Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-03-18
POINTS OUT STATESMAN'S
SUCCESS IN SPITE OF
HANDICAPS

Theodore Roosevelt" was the sub
| ject of a eulogy, the equal of which
has been seldom heard in Wausau,
| given before the WaCsau Rotary club
Monday afternoon by Judge A. H. Reid.
| ''Eulogies of the dead are common in
these days." declared the judge, "and
we wear out the superlatives of our
| language in extravagant expressions
concerning many mediocre and COM
| monpIace public men, who are sue
cessively and with greater frequency
finishing life's journey.
There ought to be some express
sions of human appreciation, some
words of special eulogy, some phrases
expressive of the highest honor for
truly great man, which by universal
accord ought to be deemed too ex-
pressiVe to be used, except when
speaking in memory of one who has
attained the proportions of a citizen
OF the world. Only then might we
give such a character as that of Theo-
dore Roosevelt a proper setting in our.
minds and memories.
MAY l be permitted to quote from a
current editorial in metropolitan
daily in summing up Roosevelt's life
and character:
Theodore Roosevelt is dead 1t
seems like the passing of an era, so
closely was that vivid and forceful
personality bound up with the events
and ideas of his time
Theodore Roosevelt was born in
New York City on October 27, 1853,
and was therefore but a trifie past
sixty years of age when he so gently
slipped from the sleep which should
have been but for the night, into
that dreamless and unawakening
sleep on January 9th, just past. Six
ty years of life only, but into what
other sixty years did any other man
in history crowd such varied and re-
markable accomplishments as did
Theodore Roosevelt?
"His beginning was handicapped by
ill-health and puny body. but this
he set himself resolutely to overcome
and he did it so we'll that we find him
even eXcelling in some lines of COL
lege athletics. Graduated from Har-
ward University at twenty-five, we
find him within two years a member of
the New York state legislature and
then just two years later, delegate to
the National Republican convention
For his better physical development
he spent the next two years as a
ranchman on his own ranch in North
Dakota, living the life of the cow
boy and hunter; and this city born,
college-bred, youthful ranchman dur
ing that time so drew to himself the
respect of the cowboys and plainsmen
that they from that time ad mired and
supported him, fought with him in
Cuba, and turned to him in their
troubles ever afterward 1t was
while here in the west that he laid
the foundations for his set of histori-
cal books called the Winning of the
West" which. are recognized as au-
thority by the best of historians.
cat the age of twenty-eight he was
his party's candidate for the office
of mayor of New York City, one of
the highest offices in the gift of the
people. At thirty-one he became
United States Civil Service Commits
sioner, and during the next six years
he fully established the merit system
in our Federal civil service which
has become a fixed part of our ma
tional government. For two years
Commission of New York City. His
clean and vigorous administration so
brought into prominence the i'm
provement of New York's police sys-
TEN that he became known through
out the country. Honesty was the
watchword and his two years of his
occupancy of the office became mem
orable for the reforms he inaugural
ed, attracting the nations attention
while holding position which was
obscure in comparison with the
events to come. He purged the city
Of illicit liquor traffic, gambling, and
vice in general in the face of cor
rupt political opposition, and his rep
utation as a reformer won him his
selection by President Mckinley as
Assistant Secretary of the navy, in
1897. He attained this post at the
age of thirty-nine, and at forty he
became the fighting Colonel of a reg
iment of Rough Riders, who respond
ed to his call to serve in the Spanish
American War. In the same year he
was elected governor of New York,
and at forty-two was chosen vice