Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-08-18
PRACTICAL AND DECENT POLITICS,

PRACTICAL AND DECENT POLITICS.
Probably no nan of national repute
has given politics more earnest study
than Gov. Roosevelt. and it is doubtful
If there is Il public mar who is more
independent and outspoken than he.
He has always apparently been on the
side of the people as against the politi-
t%icians- that is, the politicians who
seek to control the people for purely
political purposes rather than for the
public good. Gov. Roosevelt does not
talk merely to tickle the ear or cater
to the whims and fancies of people, for
he has at times taken up fight against
a majority, as was illustrated in his
campaign in New York City a few
years ago when he sought to hold the
better elements of that great city to-
gether as against the corrupt powerful
organization of Tammany and others
of like ilk that preferred to have the
hell holes i'll power than that they
should lose control of the politics of
the city. Roosevelt lost i'll his fight in
that city at that time, but when he
cane to ask for the sutfrages of the
people of the state of New York he was
endorsed by a powerful majority. 1t
is such men of uplifting and purify
in, convictions that are becoming
more popular each year, and Gov.
Roosevelt is getting closer to the hearts
of the people every year.
In his address before the Ocean
Grove, y. V, summer school, "a short
time Ago.. upon "Practical Politics and
Decent Politics." he told some things
that are so timely and true that we are
glad to be able to quote Il portion of
his remarks. He said:
'lt is idle for the mass of good citi-
zens to try to set themselves apart as
not responsible for our political short
comings. In the end the politicians
must be exactly what the people allow
them to he. They must represent the
people-perhaps the vice. perhaps the
virtue, perhaps the indifference of the
people. This does not in the least ex-
cuse politicians who are bad and we
must keep in mind that every vicious
politician. above all every successful
vicious politician, tends to debauch
public conscience. to render bad men
holder and decent men who are not
farsighted more cynically indif-
ferent than yer. But in blaming the
ourselves to blame for permitting his
existence. Again, do not fall into the
mistake of thinking that we shall ever
make politics better by Mysteries in
any shape or form. 1t is u shame to
us as "a nation that we should have toll
Grated in a city like New York an ad-
ministration against which it is neces.
sary to war, not only on grounds of
political expendiency, but on grounds
of elementary morality. Just at this
moment the nation is face to face with
a duty that calls for heroism. 1 mean
our attitude in the Philippines. We
put u pick into the rotten founda-
tions of Spanish government both in
the East and West Indies. We tum-
bled the building down in as righteous
war as was ever undertaken. Now, if
we are worth Dur place among the
great nations of the earth we must see
to it that the ruins are cleared away
and the temple of justice and honesty
reared in their places. We shall be
guilty of a terrible wrong to humanity
if in the Philippines we retreat before
armed savagery instead of organizing
Il suitable government which shall
guarantee justice to every one an ever
increasing measure of liberty to those
who show themselves worthy of it.
1.-The whole history of the world
shows that the wrong done by the
mere sentimentalists is often of larger
proportions and more elastic than any
other kind of wrong, and of this wrong
we shall be guilty if we fail to do our.
task thoroughly and we'll. 1t will call
for but the merest fraction of our
strength, provided only we choose to
exert that strength. If, however, the
people let their representatives in con-
gress hamper the administration as
they did last wenter, when they re-
fused to put the army upon proper
footing as to size, permanence and or
ganization, then the people have them.
selves to thank if the war fingers with
difficulties aud dangers increased.
What the people have to do is to re-
solve to back up the president to the
full in seeing that the outburst of saw
agery is repulsed once for all, and
what is more important, to see that
these new tropic islands in the East
and West alike are not left to the prey
of partisans and spoilsmen, but are
governed primarily in the interests of
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