Jacob A. Riis (1849–1914). Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen. 1904.
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| of any cause was proof enough that it was good. His sunny temper won everybody over. “I never saw him come into my office,” said a friend about him, “but I instinctively took down my check-book.” He surrendered at sight. |
| The news of his death, on February 9, 1878, came home to thousands with a sense of personal bereavement. Though he was but a private citizen, flags flew at half-mast all over the city. Rich and poor followed him to the grave, and the children whose friend he had been wept over him. In the reports of the meetings held in his memory one catches the echo of a nature rarely blending sweetness with strength. They speak of his stanch integrity and devotion to principle; his unhesitating denunciation of wrong in every form; his chivalric championship of the weak and oppressed wherever found; his scorn of meanness; his generosity that knew no limit of sacrifice; his truth and tenderness; his careful, sound judgment; his unselfishness, and his bright, sunny nature that won all hearts. The Union League Club resolved “that his life was a stirring summons to the men of wealth, of |