Murray was in need of friends just at that time. He had rebelled against the rule of “Jake” Hess, the Republican boss of the district. Jake had his own special candidate for the next Assemblyman from the 21st District. Murray had become the leader of the anti-Hess faction, but had no worth-while candidate for the Legislature. He observed that Roosevelt was popular with the crowd.
“Look here men,” Murray said to his adherents, “what this district wants is a swell candidate who can go as a guest to the drawing room and at the same time be man enough to shake hands with the butler. Teddy Roosevelt is the one!”
He asked Roosevelt to become a candidate. Roosevelt refused. Instead he suggested the names of several men; but Murray kept on persuading, until at last he drew from Roosevelt a promise to be his candidate if he could not secure a better one. Joe at once stopped searching.
“I can’t find any better nor as good!” was his verdict. The matter ended in the nomination of the youthful-looking collegiate “Teddy,” now thoroughly warm to the campaign. He plunged into the battle with an intensity that was earnest of the ardor with which he went into his later and more important political conflicts.
The next barrier that rose before the candidate was high license. A trip to the saloons was said by his political sponsors to be a necessary part of the campaign. At Valentine Young’s saloon on Sixth Avenue, Roosevelt opened his campaign. Mr. Young was against high license. He expressed the hope that Roosevelt was also opposed to it. Roosevelt promptly replied that he was for it, and would advocate it as hard as he could. The argument became hot; the saloon-keeper made personal remarks. Then and there Roosevelt quitted the saloon canvass. Murray and his friends were dismayed, but Roosevelt appealed to his neighbors. The silk-stocking vote joined that of the footmen and shopkeepers, who had become enthusiastic over the scrappy and democratic young candidate. Roosevelt was elected and became the youngest member of the Legislature.
The next obstruction that confronted young Roosevelt was the attitude of his party associates in the Legislature. Many of these men were in politics for purely commercial reasons. They frowned on crusaders and tried to squelch any tendency in Roosevelt toward independence of thought and action. His part, as they saw it, was to be merely the smallest cog in the political machine, moving only when a man higher up applied the power.