Maniac Shoots Col. Roosevelt.

New York Times 100 years ago today, October 15, 1912:
Bullet In Right Breast, Doctors Say Wound Is Not Serious.
LUNG NOT PENETRATED
Roosevelt Walks from Hospital Unassisted, and Starts for Chicago.
MANUSCRIPT WAS A SHIELD
Assassin's Aim Good, but Papers in the Colonel's Pockets Save Him.
CALM ON OPERATING TABLE
Talks Politics with Physicians While Waiting for X-Ray Machine.
COLONEL CHECKS CROWD
"Don't Touch Him," He Says, as Rush is Made for His Assailant — Secretary Martin Fells Maniac.
Special to The New York Times.
    MILWAUKEE, October 14.— Col. Theodore Roosevelt was shot and wounded in the right breast in front of the Hotel Gilpatrick shortly before 8 o'clock to-night. Col. Roosevelt was about to enter his automobile to go to the Auditorium for his evening address, when a man rushed up and fired at close range.
    The bullet entered the flesh under the right nipple, but its force was broken by the manuscript of the speech which Col Roosevelt had prepared for this evening. He at first declared he had not been wounded, but on the way to the hall a hole was noticed in his overcoat and it was found that his shirt was covered with blood. Nevertheless he insisted on delivering his speech, and went on, for fifty minutes, even though his weakness became so apparent that physicians insisted that he should stop.

Talked Politics at Hospital.
    After his speech he was taken to the Emergency Hospital to have his wound examined.
    At 10:30 o'clock Col. Roosevelt was sitting on the operating table talking politics with the physicians while they were awaiting the arrival of an X-ray machine.
    Col. Roosevelt left the hospital at 11:25 P. M. He was able to walk unassisted.
    "I am feeling fine," he said.

Surgeons Say Wound Is Slight.
    Col. Roosevelt left at 12:50 A. M. for Chicago. Before he left surgeons who had attended him gave out the following statement:
    "Col. Roosevelt is suffering from a superficial flesh wound in the right breast. There is no evidence of injury to the lungs. The bullet is probably somewhere in the chest wall. There is only one wound and no sign of injury to the lung. The bleeding is insignificant. The wound has been sterilized externally with gauze by Dr. R. T. Fayle, the consulting surgeon of the Emergency Hospital. The bullet passed through Col. Roosevelt's army overcoat and other clothing and through a manuscript and spectacle case in his breast pocket, and its force was nearly spent before it penetrated the chest. The appearance of the wound also showed evidence of a much-spent bullet.
    "Col. Roosevelt is not suffering from the shock and is in no pain.
    His condition is so good that surgeons did not object to his continuing his journey to Chicago in his private car. In Chicago he will be placed under surgical care.

     "The X-ray photograph has been finished and the Colonel is feeling fine. He is seeing the newspaper men, and presently will go to his car to start for Chicago.
"Dr. F. L. TERRELL,
"Dr. R. G. FAYLE,
"Dr. JOSEPH COLT BLOODGOOD of Johns Hopkins.
"Dr. F. A. STRATTON."

    The X-ray of Col. Roosevelt's wound shows that the bullet lodged in the abdominal wall and did not penetrate the lung.
    Just as the Roosevelt special train was leaving here a sudden change in plans was made and the engineer was ordered to hold the train.
    It was stated that the bullet penetrated three inches of the abdominal wall, and the wound is more serious that at first thought. This was shown by the X-ray photograph which has just been developed.
    A special train was to bring from Chicago four surgeons. They are Drs. John B. Murphy, Arthur Bevan, A. R. Ochsner and L. L. McArthur.
    It was finally decided at 12:45 that Col. Roosevelt should go on to Chicago, and the train started.
    The positive statement that Col Roosevelt was not injured seriously was made by Dr. Stratton, who said that there was no cause for alarm as to the Colonel's condition.
    "The wound was a superficial one," said Dr. Stratton. "The bullet is imbedded in the muscular tissue. All that we did at the hospital was to put on an antiseptic dressing. You may say Col. Roosevelt is not in a dangerous condition. There is no truth in the report that the bullet penetrated the abdominal wall. If the bullet had reached his lungs it would have been evident and he would have had coughing spells."

