The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

ROOSEVELT THE REFORMER loi
he knew that he had a fight on his hands. In the words of his
friend and co-laborer, Mr. Riis, it was the "disclosure of the
slimy depths of the system of police blackmail through the
labor of Doctor Parkhurst and of the Lexow committee which
brought about the political revolution out of which came
reform and Roosevelt. But in Mulberry Street they were
merely hailed as freaks."
"YOU ARE BUT HUMAN"
The system so far had been invincible. It had broken
many men who had got in its way. "It will break you," was
the greeting with which Burns, the big chief who had ruled
Mulberry Street with a hard hand, but had himself bowed to
the system, received Mr. Roosevelt.
but human."
"You will yield; you are
The answer of the new President of the Board was to close
the gate of the politician to police patronage.
"We want," he said, "the civil service law applied to
appointments here, not because it is the ideal way, but because
it is the only way to knock the political spoilsmen out; and
you have to do that to get anywhere." And the Board made
the order.
Next he demanded the resignation of the chief, and for-
bade the annual parade for which preparations were being
made. "We will parade when we need not be ashamed to
show ourselves," and then he grappled with the saloons.
Mr. Roosevelt has said that in administering the affairs of
the police force he felt, as might have been expected, that
there was no need of genius nor need of any very unusual
qualities. What was needed was exercise of the plain, ordinary
virtues, of a rather commonplace type, which all good citizens
should be expected to possess—common sense, common hon-