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

THE LAUNCHING OF A MAN 63
later fancy could build, just as his acquired physical strength
formed a magazine from which his tireless energy might draw
without fear of exhausting it.
During the last McKinley campaign it was said that "Theo-
dore Roosevelt was born with a gold spoon in his mouth."
But the charge is unfair. He was an ordinary boy as to men-
tal attainments, and considerably under the average in phys-
ical strength. Whatever success has come to him is his from
an inherent will that would not brook defeat in any line,
rather than from peculiar advantages which he inherited.
He was born with many social advantages and with wealth.
But these have failed to bring success to thousands of men.
We ourselves can cite instances where wealth and social position
have more often been a stumbling-block to young men
rather than a help in gaining for them success and position.
Certainly Theodore Roosevelt is one of the most striking
examples in America of a young man who has advanced sim-
ply because of his own merit.
He is a type of American manhood that we are all proud of.