Evening journal., 1897-03-03

the restraints thrown about him will
help 10 keep him in the path of recti-
tude 1 find that have occupied all the
time ! am permitted to occupy, but !
want to call attention to the ambitions
one can have | am one Of those who
have never denounced ambition. There
are different kinds OF ambition some
is worthy ambition and some unworthy
ambition. Nor do | denounce selfish
ness is sufficiently comprehensive in it's
scope. I don't think the Creator made
any mistake when he gave us the in
stinct of self-preservation / think it
wiser that each one was constituted TO
take care of himself; to look out for
himself instead Of putting that care in
somebody else. If | had to care for
somebody else and somebody else look
ed out for me, | would be uneasy for
fear my guardian would not be there
when trouble came. The thing to do
is to put limits upon ones selfishness
and an intelligent man will do it,instead
of allowing it free rein and conceiving
that everything that come to us Is gain
and that everything that goes from us
Is loss; instead of conceiying that
everything is good that gives us tenn
porary advantage and that everything
is bad that does not give us temporary
advantage. Take it all through life
and you will find that the most selfish
man Is the man who also sees to II that
no man suffers because of the care he
takes of him. have sometimes thought
that the summit Of selfish interest is
found in the commandment, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thysef.
Il .lI
we can establish government which,
while 1t protects him from injuring
somebody else, also protects somebody
else from injuring him. might say
there are two kinds of selhshness. One
leads a man to believe that he can best
secure his rights by trampling upon
others. That he may build himself up
by casting them down and rising upon
them. That is short-sighted selfish
ness. There is an ambition that is
praiseworthy, and that is to lift oneself
up by lifting up all those with whom he
stands. It is the only permanent benefit
and the only lasting advantage one can
execute. We cannot get much above the
average. IL by systems of injustice you
make others miserable, their misery at
last makes itself manifest in some way
that menaces your own safety.
think it was Victor Hugo who said" A
mob is humanity In distress. | would
hold up before those who are entrusted
by their fellows with responsible posi-
tions the factthat want you to beselfsh.
/ want you to recognize that above any
advantage you can gain by surrender of
your cCnvictions above al that is the
satisfaction that is lifelong in extent,
that the trust repoGed in your honesty
is scarcely preserved Nothing that
can come to you in gain or special IA
vors can ever compensate YOU if you
come out of the legislative halls with
the condemnation OF your own con-
science Nothing that can be paid to
you can ever equal i'll in recompense. It
will bring that conviction that you
have done your duty as You saw it, and
the esteem of those who trusted you
will be a richer reward than money
can give you. Every legislator will OBJ
serve by his experience that even in
politics. good name is rather to be
chosen than great riches and loving fa-
vcr rather than silver and gold. When
ever l ccme to a legislative body con
! trolled by those who hold opinions sim
! liar to my own, on political questions
| feel like impressing upon their minds
the responsibility which they carry
There is one proposition that you can
not ignore. That is that you cannot
rely upon fooling the people all the
time. Sometimes you can, but after ali
there is only one sure way to succeed,
and that is to deserve success. A man
who tries to deserve success is a great
deal more apt to secure it than a man
who tries to secure it regardless
whether he deserves il or not. Those
who are empowered to make laws have
a great responsibility to the govern
ment and must recognize that the peo-
pie who placed them there have a
right to expect them to justify the wis
dom of their constituency. and that the
actions of those elected will be a credit
to the party which placed them there
If those in the last campaign who re-
! iterated that they were in favor Of a
! government for the people, by the peo-
! pie and Of the people, ignore the prin-
| ciple and betray the people who trusted
| them, how can you expect that having
been unfaithfu in small things you
/ shall not be worse in great things.
Those who have powers must remem-
Der that opportunity is the measure of
their responsibility. If they do your
duty, make your laws wisely and pro-
vide methods of government so that the
people can express themselves, and
that expression heard and needed, your
virtues will be the best certificate for
continuation in power.
| believe that the campaign through
which we passed has resulted in a
study of government, and will result in