How the Shooting Occurred.
    The man who did the shooting said he was John Schrank of 370 East Tenth Street, New York City. Papers found on him showed he had been following Col. Roosevelt for some time, and that he was a crank on the subject of the third term.
    As no secret had been made of the plans of Col. Roosevelt, a crowd was in front of the hotel to see him leave for the Auditorium. When he came out a cheer was set up and to it he responded smilingly, raising his hat and bowing. Several persons pushed to the front to see him better or to try to shake his hand, as is usual. There were cries of encouragement from all sides. "No special pains had been taken to protect the Colonel under the circumstances, and the members of his party — Philip Roosevelt, a cousin; Henry F. Cochems, the Bull Moose leader here; Albert R. Martin, one of his secretaries, and Capt. A. O. Girard of this city — were not on guard.
    When the party had crossed the sidewalk to the automobile Col. Roosevelt's companions stood aside and let him step in. Mr. Martin entered immediately after him. There was another cheer and Col. Roosevelt faced the crowd and raised his hat, smiling.
    A stocky man had been standing at the edge of the sidewalk only a few feet from the Colonel. When he pushed his way forward little attention was paid to him because many admirers of the Colonel have done such things.
    Col. Roosevelt, in fact, looked benevolently upon him and smiled. The man suddenly produced a pistol and fired point-blank,

Football Player Fells Man.
    The fellow still had his pistol raised and seemed about to fire again, but here Mr. Martin saved his chief. He had seen the pistol and had leaped forward to shield the Colonel. Too late for that, he jumped just as the shot was fired and landed on the assailant.
    Martin, who is six feet tall and a former football player struck squarely on the man's shoulders and bore him to the ground. He threw his right arm about the man's neck with a deathlike grip and with his left arm seized the hand that held the pistol. In another second he had disarmed the fellow.
    Col. Roosevelt had barely moved when the shot was fired, and stood calmly looking on, as though nothing had happened. Martin picked the man up as though he were a child and carried him the few feet which separated them from the car, almost to the side of the Colonel.

Roosevelt Averts Lynching.
    "Here he is," said Martin, "look at him Colonel."
    All this happened within a few seconds and Col. Roosevelt stood gazing rather curiously at the man who attempted his life before the stunned crowd realized what was going on. Then a howl of rage went up.
    "Lynch him! Kill him!" cried a hundred men.
    The crowd pressed in on the man and Mr. Martin and Capt. Girard, who had followed Mr. Martin over the side of the automobile, were caught with their prisoner in the midst of a struggling throng of maddened men. It seemed for the moment that he would be torn to pieces, and it was Col. Roosevelt himself who intervened. He raised his hand and motioned to the crowd to fall back.
    "Stop, stop!" he cried. "Stand back! Don't hurt him!"
    The crowd at first was not disposed to heed his words, but at length fell back and permitted Mr. Martin and Capt. Girard to carry the man into the hotel. After a short struggle he gave up and was taken without resistance out of the reach of the crowd.
    "Are you Hurt, Colonel?" a hundred voices called out.
    "Oh, no!" he responded, with a smile. "Missed me that time; I'm not hurt a bit."
    "I think we'd better be going on," he said to the other members of his party, "or we will be late."

Colonel Learns He Is Wounded.
    No one in the party, including Col. Roosevelt himself, entertained the slightest notion that he had been shot. He felt no shock or pain at the time, and it was assumed that the bullet went wild. As soon as Col. Roosevelt had assured himself that the assassin was safe in the hands of the police he gave orders to drive on to the Auditorium.
    The party had driven hardly one of the four blocks from the hotel to the Auditorium when John McGrath, another of Col. Roosevelt's secretaries, uttered a sharp exclamation and pointed to the Colonel's breast.
    "Look, Colonel," he said. "There is a hole in your overcoat."
    Col. Roosevelt looked down, saw the hole, then unbuttoned the big brown army coat which he was wearing and thrust his hand beneath it. When he withdrew it, his fingers were stained with blood.
    He was not at all dismayed.
    "It looks as though I had been hit," he said, "but I don't think it is anything serious."
    Dr. Scurry Terrell of Dallas, Tex., Col. Roosevelt's physician, who had entered the automobile just before it started, insisted that the Colonel return to the hotel. He would not hear of it, however, and the car was driven on to the Auditorium.

