By Lewis Lehrman
"On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning for president in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when he was shot in the chest. John Schrank, an anarchist and would-be assassin fired his .38 revolver as Roosevelt paused outside the Hotel Gilpatrick to wave to the crowd. Schrank was quickly seized, the former president seemed unfazed, and local doctors quickly ruled that his wound was superficial."
"Rather than disappoint the 10,000 people who were waiting for him to speak, the bleeding Roosevelt continued by car to the Milwaukee Auditorium. There, he began his speech: "Friends I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose."
"Fortunately for Roosevelt, a steel eyeglass case slowed the bullet enough to keep it from penetrating his lungs. The container for his spectacles was in the same pocket as the folded speech which was Roosevelt was to deliver. He displayed the bloody manuscript to the crowd, which he then addressed for nearly an hour and a half before going to the hospital. Doctors discovered the bullet had lodged in his chest but decided against removing it. It would remain embedded there for the rest of Roosevelt's life."
No comments:
Post a Comment