Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-04
to the pathway followed by empire
OF the old world.
GOVERNOR ROOSEVELT.

Governor Roosevelt spoke In part
thus:
/ BY far the greatest problem, the most
far reaching in its stupendous import
ance, is that problem, or rather that
group OF problems, which we have
grown to speak Of as the labor ques-
ton. 1t must be always peculiar
privilege for any thoughtful public man
to address a body of men predomln-
ately composed of wage workers, for
the foundation of our whole social
structure rests upon the material and
moral well being. the intelligence, the
foresight, the sanity, the sense OF duty
and the wholesome patriotism OF the
wage worker. This is doubly the case
now. for. in addition to each mans in
diyidual action, you have learned the
great lesson OF acting in com blnatlon.
1t would be impossible to oyerestimate
the far-reaching influence of, and on
the whole, the amount OF good done
through your association
The fundamental law of healthy poll
| tical life in this great republic is that
each man shall in deed, and not merely
| in word. be treated strictly on his.
| worth as a man; that each shall do
| full Justice to his fellow, and in return
shall exact full justice from him. Each
sroup of men has it's special interests,
and yet the higher the, broader and
deeper interests are those which apply
| to all men alike; for
The Spirit of Brotherhood
| in American citizenship, when rightly
understood and rightly applied, is more
| important than all else. Let US scru-
| pulously guard the special interests
| of the wage worker, the farmer, the
manufactures, and the merchant, CIV
! ing to each man his due and also seeing
that he does not wrong his fellows; but
| let us keep ever clearly before our
| minds the great fact that, where the
| deepest chords are touched, the inter-
| ests Of all are alike and must be guard
ed alike.
| We must beware of any attempt 10
| make hatred in any form the basis OF
action. Most emphatically each OF us
needs to stand up for his own rights;
| all men and all groups of men are
| bound to retain their self-respect, and
demanding the same respect from 9TH
| eus to see that they are not injured,
and that they have secured to 0hem
| the fullest liberty Of thought and ac-
ton. But to feed fat a grudge against
others, while it may or may not harm
| them. is sure in the long run to do IN
| finite harm to the man himself.
The more a healthy American sees
of one's fellow Americans, the greater
grows his conviction that our chlef
troubles come from mutual under
standing, from failure to appreciate one
another's point of view. In other
words. the great need is fellow feeling,
sympathy, brotherhood, and all this
| naturally comes by association. 1t is,
| therefore, of vital Importance that there
should be such association.
The Most Serious Disadvantage
| to city life is the tendency OF each man
| to keep isolated III his own little set,
and to look upon the vast majority OF
his fellow citizens indifferently so that
he soon becomes to forget that they
have the same red blood the same love
and hate. the same Likes and dlsllkes,
the same desire for good, and the same
perpetual tendency, ever needing to be
checked and corrected, to lapse from
good into evil. If only our people can be
thrown together where they act On
common ground with the same motives
and have the same objects, we need
not have such fear of their failing to
acquire a general respect for one an
other. and with such respect there
must finally come fair play for all.
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
contact he may learn that fundamental
| ly he and they have the same interests,
| needs and aspirations.
We have exactly the same right
To Regulate the Conditions
of life and work in factories and tene-
ment houses that We have to regulate
| fire escapes and the like in other houses.
| In certain communities the existence OF
a thoroughly efficient department Of
factory inspection is just as essential
as the establishment of a fire depart
| ment. How far we shall go in regulat-
| ing the hours of labor, or the liabilities
Of employers, is matter OF expediency,
and each case must be determined on
| its own merits exactly as it is matter
of expediency to determine what So
called public utilities" the community
shall itself own, and what ones it shall
leave to private or corporate owner
ship, securing to itself merely the right
| to regulate Sometimes one course is
expedient, sometimes the other.
In my own State during the last half
dozen wears we have made a number
of notable strides in labor legislation,
and, with very few exceptions, the laws
have worked well. This is, of course,
partly because we have not tried to do
| too much and have proceeded cautious
| ly, feeling our way.
| A word on the general question. In
| the first place, in addressing an audi
ence like this, do not have to say that
The Law of Life is Work,
and that work in itself so far from being
any hardship is great blessing, pro-
vided always it is carried on Under con-
| ditions which preserve a mans self
| respect and which allow him to develop
his own character and rear his child
rem SO that he and they. as well as the
! whole community of which he and they
are part may steadily move onward
| and upward. The idler. rich or poor, is
at best a useless, anu is generally a
noxious member of the community
To do our duty; that is The summing
I'D Of the whole matter. We must do