Speaks Despite Doctors' Protest.
    As soon as they reached the building, Col. Roosevelt was taken into a dressing room and his outer garments were removed. Dr. Terrell, with the help of Dr. John Stratton of Milwaukee and Dr. S. S. Sorenzon of Racine, Wis., who had been in the audience and came to the dressing room on a call from the platform, made a superficial examination of the wound. They agreed that it was impossible to hazard a guess as to the extent of the Colonel's injuries and that he should by all means go at once to a hospital.
    "I will deliver this speech or die, one or the other," was Col. Roosevelt's reply.
    Despite the protests of his physicians, he strode out of the dressing room and onto the stage.

Audience Shocked by the News.
    A large crowd packed into the big building, cheered loudly as he entered, and without a word to indicate what had happened went to his seat. For several minutes the crowd, no man of whom suspected that the Colonel bore a bullet in his body, kept up its cheering.
    Then Mr. Cochems stepped to the front of the platform and held up his hand. There was something in his manner which had its effect upon the crowd and the cheering died suddenly away.
    "I have something to tell you," said Mr. Cochems, "and I hope you will receive the news with calmness."
    His voice shook as he spoke and a deathlike stillness settled over the throng.
    "Col. Roosevelt has been shot. He is wounded."

Shows His Blood-stained Shirt.
    He spoke in a low tone, but such was the stillness that every one heard him. A cry of astonishment and horror went up from the crowd, which was thrown into confusion in an instant. Mr. Cochems turned and looked inquiringly at Col. Roosevelt.
    "Tell us, are you hurt?"
    Men and women shouted wildly. Some of them rose from their seats and rushed forward to look more closely at the Colonel.
    Col. Roosevelt arose and walked to the edge of the platform to quiet the crowd. He raised his hand and instantly there was silence.
    "It's true," he said. Then slowly he unbuttoned his coat and placed his hand on his breast. Those in the front of the crowd could catch a sight of the bloodstained garment "I'm going to ask you to be very quiet," said Col. Roosevelt, "and please excuse me from making you a very long speech.
    "I'll do the best I can, but you see there is a bullet in my body. But it's nothing. I'm not hurt badly," he went on.
    A sigh of relief went up from the crowd, and then an outburst of tumultuous cheering. Thoroughly reassured by the Colonel's action that he was in no serious danger, the people settled back in their seats to hear his speech.
    Col. Roosevelt began to speak in a firm voice, somewhat lower than its usual tone, and except that his gestures were less emphatic than usual there was nothing about the man to indicate his condition. After he had been speaking a few minutes, however, his voice sank somewhat and he seemed to stand rather unsteadily.
    Dr. Terrell and Col. Cecil Lyon stepped up to him and the doctor insisted that he stop. "I'm going to finish this speech," said the Colonel, energetically. "I'm all right; let me alone."
    Dr. Terrell and Col. Lyon sat down again. The Colonel continued his speech, evidently with increasing effort, but he succeeded in making himself heard and talked for nearly an hour. Then he was rushed through the streets to the Emergency Hospital.

Could Not Locate the Bullet.
    The operating room had been placed in readiness to receive him and six of the leading surgeons of Milwaukee were awaiting his arrival.
    Col. Roosevelt was undressed and placed upon the operating table, although he insisted he was not badly hurt and that the doctors were taking it too seriously.
    An examination of the wound showed that it had been made by a bullet of large size. It entered the fleshy part of the right breast, half way between the collarbone and lower rib. The physicians found that they knew no more after their examination than before as to the location of the bullet and it was decided to send for an X-ray machine to determine to what depth the missile had penetrated. While he was waiting for the X-ray machine Col. Roosevelt sat up on the operating table and talked politics and joked with the physicians.

Another Crank Near Colonel.
    It was said at the Gilpatrick Hotel that while Col. Roosevelt was at dinner a short dark man, about 40 years old, made four attempts to gain admission to the dining room, being turned away each time. Those who saw him said he bore no resemblance to Schrank.
    From this circumstance the report gained currency that two men were engaged in the attempt to take Col. Roosevelt's life. The police to-night were unable to get any evidence to bear out this theory. A written proclamation was found in his clothing.