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THEODORE ROOSEVELT
1919

CHAPTER 25 
HIS DEATH
IT is likely that if Theodore Roosevelt could have had his choice about the manner of his departure from this world he would have selected a place on the battlefield in France, counting it a privilege to die for his country, but Providence planned it otherwise. He died in his own home at Sagamore Hill early on the morning of Monday, January 6, 1919. He had had such a pleasant Sunday evening doing some literary work, with Mrs. Roosevelt by his side as they sat before the blazing logs in the fireplace, and he went upstairs to his room to have a good night's rest. James Amos, who had been a faithful colored servant in Washington and had been recently engaged at Sagamore Hill, sat at the foot of his bed. He said to the man, '' Please turn out the light, James, I want to go to sleep." James turned out the light and he went to sleep and never awoke. Mrs. Roosevelt bade him good-night just before midnight and slipped into his room again at two o'clock in the morning and found that everything was well; but about four o'clock Amos noticed that Mr. Roosevelt was somewhat restless and breathing rather heavily. He turned on the light, went to his side and touched him and found he was dead and notified Mrs. Roosevelt and a nurse who had been attending him for his rheumatism. He was lying on his side with his arms folded in a sweet sleep with the most peaceful expression. The great and beautiful spirit had left its expression in the clay after it had flown.

About a year ago he went to Roosevelt Hospital with trouble in his ear. They operated upon him two or three times, the last one leaving him very weak and disabled. He went back home and after a short rest went out through different parts of the country making speeches to stir up a more vigorous prosecution of the war. In the early winter he was taken down with what was called inflammatory rheumatism; his limb and arm swelled to almost twice their normal size and he suffered inexpressible anguish. He paid no attention to either the pain or the disability, but went on writing his editorials and sending out his messages to the people as though nothing in the world was the matter with him. They brought him back from the hospital on Christmas day, and he was able to walk a little with Mrs. Roosevelt about the grounds. He was unable to take the strenuous kind of exercise to which he had been accustomed. He had had the African fever twice during his hunting trip. In the Brazilian swamps he almost perished with the fever, from which he never recovered, and added to all this was the death of his son, which helped to break him down and, poisoned through and through, a clot of blood lodged in his lungs early that morning and stopped his breathing.

Relatives were summoned, and the sad news was sent out to the world with special cables to the boys in Europe. That Monday afternoon three aeroplanes flew over the home on Sagamore Hill and each dropped a wreath of laurel close to the elm tree. They were in memory of the father and also of the son, their comrade and hero.

At noon on Wednesday a brief funeral service was held in the trophy room at Sagamore Hill, attended by the family and a few most intimate friends, and then the body was taken to Christ's Episcopal church in Oyster Bay. It was possibly the simplest funeral service ever held for a distinguished man. There was no firing of guns, beating of drums, blowing of bugles or bands of any kind; there were no honorary pall bearers nor distinguished ushers. New York City policemen, each over six feet high, rode on horseback upon either side of the auto hearse to the church, and other giant policemen from the metropolis kept guard about the building. Some of the most distinguished men of the nation were present, the Vice-president, senators, congressmen, governors of States, representatives of foreign nations and others. The church was small, holding only about four or five hundred, and perhaps five thousand others stood out in the snow around the church. Although there had been a request that no flowers be sent to the church, the chancel was covered with blossoms of exquisite beauty and sweet perfume. One of these was a wreath of pink and white carnations in accordance with a message from President Wilson in France. One wreath had a white ribbon which had United States Senate in letters of gold. A floral emblem, made of heather, pink roses and blue violets, was sent by a Japanese organization. The American Historical Association of Washington sent lilies, the Republican National Committee orchids, violets and peach blossoms. The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Boone and Crockett Club, the American Defense Society, Campfire Club of America, the National Institution of Arts and Letters, and other organizations beside numerous individuals sent floral pieces. The coffin was wrapped in the American flag and upon it rested a wreath and two banners, one the Regimental Standard of the Rough Riders and the other the National Standard of the Rough Riders. The wreath was a bronze laurel and acacia, the yellow being the cavalry color. This was from the Rough Riders, a delegation of which was present at the funeral.

