The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-08-27
TRIUMPHAL TOUR.
The President Makes a Sensible Speech on
Trusts and Has Something to Say ol
Prosperity.

Prosperity.
Providence. Il. l.. Aug. as.-President Roose.
welt spoke m follows:
ave are passing through q period o. great
material prosperity and such u period Is aa
sieu IN adversely itself 10 brirg mutterings
OF discUntent. Ata time when most men
prosper somewhat, IL also always happeus
that o few msn prosper grsatly and II 10 an
Of s"am s UPON S who ws.s unass
Il, that good fortune does not come only to
the Just. nor bad fortune only To the unjust.
When The weather IN good for crops II 10 also
good Tor weeds. Moreover, not only do the
| wirXed flourish when the times are such thai
most men flourish. but what is worse, the
upirit OF envy and JeslouSy and hatred springs
they may be doing fairly well themselves. vel
see others. who are no more deserving doing
| TAR better.
"Wise laws and fearless and upright admin.
is,ration OF the laws can give the opportun.
| ity for such prosperity ss that We see about
"a. But thisia NIL that they can do. When
the conditions have been created which
| make prosperity possible. then each indivld.
ual man must achieve Il for hirnselL. by his
own thrift Intelligence. energy. industry, and
resolute purpose II people 20 into wild spec
that which no legislation can supply. and the
business world Will suner In Consequences.
II In spirit OF suilen envy they insist upon
pulling down those who have profited most
| "
selves In the grssp Of the common disaster.
| II IL difficult 10 make our material condition
by the best laws, but II ia easy enough by bad
laws 20 throw The whole nation into An
abyss OF misery.
THE DEMANDS OF PROSPERITY.
snow the upshot OF all this IL that II is pc.
culiariv incumbent upon us In time ol such
material well.being. both collectively n m
ton and Individually, each on hts own &c
nj I'm nh fhnt ~ Rneh Qualities
a. providence. seli-knowietge and self.re.
| strRlnt. In our rnment We need above
all things stability, nxtty OF economic policy,
be fossiIizaiion, that there must not DO inaoil-
ity 10 shape our course anew IN meet the
shilling needs OF the people M these needs
ARIES.
There arc real and great evils In oar social
and economic life and these evils stand ont
with ugly badness during good times. for tho
wicked who prosper are never pleasant
sight There IL every need Of striving In all
possible ways. individually aud collectively.
by combinations among ourselves. private life
Rnd through the recOynizrd organs OF govern
usbe sure that We do not use the knife with an
ignorant zeal which would make IL more dan
gerous 10 the patience than TO the disease.
ONE OF THE GREAT DANGERS.
"Ooe OF the dangers OF the tremendous In
dustriRi growth OF the last generation has
OteO tue VoTy EE6at luGfe0c6 III luEk0 pItNdtCs
and especially in large corporations. fortunes.
We may like this or not, just ~ We please.
but 10 is TACT nevertheless. and a. far ~ We
csp see. Il H. an inevitable result Of the work
Ing Of various causes, prominent among
which has been the immense Importance
steam and electricity ve assumed In modern
life. Urban population has growp 10 this
country, az In all civilized countries. much
faster than the population. AZ whole.
! are during the last century, and where men
gathered together In great masses II insvita-
Oily results that they must work far more
largely by means OF combinations among
| themselves than when they live isolated from
one another. Now. i suppose that most OF IN
prefer on many nccounts, the old conditions
more 10 himself and by himself, when tho
average community was more self-depoudent
and where. even though the standard OF COM
tort wss lower on the average, yet there was
tions which We now see In our great cities.
rooR ARE NOT POORER.
.It In not true thai the poor have grown
poorer, but come OF the rich have grown no
very much richer that whero multiiudes OF
men are herdsd together In 3 limited space
the contrast strikes the OnloOker az moro
violent than formerlv. On the whole. our
prog reas OF which We are 30 proud could not
have taken place had II not been for the great
upbuiIdiug Of industrial-centers,a such as our
commercial and manu- featuring cities.
"But together With the good there has
come measure OF evil. Life TX not 20 sim
Pile an u was, and surely, both for the In
dividual and the com mnnity. the simple
ts no, IN tss hH. cisss sSe % asms sense Of common
underlying brotherhI' cd which there 10 still
In country localities. and the lines OF social
cleavage are far more clearly marked.
For some OF the evils which have attended
upon the good OF tho changed conditions We
can nj present zee no complete remedy. For
Others the remedy must come by the action
whether merely a. individuals or by COM
bination or Otherwise. For yet others some
other remedy can be found In legislative and
executive action, national, state or municipal.
| Ia entirely uuwarrAnted. Under present day
conditions Il In N necessary TO have corpora.
tons In the business world as Il is to have
organization among wage workers.. But We
| have right 70 ask In each case that they
| shall do good and not harm.
Exactly as labor organizations. when
managed inteliigsntly and in spirit OF Jos.
moi only TO the wage-earnefs. but to the
whole community M the history OF many
| labor organizations has conclnsiveiy SHOWN
40 wealth; not merely Individual; but coz.
benefit TO the community az q whole. but
| indispensable to the upbuilding Of the coun-
try. upon the conditions, which the country
to demand aa normal. This 10 SO obvious
that Il seems trite even 70 state Il, and yet II
We are to Judge from some OF the arguments
nd vanoed syainst and attacks made upon
wealth as such, IL Is fact worth keeping In
mind.
WHEN FORTUNE IL 4 MENACE.
"a great fortune. ir not used Alright. makes
its posaeksor In u peculiar sense menare IN
the community as q whole Just M great
intellect does, n IL In unacctmpanied by
developed conscience, by character.
"But obviously. this no more affords ground
| for condemning wealth than 10 does for con.
demning intellect Every man of power. by
the very fact OF that power IL capable oi
doing damage to bis neighbors. bul We can.
| not afford To discourage the development al
such men merely because IL Ia possible they
i may nae their power tn wrong ends.
i "If We did 40 We should leave our history a
jhlauk, for We should have no great states
men, soldiers OF merchants, no great men oil
art, OF letters or OF science. Doubtless, on
the average, tho most useful man To his
iellowcitizsu IN apt to he to whom
has bs3n given what the Psalmist prayed
for, neither poverty nor riches, but the
~ nd ha nj