ertain conditions can be put a stop to is of much weight ing from such a man； and the conclusion throws a light upon his character which would astonish many even in this country。
Office of Theodore Roosevelt；
The Outlook； 287 Fourth Avenue；
New York： June 28； 1912。
Dear Mr。 Haggard； — I have but a moment in which to answer your wele letter； as I am driven almost to death。 There are but a limited number of my own countrymen； among those of the highest education； who understand as you do just what I am striving for。 I suppose that as we grow older we naturally lose the natural feeling of young men to take an interest in politics just for the sake of strife — the same kind of interest one takes in big game hunting or football； the kind of interest quite patible with doing excellent work but which cannot inspire the highest kind of work。 As we get older； if we think seriously at all； and if we escape falling into a permanent Palmerstonian jauntiness of attitude； we cannot avoid being deeply and indeed painfully impressed with the tremendous problems of our social and industrial life。 To me politics and applied ethics ought to be interchangeable terms； and my interest in the former arises chiefly from my interest in the latter。 If the whole game is one of mere sound and fury； without any sincerity back of it； any real purpose of achievement； then it is all of as little importance as a contest between the blues and the greens in the Byzantine circus。