The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-26
ROOSEVELT AT BOSTON
THE PRESIDENT AGAIN DIS
CUSSES THE TRUSTS.
Weeks Work for the Chief Execu-
tive in New England Begins
in Earnest-Win Start for
Maine This Morning.

Boston, aug. ZC.-Ine Weeks Work Aoi
President Roosevelt In his trip through
New England began in earnest this, az
ternoon, when he departed from the
summer home Of the Junior Senator OF
Massachusetts, Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge,
at Nahant, and amid the enthusiasm OK
the greatest number of people he has
faced Stree the Pittsburg visit on July 4,
rode into Lynn under cavalry escort and
spoke from a platform in the city hall.
Then he was taken to Boston by special
train, and on arrival went to symphony
Hall, there addressing a great gathering
of Boston men. His speech here was
devoted almost entirely to consideration
of the trust question. From the hall the
President went to the Hetel Touraine,
where. a little later in the evening, he
was the guest of Governor Crane at din
ner. Tomorrow morning bright and early
the Presidential party will start for
Maine.
At Boston the President said:
Governor Crane. Mayor Collins, men
and women of Boston:
II am glad to have the chance Of say
ing few words to you this evening.
There are several matters that / would
like to discuss and l can say in all sin
cerity that when / come here to New
England, when ] come to Boston. l like
to 60 over as many subjects as possible,
SO that can get light on them. have
great faith in your judgment. / want
to take up this eevning the general ques-
ton of our economic and social relations
with specific reference to that problem
with which I think our people are
greatly concerning themselves-the prob
lem Of our complex social condition as
intensified by the existence of the great
corporations which We rather loosely
designate as trusts. But wish to say
one or two things as preliminary. In
the first place l have not come here to
say that have discovered patent cure
all for the trusts. .
when peoples minds are greatly agi-
tated on any subject and especially when
they feel deeply but rather vaguely that
conditions are not right 1t is far pleas
anter in addressing them to be indifferent
as to what you promise, but 1t Is mucn
less pleasant afterward. OF course the
worth of a promise consists purely in the
way In which the promise squares with u.
That has got two sides to 1t. In the
first place il man is honest he will try
jus tas hard to keep q promise made on
the second place If the people keep their
heads they won't wish promises to be
made which are impossible of perform
ance.
Now you see that one side of that
question is my duty and the other side
is yours. Mankind goes ahead but
slowly but it goes ahead mostly through
each of us trying to do or at ieas'
through each of the majority of us try
hat tu In
doing 1t in the most intelligent and earn
est way. We founded our republic or
the theory that the average man as q
rule will do the right thing; that in the
long run the majority are going to decide
for what is sane and wholesome. II oul
fathers were mistaken in that theory. II
ever the mass of the people do what IL
unwholesome. what Is wrong. then tins
republic cannot stand. / care not how
good its laws; care not In what marvel
Gus mechanism its constitution may d
embodied. Back of the law. back OF tho
administration, back Of our system OF
government, lies the average manhoo
of our people. In the long run we are
going to go up or go down. according
as the average standard of our citizen
ship does or does not wax in growth ane
grace.
Now. when we come to the question
that the man shall do the homely, every
day humdrum duties well. man II
not a good citizen, l do not care how
lofty his thoughts are about citizenshll
in the abstract, If in the concrete his &C
lions do not bear them out, and 1t doe
not make much difference how high nj
aspirations for mankind at large are
he does not behave we'll in his own famii!
those aspirations are not going to bea
xySeihl fF1Ii 10
good bread winner; he has got to tax
care of his wife and children; he ha
got to be a neighbor whom his neigh
bors can trust; he has got TO act squarel!
in his business relations. In fact he ma
got to do all those every day ordinar!
things or he is not a good citizen.
But he must do more than that. II
this country Of ours the average clti
zen has got to devote good deal o
thought and time to the affairs of tn
State as a whole or those affairs ar
going to go backward. That time mus
be devoted steadily and intelligently.
there Is any one quality which is not al
nirable whether in a nation or in al
Individual 1t is history. The man or wo
man who makes up for ten days indif
ference to duty by a eleven days morbit
repentance about that Indifference is o
very scant use in the world.
sible use to decline to go through all tn
ordinary duties of citizenship for a lonl
space of time and then suddenly get u
and feel angry about something of some
body not clearly defined in ones mi n
sn6 demand reform as II 1t were a con
crete substance and could be handed on
forthwith Now this is a preliminary t
what / want to say to you about hi
whole question of corporations as affect
ing the public. There are very man
different problems with which we ar
faced as one of the results of the force
which taken all together we speak of a
progress.
ut is worse than useless for any o
us to rail at or regret the great growt
in industrial civilization of the last hal
century Speaking accidentally, we car
according to our several temperament
regard that the old lights have vanishe
or rot as we chose. Boston and tn
thriving cities of Massachusetts hav
been built up as a result of those forces
There is but little use in regretting tina
things have not shaped themselves oil
ferently. The practical thing to do Is I
face the conditions as they are, and &c
If we cannot get the best there is In thel
out of them We are not going to g.
any. complete or perfect solution for
of the evils which come to our pino
when we think of the trusts by any sir
gle action on our party. A good man
actions in a good many different way
will be required before We get many {
those evils even partially remedied. W
oot all fhiulx rlN