At the front of the church the coffin of the world's hero preached an eloquent sermon; on the rear wall of the church there were two sheets of foolscap paper under glass which also preached eloquently. They had written upon them with pen and ink the names of ninety-eight members of the parish who had entered their country's service, the first four names being Roosevelt’s and the one name of the whole list distinguished by a gold star being that of Quentin Roosevelt. The rector, Rev. G. E. Talmage, D.D., a dear friend of Colonel Roosevelt, read the beautiful service of the Protestant Episcopal church. At the request of Mrs. Roosevelt he read the Colonel's favorite hymn, "How Firm a Foundation." After the service, which was short, the body was borne to Young's Memorial Cemetery, two-thirds of the way from the village to Sagamore Hill and on the same road. It is the nearest burying place to Sagamore Hill. It was the site Mr. Roosevelt had picked out for his last resting place. The grave is at the top of a steep hill. It is a beautiful spot indeed, simple in the highest degree. There is no sign of art or display, only the oaks and locust trees, and the cedars, and the forest just over the country fence and the beautiful bay in full view near by, and the rabbits and quails in the grass and the birds making nests in the trees and singing their love songs unite to testify to the beauties of the world and the love of the Creator. And here the body of earth's great man was laid to rest and his grave was covered with flowers.

Theodore Roosevelt needs no monument. His signal and heroic services are monuments erected in every part of our land and throughout the world, and yet we, the living, need the monument for him, not only one in memory and affection, but also the monuments of stone, some large, tall shaft or figure that shall remind the coming generations of the great giant that lived and loved and wrought for them. His friends rejoice to know that a fund of ten million dollars is to be raised to set up suitable memorials for him in different parts of the country, one to include a park at Oyster Bay and Young's Cemetery. This, one of the simplest burying places on earth, on account of this precious dust has been transmuted into one of the most sacred and famed cemeteries in the world.

The sudden news of Theodore Roosevelt's death shocked the world, and from every section and calling of this country and from distinguished men abroad, including the heads of many of the governments, came messages of condolence to the home on Sagamore Hill. The one from King George was as follows:
The Queen and I have heard with feelings of deep regret of the death of your distinguished husband, and we offer our most sincere sympathy for your irreparable loss. We had a great personal regard for him, and we always enjoyed meeting him. He will be missed by many friends in this country to whom he endeared himself by his attractive character and many talents.

The message of Queen Alexandra was: I am indeed grieved to hear of the death of your great and distinguished husband, for whom I had the greatest regard. Please accept my deepest sympathy on the irreparable loss you have suffered.
Lloyd George cabled to Mrs. Roosevelt the following message:
I am deeply shocked to have the news of your distinguished husband's death. I feel sure I speak for the British people when I tell you how much we all here sympathize with you in your great bereavement. Mr. Roosevelt was a great and inspiring figure far beyond his country's shores, and the world is the poorer for his loss.
Rudyard Kipling said:
Colonel Roosevelt's death means an incalculable loss to his own land and to that new world which all men hope to see. It is as though Bunyan's Great Heart had died in the midst of his pilgrimage, for he was the greatest proved American of our generation.
President Woodrow Wilson, shocked and grieved, cabled the following message:

It becomes my sad duty to announce officially the death •of Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States from September 14, 1901, to March 4, 1909, which occurred at his home at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, New York, at 4:15 o'clock in the morning of January 6, 1919. In his death the United States has lost one of its most distinguished and patriotic citizens, who had endeared himself to the people by his strenuous devotion to their interests and to the public interests of his country.

As- president of the Police Board of his native city, as member of the legislature and Governor of his state, as Civil -Service Commissioner, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as Vice-President, as President of the United States, he displayed administrative powers of a signal order and conducted the affairs of these various offices with a concentration of effort and a watchful care which permitted no divergence from the line of duty he has definitely set for himself.

    In the war with Spain he displayed singular initiative and energy and distinguished himself among the commanders of the army in the field. As President he awoke the nation to the dangers of private control which lurked in our financial and industrial systems. It was by thus arresting the attention and stimulating the purpose of the country that he opened the way for subsequent necessary and beneficent reforms.

His private life was characterized by a simplicity, a virtue and an affection worthy of all admiration and emulation by the people of America.

In testimony of the respect in which his memory is held by the government and people of the United States, I do hereby direct that the flags of the White House and the several departmental buildings be displayed at half-staff for a period of thirty days, and that suitable military and naval honors under orders of the Secretaries of War and of the Navy be rendered on the day of the funeral.

Cone this seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nineteen, and of the independence of the United States of America the one hundred and forty-third.
Woodrow wilson. By the President,
frank L. polk,
Acting Secretary of State.
Theodore Roosevelt, a young man, was married to Miss Carow in the old St. George's church in London. In the same city in Westminster Abbey the world hero was honored by one of the most important memorial services ever held. The beautiful, timely address by Archdeacon Carnegie was as follows:
What were the qualities which have called forth this widespread response of enthusiastic appreciation? The question is well worth asking. Its answer would reveal to us something, at any rate, of that spiritual heritage which the two great families of the Anglo-Saxon race share in common and which is, let me emphasize the fact, the ultimate basis of our hope for the world's future.

