New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-22
Il. and TO them would like to express my Ell


cerest acknowledgment. e...o Dammit
So It has been all through. Inc o' a., re as
| 20 on, we cannot do our WORK sese Wy .,,iorlv
distance Of such men as these ana par ticuIaiS
90 s,,ch orsaniyad bodies as that which am ad-
dressing In a great popular goVeIh ni,o,s &c
ours the weight Of the individuai py hn nsti,,e
comparatively small IL can others The best
man here tonight cannot begin TO speaS c, w,
the authority with which the Chai it
merce speaks In its corporate capaci'''
LOOK TO THE CHAMBER FOX ALL
A,d % those Of us who have the honor 10 De
for the time being your represent sni< anxious to
| ito life and who are sincerely aiiN T,o -
. no t nc Ad az, what is best 10 do TO FORWARD
the material and the moral "eiipenis 80
state to those who feel Una. md' in the feeling
,ha, ,ye have the right TO turn TO Dody inc
this for thought and well consiueIeu 49, Ill
any problem that cohes ny "'e
De,ng Oh 'n cell Won to pay attention to what 1
said there-affecting the welbeing or tne GIts'
7 do NOT saw merely the material weHpelne'
NJ raoson that IL Is q peculiar pleasure TO
address YOU is because in speaking TO you 10
ntght-you the men who are peculiarly connect
ed with the great material interests oi IN, co., 80
I also speak TO 50 many men VINO are i"Ie-
most I'm furthering the moral welfare OF the
CITY l think one often becomes indignant a.
certain stock accusations brought agalls. ,N.
Of means men of large wealth, as being nesIect-
full of their duties TO the public. You al kno"
that one Of the favorite accusations Drouehl
against only men or means out le6
is of unduly favoring corporate wealth NOW
after considerable experience up there IN Al
bany first Of all for three years in the Legls-
lature and now as Governor, j wish 10 Sd!
that | have had to work quite as hard against
seeing corporate wealth blackmailed as nave
against seeing anything improper done for II;
And now let me add another thing. another
experience OF mine-that the man who was loud
cet In indiscrmnate denunciatlon OF all cor
porations and of all forms Of wealth on the
stump before election is very often the exact
nh flor oil n ho
he should not do for the identical corporations
that he had denounced
NO CLASS ANTAGONIST
Now understand me; do not think that for
one moment say that wrongs have not been
committed by corporations. They have been,
and where they have been committed l VIII
stand just far to the front as can In seeing
them remeded. Those Of you who have fo-
lowed. with whatever feelings. my course In rel
erence to the Franchise Tax bill will probably
believe that l telling YOU what the facts
are. What I mean is this, and what impresses
me more and more the more have TO zeal with
public questions is, that If you are going 10
have sound political development, II you are
going TO have a healthy political life. you can
rot afford TO take a stand which shall DIVIDE
men according TO their wealth or lack OF wealth,
according TO their being in business or one
occupation and another; that you have got TO
have implanted In you that spirit OF fellow feel
ing. Of sympathy in its largest sense, which VIII
make you judge each man on his worth as
man. and the actions Of each man according 10
those actions. You cannot expect will put
Il stronger than that: the minute you get any
man who goes into public life against certain
class when that is his stock In trade, you have
got who is not merely dangerous TO that
class, but dangerous TO the community as
whole.
1t is healthy TO have political lines vertical.
that banker is against banker, brcklayer
against brcklayer. and so on according to their
conceptions Of the needs Of the country II
is absolutely unhealthy when you have the line
horizontal. so that the bricklayer is against
the banker so that one class is against an
other
And I will tell you why It is unhealthy The
experience Of the past has been. from the days
Of the Greek republics OF antiquity, through the
days Of the Medieval italian republics, down to
our own time, that the minute you get men
who divide the lines Of class. OF caste. each
man substitutes loyalty 10 the class es the type
Of virtue, in place Of loyalty TO the ideal OF
those virtues which go 10 make up the State
as whole. And that has got two effects. In
the first place II makes him just so far as he
is loyal to the class disloyal TO the rest OF the
community; and in the next place 1t mpants
in him that moral twist which is absolutely
sure 10 make him not merely disloyal TO the
community as a whole but disloyal to the very
class itself when the occasion arises.
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE RANCH
Let me tell you very homely personal anec-
dote. Some time ago l followed the business OF
a ranchman out in the West-out in a part Of
the country where there fences and the
cowboys and the branding iron took their place
ing each calf with the brand Of the COW that II
followed, and il the roundup passes by a calf
next year what they call q maverck-it is UNI
branded. and mavericks have produced not
merely race but county in different Sec
lions of the country in our more youthful
buoyant days; and In my time the range law
was that the maverick should be branded with
the brand Of the ranch or range on which II was
! found. one summer out there had hired new
cowpuncher. and he and were riding in across
the range, and we struck a maverick. and he got
I hiS ND and we
brand It. l said to him. not knowing the range
we on, 1T is thistle brand" He said
"All right, boss know my business" and in
minute or two ] said. wait moment; you are
putting on my brand" He said, "Oh, yes, al
ways put on the boss's brand" / said: "Oh. all
right Now you go back TO the ranch and get
y0ttnF on yo He my end
! but If you steal for me you will steal from me"
! Now, there is profound philosophic truth in
that. and It applies to a good deal more than the
/ COW business When you get the public man
| who will do what he ought not 10 do for you he
will do II against you as soon It suits his self
| interest to do II.
AFRAID OF "sMARTNEss."
! II there is one quality Of which more than an
! other I feel that we in America should beware,
| II is that quality which is sometimes euphem-
| istically known as "smartness." by which we
| are all too apt TO mean ability wholly discon-
nected with conscience. We all of US know in
| stances Of the man who succeeded in business
| or the man who succeeded in politics, of whom
one says when you object 10 him that he is a
| rather shady character "Oh, yes. But tell you
| he is smart" Now. don't think that am apollo
| giving for the fool ! don't. don't care for the
fool. don't even care for the good fool. have
had too much difficulty with him at times Now.
! gentlemen, the unfortunate consequence Of that
| remark will be that tomorrow / shall receive
| indignant letters from certain friends asking
| why l have attacked them. We don't want
! the fool. We cannot afford TO have him. But
just little, even less afford 20 tolerate
| the able knaVe. You have got to have ability.
| but you have got TO have honesty with it. or
the ability is simply curse TO the community.
| And the sooner that make IL felt by the
| crushing weight of public opinion that give
no quarter to the knave, and least Of all 10 the
| knave that succeeds-the sooner we make that
| he Nrn Will this n