The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-09-04

easy and ready means of correcting all
abuses, the Government will not need to
be supported by a large permanent army,
for every citizen will be ready to defend
such Government from attack The
only domestic use for a large standing
army is to suppress by force that dlScOn-
tent which should be cured by legislation:
support psrma nent army of lOp,UoO
men requires approximately one-haf as
much money as is annually expended for
education in the United States. How
much cheaper it is to uplift people by the
gentle and peaceful process of intellec-
tual development than to blow them up
with powder and dynamite?
IMPERIALISM.
Imperialism involves departure from
principles which We're universally accept
e., in this country until within two years!
Do not allow yourselves to be deceived
by those who question the capacity OF
this people or that people for self-gov-
ernmcnt. When l say that those who dis
trust the capacity Of the people for sell
government tend directly toward mon
archy, l am only repeating what Lincoln
deliberately declared in his first annual
message.
This doctrine of Imperialism has not yet
been approved by the people; it furnishes
the supreme question Of the present cam
paign. In the presence of these perlls the
laborinS man has q responsibility COM
mensurate with his opportunity. Without
a large percentage OF the laborns vote
no party can win an election in the United
States On election day their silent ball
lots can shape the destiny of this nation,
to its ancient landmark or turn it into
the pathway followed by empires Of the
old world.
MIR. Rooscvelt's Speech.
Governor Roosevelt said:
1T must be always a peculiar privilege
for any thoughtful public man to address
a body of men predominately composed
of waSe-workers for the foundation OF
our whole social structure rests upon the
material and moral well-being, the in
teligence the foresight, the sanity, the
sense of duty and the wholesome patriot
ism of the wage-worker. This is doubly
the case now, for, in addition to each
mans individual action you have learned
the great lesson of acting in combination.
in addressing you the one thing that
I wish to avoid is any mere gltterins
generality; any mere hish-soundlng
phrascoIogy, and, above all, any appeal
whatsoever made in a demagogic spirit
or in a spirit of mere emotionalism.
"Our prime need as nation is that
every American should understand and
work with his fellow citizens, getting into
touch with them, SO that by actual con-
tact he may learn that fundamentally he
and they have the same Interests, needs
and aspirations.
SIN our cities, or where men congregate
in masses, it is often necessary to work
in combination-that is, through associa-
ions, ana mere IL Is tl1dl we SCI lllC EOSt
conferred by labor organizations, by
labor unions. OF course, if managed I'M
wisely, the very power OF such a union
or organization makes it capable OF dong
much harm; but, on the whole, it would
be hard to overestimate the good these
orga niZations have done in the past, and
still harder to estimate the good they can
do in the future, If handled with resolu-
ton and forethought, honestly and
sanely.
NOTABLE STRIDES.
s.In my own State, during the last halt
dozen years, we have made a number OF
notable strides in labor legislation, and
without exception the laws have worked
we'll. In New York our action has been
along two lines In the first place, we de-
termined that as an employer OF LABOR
the State should set good example TO
other employers. Accordingly, we have
adopted an eiSht-hour law for the State
employees and for all contractors who do
state work, and we have also adopted a
law requiring that the fair market rate
of wages shall be given.
81 want to say that both measures nave /
so far on the whole, worked Well.
."The other side of our labor legislation
has been that effectng the wage-workers
who do not work for the State. Here we
have acted in three different ways
through the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the Board of Mediation and Arbi-
tration, and through the medium of fac
tory inspection During the last two
years the Board OF Mediation and Arbi-
tration has been especially successful /
Not only have they succeeded in settling
many strikes after they We're started, but
they, have succeeded in I preventing
much larger number of Strikes before
they got fairly under way
VAST PROBLEMS.
After speaking of work as the law OF
life, and the necessity for mutual help,
Governor Roosevelt said:
Before us loom industrial problems. I
vast in their Importance and their COM
what shallsbe the exact limit of influence
allowed the State, or what limit shall be 1
set to that right of individual initiative
SO dearSto the hearts of - the American
people All that we can say is that the
need has been shown. on the one hand,
for action by the people in their collective
capacity through the State, or in many
alters; that in ohers matters much can
be done by associations OF different
groups of individuals, as in trade unions
and similar organizations, and thar IN
ever that final success will be for the
man who trusts in the Struggle only 70
his hand. his brave heart and his strong
right arm. There are spheres IN Which
the State can properly act antt. spheres
in which ta~compa ra lively free field must
be given to Individual nitiatIve
Though the conditions OF lie nave
grown so puzzling in their compiexlty,a
yet we may remain absolutely sure OF one
as it eyerzwiIl be In The future, there
car, be no substitute for the elemental |
virtues or the elemental quail tiles to which \
we all refer when we speak OF a, man as
not only a good man. bu a s eInphatlcall.1
a man. I