THEODORE ROOSEVELT 425 Standpatters could not understand was that Mr. Roosevelt was not fighting for office, but for principle. As a result the National Committee of the Republican Party was solely to blame for the disruption that followed. Had the Committee been reorganized on progressive principles, the wrong would have been righted within the party and a new party would not have been organized. The thing that has made Mr. Roosevelt most famous and that in all probability will be considered his greatest achieve- ment, was his unalterable resolution at the Chicago Conven- tion not to surrender principle for poUcy, not to compromise integrity for office, not to let partisanship stand above citizen- ship. Following the Republican National Convention, Mr. Roosevelt and his colleagues organized the Progressive Party and when the people of the United States had an opportunity to express themselves at the fall election, they vindicated this action by making the Progressive Party second in the nation. In this brief biography of Theodore Roosevelt a thorough analysis of his character is impossible ; but to let pass the op- portunity of mentioning his greatest qualities would be an un- pardonable omission. His physical bravery appeals to all men — friend and enemy alike. He faced without flinching the bullet of the cowardly assassin and the charge of the wounded lion. His intellectual honesty in meeting the great problems of the age in fearless discussion, in refuting hoary fallacies that brought denunciation from reactionaries in high places is worthy the highest appreciation. Yet these qualities are small in comparison with his moral courage. He is the un- compromising champion of the * * square deal. * * Great in phys- ical bravery, admirable in intellectual honesty, sublime in moral courage, Theodore Roosevelt is the typical American and our greatest living statesman I BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Campaign Book Progressive Party, 1912. History of the Presidency. (Houghton, lUBfflin & Co.) By Edward Stauwood.
