The sun., 1919-01-14
ROOSEVELT CALLED
GREATEST AMERICAN
"Pathway Lined With Monu-
mcntS TO Public Service"
Says Dtpew.
START OF CAREER Barred
Colonel Nominated for Gov
prnOr to Counterfeit
Canal Scandal.

,oiiui N'N"iN'''
Ills pathway is lined with monuments
60 his public service" said Chaupcey VI
Depew Of Theodore Roosevelt yesterday
at the Methodist Preaciers Meeting. $50
Fifth avenue. The greatest American
is gone"
The great achievements OF Col. Roose-
welt, his unconquerablc determination
and opposition to everything that was
crooked and dangerous in, business and
politics, his refusal to be tied BY party
influence. his unsewerving integrity the
personal charm and fnaxnanimity OF. his
character were sketched by Mr.. Depew
And there was hardly an event in the
Coloners life or a phase of his nature
which the former Senator did not illus
trate with Il story.
For the whole active life OF the late
Theodore Roosevelt he said. 81 was in
innate with him and L knew his Gather
before him. And through that acquatn-
lance always felt for the young man
an intense admiration. He had more en-
magnetism than any man l ever knew
In the eighty-four and more years that
have lived have never known 4 more
vital personality. and his pathway ts
lined with monuments to his public SER
vice. Theodore Roosevelt had the cul-
ture of Harvard, commingled with the
experience of the great plains"
He first met Mr.. Roosevelt when he
started on his political career as the
last hope candidate OF a Tammany con-
trolled district II was half silk stock
ing and half East Side. and the Republt-
can leader went to Mr.. Depew with his
troubles and told him that he thought
only young Roosevelt could win. He
suggested that the youth, just out or
college, be nominated at n dinner at
Delmonico's, at which Depew should pre-
side.
UncOvers Many Evils.
HE was % and he looked 16.'' said
Mr.. Depew. but for one hour he told
the big business men gathered there OF
the evils of government, startled and
shocked them, and after that, for his
whole life lived the principles he ut
tered that night"
He told how. after his Assembly career
he was made Civil Service Commissioner
and then Police Commissioner, because
he was thought to be the one man I'M
afraid to tilt against the evils OF the
police system. u
Friends of the party tried to shelve
him." Mr.. Depew went on, 80 they made
him Assistant Secretary of War. and In
six months he was the most conspcu-
Gus man in the United States. l recall
one time when John u. Long, Secretary
of the Navy, was starting on a-racation
he turned to some OF US and said: i be-
lieve I'd better go back and watch that
young Assistant Secretary OF the Navy
"He got from Congress an approprta-
ton of more than SI,0O0,000 and when
he was asked what he had done with
that he said he had spent 1T in target
practice Congress was shocked, but
that target practice made 1t possible for
Dewey to win the battle of Manila Bay
and for Schley to come out victorious at
Santiago.
"One peculiarly about Roosevelt was
that he never asked anybody to go any,.
where or do anything that he wasn't
willing to be in the front rank That
was true when he was Police Commits
s,oner; it was true in this war And so
when the Spanish war came he raised
the Rough Riders and led them"
Mr.. Depew then came to tell how 1t
was that Roosevelt was the only man
candidate after the Spanish war. and
the part Mr.. Depew had in bringing
about his nomination., ''
Crisis Makes the Man.
"In politics." he said. at IS crises that
make the man. That is not true OF
business, II Is not true OF the profess
sion, for II man has in him the quail
ties that make for success he will ulti-
mately succeed either in business or
the professions There was a crisis
then in our Republican party in this
State. Gov. Black MAD asked the In
vestigation 10 find out what had be-
come of 100000 appropriated for .ae
canal. w. .--
Thomas c. Plat sent for me to come
in consultation and said that the canal
trouble threatened the chtire ticket.
Odell had advised Him TO nominate
Roosevelt, but he said. he has always
kicked over the tIases You can't con-
troll him. and he Win be "A peril to our
organization Well l said. YOU can't
elect anyone else p,
The heckiers Viii want to know
what has become of that million told
him, and II you do not nominate Roose-
welt all | will be able to say is that it
Is only a million. BH.if you nominate
Roosevelt ! will be able to say We've
nominated the greatest thief catcher the
world ever knew ftef find out what
became Of that million: he may get It
back; he'll put the men responsible for
II in jail. and heill do II all to the Star
Spangled Banner
well said Plat. well nominate
him.
when 1t came to the second nomina-
ton there was such feeling against
him. going way down to the district
leaders in the organization. that we
knew he couldn't be reelected and If
we nominated anyone else his successor
couldn't be elected. So We decided to
boost him up and make him Vice
President.
Roosevelt wouldn't hear Of it. He
said, I don't want TO be in tomb. and
the Vice-Presidency " a tomb, They
put you there and YOU stay there until
you are dead In the convention his
name was put in nomination and ne
declined. He made rousing speech
and said II he was nominated he would
decline on the floor of the convention.
But the next morning he accepted and
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