The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-17
TALK BY ROOSEVELT
MADE AT MEETING OF SOCIETY OF
THE HOLY NAME.
THOUSANDS HEARD ADDRESS.
PRESIDENT HAS ESTEEM OF CATH
OLICS, SAID FATHER POWERS.

OLAOSf SAID ~ W
Theme of Address "Decency OF
Speech and Conduct''-Andienc
Chiefly of Men-DOes Not Want TO
See Christianity Protested Only
Moving Spirit Among Men OF
StrenEth-Every Man should Con-
stitute Himself "a Brothers Keep
er-Prenched the Saving Grace OF
Common Sense"
Oyster Bay, N. Y, Aug. 16.-Presi-
dent Roosevelt delivered the principal
address at the quarterly meeting of the
Society of the Holy Name of Brook
Ign and Long Island held here to-day.
Decency of speech and conduct consti-
tuted the theme of his address, which
was enthusiastically applauded by an
audience of more than 200 persons,
chiefly men.
Father Powers, rector of st. Domi-
hicks, introduced the President in a
felicitous speech, in which he spoke of
the esteem in which Mr. Roosevelt is
held by the Catholics of this country
When President Roosevelt rose to
speak he was greeted with cheers and
it was quite minute before he was
able to proceed.
Presidents Address.
His address in part follows:
II am glad to see such society as
this fiourishing as your society has
fiourished, because the future welfare
of your nation depends upon the way in
which we can combine in our young
men decency and strength.
1--WE have good scriptural authority
for the statement that 1t is not what
comes into a mans mouth, but what
goes out of it that counts. I am not
addressing weddings, or 1 should not
take the trouble to come here. l am
addressing strong, vigorous men who
are engaged in the active hard work of
life, and life to be worth living must
be a life of active and hard work.
And ii is peculiarly incumbent upon
you who have strength to set right
example to others. l ask you to remem-
Der that you cannot retain your self
respect if you are loose and foul ton
gued; that a man who is to lead clean
and honorab BILE life, must inevitably sur-
fer If his speech likewise is not clean
and honorable.
Every man here knows the tempta-
lions that beset all of us in this world.
At times men will slip. l do not ex-
pect perfection, but / do expect genuine
and sincere efforts towards being de-
cent and clearly in thought, in word
and in deed.
Purpose of the Society.
"As / said at the outset, ! hail the
work of this society as typlfying one
of those forces which lend to the bet
terment and uplifting of our social
system. Our whole effort should be to-
ward securing a combination of the
strong qualities which we term virtues
in the breast of every good citizen.
Il expect you to be strong / would
not respect you if you were not. ! do
not want to see Christianity protested
only by weaklings; l want to see ii "a
moving spirit among men of strength.
/ do not expect you to lose one par
ticle of your strength or courage by
being decent. On the contrary, / should
hope to see each man who is a mem
Der OF this society from his member
snip III IL, DSCDllS all the inter 10 40
the rough work of the world-all the
filter to work in time of peace, and, If,
which may heaven forfend, war should
come, all the filter to fight In war
81 desire to see in this country the
decent men strong and the strong men
decent, and until we get that COM
bination in pretty good shape we are
not going to be by any means as sue
cessful as we should be. There is al
ways a tendency among very strong
young men, and among boys who are
not quite young men as yet, to think
to be wicked is rather smart; it shows
that they are men.
"Oh, how often you see some young
fellow who boasts that he is going to
see life, meaning by that that he is
going to see that part of life which
it is a thousand-fold better if it re-
manned unseen. / ask that every man
here constitute himself a brother s
keeper by setting an example to that
younger brother which will prevent
him from getting such a false estimate
OF life as that
Value of Example.
Example is the most potent OF all
things. If any one of you in the pres
ence of younger boys, and especially
the younger people of your family,
misbehave yourself; If you use coarse
and blasphemous language before
them, you can be sure that these
younger people will follow your exam
pie and not your precept.
ut is no use to preach to them IL
you do not act decently yourself. You
have go to feel that the most effective
way in which you can preach is by
your practice. These boys are not go
ing to admire virtue that Is of pure
ly academic type. They believe in
courage, in manliness. They admire
those who have the quality of being
brave, the quality of facing life as life
should be faced, the quality that must
stand at the root OF good citizenship
in peace or war.
IF you are to be effective as good
Christians you have got to possess
strength and courage, or your exam
pie will count for little with the young
men Of the Holy Name society. BY your
example give those young people the
tendency in the right direction. ] want
to see every man able TO hold his own
with the strong and also ashamed to
Cypress the weak.
Il want to see him too strong OF
spirit to submit TO wrong, and on
the other hand ashamed to do wrong
to others / want to see each man
able to hold his own in the rough
work of actual life outside, and also.
when he is at home. a good man, un-
selfish In dealing with wife or mother
or children
The Last Analysis.
I'm the last analysis the whole future
state depends upon the average citi-
a.. .A...a