Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-08-12
PRACTICAL POLITICS
AND DECENT POLITICS
Gov, Roosevelt Talks to an kudicnc,
Of 10000 at Ocean Grove
Summer Resort.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CORRUPTION
I'm the Last Analysis the People
Have Themselves TO Blame.-
10 Backward Step in
the Philippines.

Ocean Grove, N. j., Aug. Gov
ernor Roosevelt, of New York, was the
guest of honor at the Ocean Grove
summer school last night, when he de-
livered an address upon "Practical Pol.
tiles and Decent Politics. before an
audience of 10000 people, Crowds met
Governor Roosevelt at the New Jersey
station oil his way from New York,
cheering him heartily.
The audience last night was so eX-
traordinarily enthusiastic that Gov
ernor Roosevelt was obliged to beg
the people TO moderate their cheering.
Governor Roosevelt said in part:
ut 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 he exactly what the peop'e allow
them to be. They must represent the
people-perhdps the wee. perhaps the
virtue, perhaps the ihditfe ence OF the
people. This does not in the least eX-
cuse politicians that are bad, and we
must keep in mind that e~veryrpoliti-
clan, above all every successful poll
IVAN III ~ uNDduNb DbbllN Noh-
science, TO render bad men bo,der and
decent men who are not farsighted
more cynically Indifferent than ever.
But in blaming the politician do not
forget that we have ourselves to blame
for permitting his existence. Again,
do'not fall into the mistake of think
ing that we shall ever make politics
better by Mysteries in any shape or
form.
ut is n shame to us rs n nation that
we should have tolerated in a city like
New York an administration against
which il is necessary to war, not on
grounds OF political eNpediency, but on
grounds of elementary morality. p
Just at the moment the nation is
face to face with n duty that calls for
heroism. / mean our attitude in the
Philippines. We pat our pick into the
rotten foundations of Spanish govern
ment, both in the east and in tile West
Indies. We tumbled the building
down in ms righteous n war as was
ever undertaken. Now, if we are
worth our place among the great ma
tons OF the earth we must see to il
that the ruins are cleared away, and
the temple OF Justice and honesty
reared in their places. We shall he
guilty of n terrible wrong to humanity
il in the Philippines we retreat before
lrmed savagery instead of organizing
n suitable government, which shall
guarantee justice to every one and an
ever increasing measure of liberty to
those who show themselves worthy Of
il. The whole history Of the world
shows the wrong done by the mere
sentimentalist is often not Of regular
proportions and is more elastic than
any other Kind of wrong, and Of this
we shall be guilty il we fail 10 do our
task thoroughly and well.
at will require the mcrest fraction
Of strength. provided only we choose
to extend that strength. If, however,
the people let their representatives in
congress hamper the administration
as they did last winter when they re-
fused TO put the army on n proper
footing so as TO give ~permancnce and
organization, then the people have
themselves TO thank if the war fingers
with difficulties and 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 rcpressed nee for all, and
what is even 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 interest
Of their inhabitants and therefore ul-
timately for the honor and renown of
America"