at Saratoga.
'.It is one of the things that ma Ses
life worth living" he said with his
great hearty laugh.
And then he added: THE best
, thing ever written about me is
Philosopher Dooley's Alone in
Cuba"
Later in the same conversation, he
said: you boys are not laughing al
me-you're laughing with me-" Then,
with Quizzical smile-for this many
sided man really had gentle. quiz
zical humor-he said, Its great
life-if you don't weaken"
And Colonel Roosevelt never weak
ened. 1t was a bully" life for him
to the end.
Bully was his favorite word. 1t
was almost constantly ON his lips
Friends Were bully" fights were
bully life was bully He felt
bully" so he said that last after
noon of his life. To the barber he
had summoned TO Sycamore Hill to
shave him, he said; John. ! feel
bully. but want you to shave me-
When l read of his death my mind
somewhat went back over many
years to when l was boy, out IN
western Dakota. Out there, on the
slope of the Bad Lands, is weather
beaten, abandoned abattoir, and q
clutter of deserted, wind-swept ranch
houses. Nearby. at railroad siding.
is small building. tiny railroad
station. with the name "Medora On
IA weather-beaten sign over the plat
form Medora Is not town, or
rather Ii was not town In those
pioneer days. 1t was the ranch home
of the late Marquis de Mores.
French nobleman. who had married
the daughter of Banker Hoffman OF
New York Medora was the lady's
name, and de Mores had named his
ranch and the railroad siding after
his wife
In The days that the Marquis de
Mares was riding the range with his
eowbovs. Theodore Roosevelt had
ranch in the same country The two
men had never CHANGED TO meet until
one day some OF the Roosevelt cattle
broke into the de Mores range. The
Frenchman was excitable. He sent
one OF his cowboys posthaste TO the
Roosevelt ranch with this trucuient
message: If you don't keep your
cattle of my range, III shoot you
on sight"
Roosevelt mounted mis- horse at
once and rode over TO the de Mores
rancn. He bolted up the steps ana
hanged at the door. The marquis
himself answered the summons.
Without any prelirninaries Roosevelt
said:
70 shoot me"
For moment the Frenchman look
81 his visitor over from head to foot.
Tbsu bowihg with all the grace OF
his race and breed, he said:
~ am houored to meet you, Mr..
Roosevelt. Won't you come II?
And that is how Theodore Roose-