Let us try to visualize the man—to form a mental picture of some of his chief characteristics. A forceful and magnetic personality, vital and strenuous in work and play, a loyal and warm-hearted friend, c. fair-dealing opponent, an enthusiastic sportsman, a devoted patriot, an active and resourceful politician, the soul of honor and straightforwardness in Ms public and private transactions, courageous and fearless and enterprising.

Such are some of the qualities which arrest our attention as we read his life's story, all of them qualities which, men, brought up in the Anglo-Saxon atmosphere, instinctively appreciate and admire. But the picture thus presented is not complete. I have spoken to several people who had the advantage of close personal contact with Mr. Roosevelt, and they are unanimous in saying that the full secret of his influence must be sought at a deeper level— that it was ultimately due to the intensity of his moral convictions and the decisive clearness of his moral vision. His distinctive feat, as some one has put it, was to rediscover the Ten Commandments. To him the moral law was the supreme and all-embracing law of human life,, tolerating no rivals, admitting of no competitors. When conscience had spoken, its claims for obedience were absolute and unavoidable; there must be no dallying or delay; right is right and wrong is wrong; the distinction between them is clear-cut and decisive; at all costs and hazard the call of duty must be followed; the only alternative is self-confusion and self-contempt. It was thus that he looked out on life; this was the master strain of his rich and complex manhood.

And I think I am right in saying that this is also the master strain of typical British manhood. However much the average Englishman may evade the claims of conscience in his ordinary conduct, at heart he recognizes their supremacy and accords his chief respect to those who meet them. Moreover, when these claims are presented in emphatic and urgent terms he seldom fails to respond to them. We witnessed such a response on a large scale at the beginning of this war. With the invasion of Belgium the moral issue suddenly became unmistakable; there could be no reasonable doubt as to its character. The British people here and beyond the seas recognized this, and spontaneously and immediately ranged themselves and all they possessed on the side of the moral law.
On similar grounds the American people can make a similar claim. Their traditional detachment from European affairs made it less easy for them to recognize at once the crucial character of the situation which had arisen here. But when this became clear to them their reaction was in no wise different from ours.

And then a great thing happened. Deep called to deep, we and our kinsmen met on the moral level, and we became conscious that in the essential things of life no differences divide us, that with regard to them we think and feel as they do, that our fundamental aims and aspirations and ideals are identical with theirs. It is not overstating the case to say that this may prove to be by far the most important outcome of this war.

Now, in the process which led up to tills result, it was given to Theodore Roosevelt to- play a leading part. . He knew his fellow countrymen, knew that when once their attention was aroused they would feel as he felt and act as he would have them act. He was their prophet in the strictest sense of the word—one who interpreted to them the secrets of their hearts and revealed to them principles already implanted there. He spent himself in the efforts which he made, he -sacrificed his life for the cause as truly as if he had laid it down on the battlefield. But before he died he had accomplished his allotted task. He had passed on to his fellow countrymen the message he had received and had heard them responding to it in conclusive terms of overwhelming power.

It is small wonder that they should feel impelled to pay high tribute to his memory. It is equally small wonder that this tribute should be reached here In the Motherland of the Anglo-Saxon race.

•We English are not intellectual idealists. Through long experience in self-government we have learned that most practical problems are far too complex and intricate to admit of theoretical solutions. So, though we like listening to idealists and discussing their views, when confronted with a concrete situation we are disposed to deal with it by instinctive rather than by intellectual methods. But we are at heart moral idealists. The instinct on which we ultimately depend is the moral instinct. ... In the long run it is men of character who command our confidence and mold our opinion. It is on their judgment and guidance that we finally depend. Sincere, straightforward, single-minded men, who believe in goodness and in its ultimate victory, and are not afraid to proclaim and act upon their belief, and, if necessary, to face opposition and to incur opprobrium in its behalf.

Such a man was Theodore Roosevelt. In our common admiration for his life and character we and our American kinsmen reveal ourselves to one another and become conscious of our essential affinity. He has contributed no small share to the movement for reunion between us, too long delayed by past estrangements and present prejudices and misunderstandings. It Is altogether fitting that we should remember with thankfulness and with all honor one to whom it was given by God to render such notable service to his fellowmen.