The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-12-03

To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives:
We still continue in u period of un-
bounded prosperity. This prosperity lie
not the creature OF law. but undoubted-
ly the laws under which we work have
been instrumental in creating the con-
ditions which made 1t possible. and by
unWise legislation IL would be easy
enough to destroy It. There will un-
doubtedly be periods of depression. The
wave will recede; but the tide Will ad-
'ance. This nation Is seated on con-
ipent f1anked by two oceans 1t is
composed Of men the descendants OF
pioneers. or. in Il sense, pioneers Them
selves: of men winnowed out from
among the nations of the old world by
the energy, boldness! and love of ad-
venture found in their own eager
hearts. Such a nation. so placed, VIII
surely wrest success from fortune.
AS n people we have played large
part in the world, and we are bent
upon making our future even larger
than the past. In particular the
events of the last four years have de-
fnitely decided that. for woe or for
veal, our place must be great among
the nations. We may either fail great
ly Or succeed greatly: but we can not
avoid the endeavor from which either
great failure or great success must
come. Even il we would, we can not
play a small part. IL we should try,
all that would follow would be that
we should play a large part ignobly
and shamefully.
Eut our people, the sons of the men
OF the civil war, the sons of the men
who had iron in their blood, rejoice in
the present and face the future high Of
heart and resolute OF will. Ours is not
the creed OF the weakling and the cow
ard; ours is the gospel Of hope and Of
triumphant endeavor. We do not shrink
from the the struggle before us. There
are many problems for us to face at
the outset of the twentieth century,
grave problems abroad and still graver
at home; but we know that we can
solve them and solve them well, provid-
ed only that We bring to the solution
the qualities OF head and heart which
were shown by the men who, in the
days of Washington, founded this gov
ernment. and, in the days of Lincoln,
preserved it.
No country has ever occupied high
er plane of material well-being than
ours at the present moment. This we'll
being is due to no sudden or accidental
causes, but to the play of the econo-
mic forces in this country for over a
century: to our laws, our sustained and
continuous policies; above all, to the
high individual average of our citizen
ship. Great fortunes have been won
by those who have taken the lead in
this phenomenal industrial develop
ment, and most of these fortunes have
been won not by doing evil, but as
an incident to action which has bene-
fitted the community as whole.
Never before has material we'll
being been so widely diffused among
our people. Great fortunes have
been accumulated, and yet in the ag-
gregate these fortunes are small in
deed when compared to the wealth
OF the people as whole. The plain
people are better of than they have
ever been before. The insurance
companies, which are practically
mutual benefit societies-especially
helpful to men Of moderate means
represent accumulations of capital
which are among the largest in this
country. There are more deposits in
the savings banks, more owners of
farms, more Well-pa1d Wage-workers
in this country now than ever be-
fore in our history. OF course, when
the conditions have favored the
growth Of so much that was good,
they have also favored somewhat the
growth Of what was evil. It is en-
inently necessary that we should en-
oeavor to cut out this evil, but let us
not in fixing our gaze upon the lesser
evil forget the greater good. The
evils are real and some of them are
rnenacins. but they are the outgrowth
not of misery or decadence, but of pros
rerity--of the progress of our gigantic
industrial development. This industrial
development must not be checked, but
side by side with it should go such
progressive regulation as will diminish
the evils. We should fail in our duty
IL we did not try to remedy the evils,
but we shall succeed only if we proceed
patiently, with practical common sense
as we'll as resolution, separating the
good from the bad and holding on tn
the former while endeavoring to get
rid of the latter
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