The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-09-24
Living Issues.
NIB. RoosEvELTs MINNEAPOLIS AID
DRESS.

In the same issue of the New York
Outlook in which was given the
comment on President McKinlsy's
Buffalo speech, the following out
line of Mr.. Roosevelt's Minneapolis
address was also given
1. A STRENUOUS LIFE.
A comparison of President Nc
Kinley's Pan-American address with
that delivered by Vice. President
Roosevelt at Minneapolis four days
before is interesting and instructive.
Mr.. Roosevelt is more forceful bus
not more radical than President Mo
Kinley more inspiring, but less per-
suasive. President McKinley's adj
dress is distinctly more commercial
in tone, Vice-President Roosevelt's
more heroic, so that it may be re-
garded as an exposition of his favor
tie text-''a strenuous life" The
life of high endeavor, he declares,
land this is the theme of his speedy
is the only life worth living. "The
willfully idle man, like the willfully
barren woman, has no place in a
sane, healthy, and vigorous COM
munity." "As infinitely the hap
piest woman is she who has borne
and brought up many healthy chill
dren, so infinitely the .happiest man
is he who has tOiled hard and sue
cessfully in his life work" National
prosperity depends upon individual
character, which law may promote
or prevent, but never by itself pro-
duce. In our more complex civiliza-
ton Gin a constantly increasing
number of cases we shall find it nee
essary to shaokle cunning as in the
past we have shaokled force !" and
the nation must possess the right of
supervision and control IS regards
the great corporations "the right
should be exercised with caution and
self-restraint but it should exist so
that it may be invoked if the need
arises" The same spirit of strenu-
Gus endeavor should characterize the
nation as the individual. We cannot
shirk our world duties without dis
honor. "Good people seek to deter
us from treading the hard but lofty
duty by bidding us remember that
all nations that have achieved great.
ness have in the end passed away.
So they have, so have all others"
But they have left, rs did Rome, for
instance, a noble legacy behind them
for the future nations, while the
lazy and supine have scarcely left
even a name. If we are to perform
our duty in the world, we must be
able to make good our words ; 1--WE
must use no words that we are not
prepared to back up with deeds ) a
principle which Mr. Roosevelt spe-
cially applies to the Monroe Doctrine
in the following words:
"This is the attitude we should
take as regards the Monroe Doctrine.
There is not the least need of blus-
tering about it. Still less should it
be used as a pretext for our w ag-
grandizement at the expense of any
other American State. But, most
emphatically, we must make it evil
dent that we intend on this point
ever to maintain the old American
position. Indeed, it is hard to I'M
derstand how any man can take any
other position now that we are all
looking forward to Ike building of
the Isthmian Canal. The Monroe
Doctrine is not international law,
but there is no necessity that it
should be. All that is needfull is
that it should continue to be a car
dinal feature of American policy on
this continent and the Spanish
American States should, in their
own interests, champion it as strong
ly as we do. We do not by this doc.
trine intend to sanction any policy
of aggression by n American COM
monwealth at the expense of any
other, nor any policy of commercial
discrimination against any foreign
power whatsoever. Commercially,
as far as this doctrine is concerned,
all we wish is a fair field and no
favor but if we are wise wa shall
strenuously insist that under no
pretext whatsoever shall there be
any territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT on
American soil by any European
power, and this no matter what form.
the territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT may
take"