The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-10

countrymen, capitalists or wage work.
ers. but primarily as American citi-
zens. (Applause.) To whom the right
OF brotherly friendship and comrade-
ship, with all other decent American
citizens, comes as the first and great
est OF privileges. We need good laws,
we need honest and upright admin
lstratlon OF the laws, but we need as
the fundamental prerequisite for good
government a high average standard
OF cltlzenship in the men who make
the laws and stand back of them. fAp-
plause.) The best law by itself will
not orlng good citizenship. A bad law
will do incalculable harm, and no
greater damage can be done to any
community than maladministration
dlshonest or unfair administration of
laws. A law badly administered can
90 great harm, and often most harm
TO those who at any given moment may
tnink that 1t is to their interest to have
the law violated or to have it put upon
the statute books. Bad laws can do
harm. Good laws can do a measure
OF good, but it is the man behind the
law who will ultimately by the way
IN which he performs his duties de-
termine whether this country is to go
up or down.
1t Is Character That Counts.
Character is what counts. The men
here who fought in the
Union army, the men who
fought in the Confederate army,
let them look back What did they
care for most in the men who were
their comrades, who fought on their
right hand and their left hand in time
of action? 1t was not as to the mans
antecedents, it was not as to whether
he was rich or poor or what his social
position had been, it was TO know
whether when the time oe crisis ca me
he would stay. daughter and ap-
plause.) If the need came to go for
ward you wanted to be sure when he
moved that he would move in the right
d:raction.
You wanted to know that you could
count on his being there as a good
friend, and as foe to look out for.
You wanted to have him devoted to
his country, devoted to his flag, loyal
to his regiment, but / don't care how
fine his feelings were, if he ran away
he was no good. Laughter.) 1t is so
in civil life, for if a citizen is to be
worth his salt he needs character, and
into character many elements enter. If
man is not decent, then the ADLER he
is the more dangerous he is to the
community. In the Revolutionary War
one of the bravest and most brilliant
soldiers during the early syears of the
contest was the man who has left his
name as a by-word of infamy to the
nation for all time; the man who
fought with distinguished gallantry
in Canada, the man who
led all the American forces
in the great battle at Saratoga and
left his leg on the field of victory
That man, with all his courage, all his
daring, all his superb military genius.
turned because the root of righteous
ness was not in him, sought to betray
his comrades for money and left the
name of Benedict Arnold as a Kissing
for evermore.
The Necessary Virtues.
"In civil life the danger is not so
patent, but it is just as great, if abil-
ity is not accompanied by a rightful
sense of accountability to the moral
law. In addition to honesty and de-
cency. you must have courage. want
to see every one a good man, and in
addition to that l want to see him
a man. We must have the manly vir-
tues deeply imbeded as part of our
national characteristics, if we are to
do our work Alright in peace or in war.
But honesty and courage together are
not enough. l care not how brave and
how honest a man is, if he was born
AOOllSI yOu Gall 10 DuI ICIle WITH MN,
We need honesty, we need courage
and we need in addition the saving
grace of common sense. There is no
patent device by which we can make
this country prosper and there is no
patent device by which we can make
the average citizen a credit to the
country; make him hold higher the
standard of good government
The average citizen must make
a hxy aff -
the republic. The average citizen
must realize that it is upon his Shout
ders that the entire government struc-
ture rests. We get in the habit of
speaking of the government as if it
were something apart from us. Now,
the government is us, we are the gov
eminent, you and 1. And the govern
ment is going to do well or i'll accord
ingly as we, with sanity. with resolu-
ton, with broad charity and sound
common-sense, make up our minds how
the affairs of the government shall he
managed. No man can take the bur-
den of government off the shoulders
of a people fitted for self-government
No man can make it easy for any
people to govern themselves. They
have got to determine for themselves
what the government shall be, and in
the long run the government will rep
resent their wishes. their wishes for
good or their wishes for evil, or else
they are indifferent to good or evil.
(Applause.) And so my plea to you,
my fellow-Americans. as to every
citizen in every section of the coun-
try, is, remember that in this country
nothing, no law, no leadership. can
possibly take the place of the exercise
by the average citizen of the funda-
mental virtues of good citizenship, the
exercise of the fundamental qualities
of honesty, courage and common
sense"
The President was given three hearty
cheers as he finished his speech. Car
riages were then entered and the par
ty was driven to Biltmore, the home
of George Vanderbilt. More than an
hour was spent in inspecting the
grounds While in one of the summer
houses the President shook hands with
a number of Confederate Veterans. His
train left promptly at 1870 p. M, for
Washington.