Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 271, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1919 — STARTED IN JOKE [ARTICLE]

STARTED IN JOKE

Explanation of Story of Roosevelt’s Hard Drinking. Colonel Informed Group of Newspaper Men How the Rumor Originated — Jeating Remark Caused All the Trouble. Few things, in : Colonel—Roosevelt's later life are fresher in the -publicmemory than his suit against a Michigan editor who accused him of drunkenness, writes John J. Leary, Jr„ in McClure’s. The unfortunate editor, unable to produce a scintilla of proof, admitted his fault, and so far as the records go, the matter was disposed of. There was nothing developed, however, to show where the tale starter or what foundation, if any, it might have had. Colonel Roosevelt, however, had an explanation. He gave It to us one afternoon In the trophy room In Oyster Bay; when passing the cigars around, he remarked that he would vouch for the quality. “They must be good," he remarked, “for they’re some of Leonard Wood’s. I never smoke myself, so I have to rely on the Judgment of others.” “Did you ever smoke?” some one asked. “There is where that story of Lmydrinving started,” he continued, not hearing the question or Ignoring it. “You see, 'when I would decline a cigar,saying I did not smoke, folks would often ask. In a Joking way: ‘What are your bad habits?’ In the sr.me spirit I would reply ‘Prize fighting and strong drink.’ “Now, it so happens that the Lord in his infinite wisdom eject<ll to create some folks with whom lt is never safe to Joke—solemn asses who lack a sense of humor. I am very fond of that story of Sidney Smith’s who. playing with his children, stopped suddenly, saying: ‘Children, we must now be serious —here comes a fool.’ You know the kind he meant—those poor unfortunates who must take everything said to. them literally, — “One of these to whom I made that remark said: ‘Roosevelt, I heari drinks 41ard.' The other fool replied, ‘Yes, that’s true. He told me so himself.’

“And so it wjnt.” “That is alrthere ever was to the talk of my drinking. From that start itspread and spread until, ln_„self-de-fense, I was compelled to take action to stop it. Some folks have said I went out of my way to find a little editor who could not defend himself. The fact is, he was the one editor I could hold to account. There were and are editors nearer New York I gladly would- have sued under like circumstances, but they knew better than to print what they knew was untrue. Had any -one of them done so I would have hauled them up short, and with much more glee than I did the Michigan man, for the men I have in mind have real malice toward me, and he, I am satisfied, had none. ■ “We parted good fiends. I certainly had nothing against him. In his zeal to do things, he put in print Tvhat ~slirewder and really malicious men who would harm me if they could, dare not do. I believe he was honestly sorry when he found his error. “However, the thing had its value. We're never too old to learn, and I learned to be careful with whom I cracked the simplest Joke. Thank God, there are many yon An Joke with in a while what a world this would be! It wouldn’t be a world—it would be a mad-house.”