The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-03
NEW ENGLAND REPUBLICANS
APPLAUD AND CHEER
VICE PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Sixteen Hundred Members of the
Organization Listen to
Able Speech.

Boston, April 30.-An imposing ar
ray of speakers, headed by Vice-Presi.
dent Roosevelt, held the attention OF
1000 members of the Home Market
club, the most widely known republic
can organization of New England, at
it's Twelfth annual banquet in Mechan'
les hall tonight.
Roosevelt was greeted with a storm
of applause and three cheers. When
he could make himself heard, he said:
In reading the profoundly interest
ing and suggestive biography of the
great scientist Huxley, one cannot
but be struck by his constant insis-
lance upon the need, not merely of
telling the truth, but of doing it. That
is, of facing facts-recognizing actual
conditions so as the better to grapple
with them. One way of facing facts
is to remember that fundamentally
what is needed in the nation, which
eous living in the individual is also
what is needen in the nation, which
is Itself but an aggregate of individ-
uals. OF course. the analogy cannot
be pushed too far, because there is
a vital difference; for the individual
forms part of a community which he
and his fellows have agreed shall be
governed under certain laws; where
as the nations of this world have not
yet come to any such agreement, and
indeed cannot come to any agreement
that shall effect all, until al are on a
more nearly. common plane of civili-
cation. But the underlying fact re-
mains that with individual and nation
alike success of the kind which is
alone worth having must come from
obeying the laws that tell both. for
Il moral and u material we'll be-
ing. We cannot afford to follow that
sordid teaching which would bid us
pay heed only to the body: nor on the
other hand al we afford in II way
to neglect the questions Of material
prosperity. In short, we as a nation
must act as, each nan here tries to
act, while seeking so to do his life
work as to leave his children better
Off and to win and keep the respect
of his fellows. No man here has any
business to be weak, any more than
he has any bushes to be wicked. He
must do no wrong; and he must also
show that he "a hold his own in the
hurly-burly of life. Each of us wishes
his o to earn his living, to support
himself, to prosper materially; and
of course as a nation we must so
strive to shape our governmental pol
icies in matters of finance, of tariff and
of foreign relations as to bring about
the highest material prosperity which
can be obtained by legislation. Some
excellent persons seem to think that
the argument of material prosperity
is a pase argument; whereas of
course such is not the case, any more
than it is base in a man to teach his
son that it is a prime duty to be self
supporting. But to argue only from
the standpoint of material prosperity
would be base. A good man always
hopes to see his son do more than
earn his W living. In addition to
doing well as merchant or mechanic,
farmer or laborer. doctor or lawyer
whatever his profession may be-he
also wishes to see him do his duty
before God and man, his duty to those
dependent upon him, his duty to his
fellows individually, and his duty to
the state as a whole. Even so each
OF us shold desire to see America be-
come more and more a name of pride.
not merely because it symbolizes vast
material prosperity, but also because
1t stands for lofty and generous as
pirations, high effort and unyielding
resolutions.
Well. | come before you today be-
cause in actual deed we have in the
immediate past pressed forward to-
wards this goal. During the last four
years this nation has so conducted
itself &C nnt np1v RI odd i'm r,oo,.1
to our material prosperity, but also
to add to the heritage of honor which
we are to leave our children. 1t i'll
becomes us to speak in any spirit of
mere b~oastfulness Or arrogance; for
to give rein to such a spirit is to en-
sure future disaster. Yet we can do
better work in the future if we realize
that we have worked well in the past.
Look back four years: compare our
standing then with u standing now.
Think OF the sum of Substantial
achievement which is to be put to our
national credit during those four
years, and then answer yourselves
whether we have not cause to meet
here today in a spirit of self-respect-
ing, sober pride. A little over four
years g business disaster had
caused such widespread panic among
our people that in addition to the real
misery from which we were suffering,
we were threatened with the adoption
OF a governmental policy which would
have dragged the nation through the
ashes Of humiliation, put an indelible
stain upon our good name, and in
1licted a telling blow upon our reputa-
ton for shreWd common sense. At
the same time the situation in the
great island of Cuba lying at our very
doors, was such al absolutely to de-
mand Our interference. Under Presi-
dent Mckinley we entered upon an
era of constructive policies. Our
leaders had to show, not that they
could criticize, which is easy-but
hat they could actually accomplish
.hings-which Is hard. We had to
,uild up q legislative and administra-
i've system under which our domes-
10 well hQin0 should he rpat0rod