Disaster in the Making
By the Panic of 1893 TR felt his work at the Civil Service Commission was over and it was time to move on. He believed if things didn’t change, he’d was destined to achieve only moderate success. At Sagamore Hill that summer Alice was busy being a Tomboy wearing pants and keeping her hair short. Ted Jr. was jumping off his pony Grant slaying imaginary enemies with his tin sword. Kermit’s favorite toy was a dustpan he carried everywhere helping the maids to clean the house. That 4th of July he tried to eat the fireworks. Ethel played with her guinea pigs.
A year later In August 1894 NYC reformers asked TR to run for Mayor. He was chomping at the bit but decided to talk to Edith first before making plans. Edith wanted to stay in Washington and was strongly against putting their future in the hands of a fickle electorate.
TR reluctantly declined to run and told Anna “It’s hard to decide when one has the interests of a wife and children to consider first.” He said it was one of those golden chances that never come around again. That September, to fend off depression, he went out west to hunt.
Until Anna spoke with Edith, she had no idea how much TR wanted to throw his hat into the ring. She said she felt terrible. For the first time in 8 years their marriage was in a crisis. Anna took Edith and the kids to Vermont helping Edith gain the courage to face TR.
Reform candidate William Strong won election and offered TR Commissioner of Street Cleaning. He turned it down and told a friend he’d like to become Police Commissioner. Strong offered him the position at $6,000 a year. On April 25th, 1895, he quit the Civil Service Commission.
TR would leave Sagamore Hill at 7:30 in the morning and cycled to the Oyster Bay Station. Police Headquarters was on Mulberry Street, and he often spent the night at Anna’s place at 689 Madison Avenue in NYC. He was one of four commissioners but was quickly elected President of the Police Board. He went after Police corruptions and payoffs. He took it upon himself to enforce the Closing Act that banned the sale of alcohol on Sundays. TR believed it was a bad law, but it created so much corruption he felt compelled to step in and stop it.
Locally TR antagonized the police, members of the state legislature of both parties along with a city of thirsty New Yorkers. Nationally he antagonized party leadership by endorsing Speaker Reed over McKinley. He had no place to go locally and no place to go nationally. By the summer of 1896 he wanted to quit and retire to Sagamore Hill to become a literary hermit.
