422 FAMOUS LIVING AMERICANS young. These are the arguments that politicians use to de- feat efficient men. Not only that^ but this was the occasion to bury Mr. Roosevelt so that he would not bother them in the future. A nice grave was prepared for him in the vice-presi- dency and he was prevailed upon to accept it. On March 4, 1901, he was inaugurated Vice-president ; and on September 14, 1901, through the assassination of President McKinley, he became president. It was at this time that Mr. Roosevelt displayed his true greatness in that he once more went to school, and, instead of outlining some foolhardy pol- icy, took up the policies of Mr. McKinley and made them his own, thus endearing himself not only to the people of the United States but to the very politicians themselves. In 1904 Mr. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States by an extraordinary majority. Then began his career as a constructive statesman. Not a virtue did he possess that did not show itself ; and he is even now, while yet alive, cred- ited with being one of the greatest presidents our country has ever had. Mr. Roosevelt's administration accomplished many note- worthy things. In regard to labor there is to his credit the Employers' Liability Act, the Safety Appliance Act, regula- tion of railroad employees ' hours of labor, the establishment of the Department of Commerce and Labor, the settlement of the coal strike in 1902. Commerce is indebted to him for the Hepbum-Dolliver Railroad Act, the National Irrigation Act, the acquisition of the Canal Zone, the assurance of the ulti- mate completion of the canal, and the keeping of the door of China open to American commerce. Scientific advance- ment is recognized in the enactment of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, Federal meat inspection, extension of the forest reserve, the inauguration of the movement for the conserva- tion of natural resources, and the inauguration of the move- ment for the improvement of the conditions of country life. Good government owes to him the development of civil self- government in our insular possessions, the settlement of the Alaska Boundary Dispute, the reorganization of the consular service, the government's victory in the Northern Securities <i
