It is said that when Senator Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois, went to call on President Roosevelt and was forced to wait before he could get in to see him he asked of the doorkeeper: “Who is in there?”
“A former Rough Rider,” was the reply.
“Then,” queried Cullom, “what chance have I, merely a Senator?”
He turned away, promising to return at a time when he would not have to compete with such an attraction.
Roosevelt’s experience during the Cuban campaign made him deeply sympathetic with the lot of the soldier. This was in evidence when, while he was President, our army was engaged in combating the guerilla warfare in the Philippines. An order was then issued by the War Department that while the names of officers killed should be reported by cable, only the numbers of privates fallen should be sent.
The press of the country announced that a certain regiment had been engaged in battle. The War Department was besieged by the parents of the soldiers for information, but no news as to who were killed or wounded came until the lists arrived by mail.
President Roosevelt was at Sagamore Hill when the facts were reported to him. General Corbin was present. He asked the general what the order meant. The general told him that it had been issued for the purpose of economy, that each officer had a symbol in the cable code, but that to transmit the name and regiment of each private would cost $25 or more for each man. When this explanation had been made Roosevelt said:
“Corbin, can you telegraph from here to the Philippines?”
The general said that he could and suggested that he be allowed to do so when he returned from Washington.
“No,” said Roosevelt, “we cannot wait. Send the order to have the names telegraphed at once. Those mothers gave the best they had to their country. We will not have them breaking their hearts for $25 or $50.”