Jacob A. Riis (1849–1914). Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen. 1904.
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| hard,” are Theodore Roosevelt all over. >From time to time I have made notes from his writings and speeches. I am going to set down a few of the extracts here. Very likely they are not the ones that would appeal to many of my readers. They did to me; that was why I wrote them down. And Roosevelt is in them all, every one. Let the first one be the extract from his speech at the opening of the New York Chamber of Commerce, on November 11, 1902. It has been called “The Roosevelt Doctrine”: |
| “It is no easy matter to work out a system or rule of conduct, whether with or without the help of the lawgiver, which shall minimize that jarring and clashing of interests in the industrial world which causes so much individual irritation and suffering at the present day, and which at times threatens baleful consequences to large portions of the body politic. But the importance of the problem cannot be overestimated, and it deserves to receive the careful thought of all men. There should be no yielding to wrong; but there should most certainly be not only desire to do right, but a willingness each to try to understand the viewpoint of his |