People Talked About

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVIII, Issue XX, 17 May 1902, Page 930

People Talked About

The Great Shipping Combine. No name is more familiar in the commercial world today than that of tin* redoubtable Ameriean trust maker. Mr Pierpont Morgan, who,

with the other organisations tinder his control. seems bent on Inlying up (•real Britain altogether. Air Morgai* is not an instance of the successful man who Harttd life on the lowest rung of the ladder. He was a millionaire win n he began. having some 10.000.000 dollars to his credit. But he has long ago doubled that sum over and over again. If lie has any amusement besides making money it is yachting, and besides the almighty dollar he is said to love • logs. o o o o o America’s First Citizen. One of the most interesting figures io the world to-day is Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States. He is a young man for the great position he fills—ns, indeed, the youngest President who has ever guided the destinies of the great Tra ns-al la ntic Republic yet enough

had been heard of his doings and him-elf to eonvince everyone that he would prove no cipher to be controlled of older statesmen, but a potent factor which would have to be reckoned with in every department of

political .’••tivity tn the United States. Theodore Roosevelt is essentially a strong man, virile and forceful —a manly man — and as in many such natures there is not lacking a vein of kindly tenderness that has largely made him the popular man he is. A practical man withal, and one who has gone through more experiences during his 40 odd yearsof life than most men can crowd into a long lifetime, his character is, perhaps, best displayed by some words he once wrote in a boy’s autograph album: “Be brave and honest; be fearless and tender, and have commonsense. '

Forcefulness seems to be the keynote in President Roosevelt’s character. He always seems to have seen his end, and to have had the determi nation and will power to attain it —starting in the right way by becoming master of himself. A puny boy without health or strength he triumphed over bodily weakness by a persistent indulgence in physical exercises, although such vigorous pursuits were not easy to him. and reaped his reward ultimately in perfect health and a frame like an athlete’s. As a young- man he spent some time roughing It among the cowboys on a ranch in the West, and by the time he returned few- would have recognised the sickly boy of earlier years in the well-built athletic man.

While a hearty eater, Mr Roosevelt cares only for the simplest of food, preferring chops or beefsteaks, hominy milk and rice-pudding io more elaborate dishes. His dress is neat, but severely plain. It is almost impossible for him to distinguish one tune from another, yet he can walk through a forest, however, and. from its song, tell the name of each bird that pipes.

When Mr Roosevelt has closed the door -of his home behind him, the soldier, the statesman, the reformer, the writer, are all shut out. and only the husband and the father enter. His devotion to his wife and children is ideal. To the latter he is not only a father, but als«n a big. overgrown brother. One of Hs chief de-

lights is to get down on all fours in the nursery and play bear with the younger ones. When the little bears tire he sometimes sings old Dutc.i folk-songs for them. Though his voice was never intended for singing. there is a certain quaintness and rough charm about these memories of Holland that greatly delight the children.

At once a man of action, as the part he played during the SpanishAmerican war proved; a man of administrative ability, as was shown

by his work as Governor of New York and President of the New York Police Board; a man of thought and culture as his many published works evidence; and a man of wide sympathies and lovable personality, Theodore Roosevelt should make one of the best of the Presidents who have held power in the United States of A merica. 0 0 0-00 idts. De Wet’s Sllmnest. This story of Mrs De Wet, which may be recalled by readers of the

“Graphic,” will bear re-telling at a moment when her husband’s name is still in everyone’s mind: An English officer was pointing out to the Boer general’s wife how impossible it was for her husband to escape the cordon of troops which was drawn round him. As Mrs De Wet seemed unable to understand him, the officer placed a dozen eggs in a circle on the table, with a half-crown in the middle. The eggs, he explained, pointing to himself. were the English; the coin, pointing to a portrait of De Wet on the wall, was her elusive husiband. It was an excellent object-lesson, and it was perfectly successful. “I see,” said the simple Dutchwoman, in excellent English. “But where is De Wet?” And the half-crown had disappeared! o o c o o Happy Portugal. I'he cables last week directed attention to Portugal by the news of a serious disturbance in the historical town of Coimbra, which possesses the only university in Portugal. But Portugal appears to have a wonderful freedom from disturbances. Although the country is in no very enviable plight through debt, bad trade, and the anti-clerieal movement, the people seem to be happy and contented, and the King very popular among them. Queen Marie Amelia, on the other hand, who is sister to the Duke of Orleans, is rather in disfavour, owing to her support of the Jesuits.