The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-08-17
HONESTY AND
DECENT SPEECH
Address Of President Roosevelt
at Quarterly Meeting.
AUDIENCE OF TWO THOUSAND
RAINY WEATHER KEPT MANY
FROM ATTENDING.

the Society of the Holy Name Of
Brooklyn and Long Island held here
today Decency of speech and conduct
constituted the theme of his address
which was enthusiastically applauded
by all audience of more than 1000 per
sons, chiefly men.
During The afternoon special trains
Drought hundreds of members Of the
society to Oyster Bay from Brooklyn
ana western Long Island. Threatening
weather kept many away. but although
a light rain fell during the exercises,
me crowd remained banked about the
nag-decked stand on a beautiful hill
opposite st. Dominic's Catholic church.
AS President Roosevelt drove up to
the stand in a closed carriage, accom-
panied by Captain w. II. Brownson,
superintendent of the naval academy;
Secretary Barnes and a representative
OF the society, he was accorded an en-
thusiastic reception, band meanwhile
playing Hail to the Chief"
After the audience had sung Amer
lea, Father Power. rector Of st. Dom
mics, introduced the president i'm a fe-
Icitous speech, i'm which he spoke Of
the esteem in which Mr. Roosevelt is
held by the Catholics of this country
When President Roosevelt rose he
was greeted with prolonged cheers and
II was full minute before he was able
TO proceed. He said:
Roosevelt's Address.
Very Reverend Dean, Reverend
Clergy and You of the Holy Name So
ciety: / count myself fortunate in
having the chance TO say a word TO
you today, and at the outset let me.
Father Power. on behalf of nv neigh
oors. your congregation. welcome you
here To Oyster Bay. I have a partial
right to join in that welcome myself,
ffrsf ma
OF rather Powers predecessor Father
Bel-ord TO be the first man TO put down
81 small contribution for the erection o.
the church here. I am particularly
glad 10 see such society as this flour
lshing as your society has fourished,
because the future welfare Of our ma
ton depends upon the Wav I'm which
we can combine i'm our men. in our
young men. CeSency and strength. Just
this morning. when attending services
ON the great battleship KearSarge. I
listened 20 a sermon addressed to the
oncerS and enlisted men Of the navy,
I'm which the central thought was that
each American must be a good man or
ne could not he "A good citizen. And
one of the things dweU upon i'm that
sermon was the fact that man must
be clean Of mouth as well as clean oe
lie. must show by his WORDS as we'll
as by his actions his fealty to the
Deity and the Savior, If he is to BE-
what we have a right to expect Of men
wearing the national uniform.
Foul Speech Condemned.
we have good scriptural authority for
the statement that il is not what comes
or ~ that counts. / am not addressing
Weaklings. or / should not cage the trouble
To come here J. am addressing strong.
vigorous men who are engaged I'm the
active hard work of life and life 10 be
worth living must be q life of active and
hdrd work ] am speaking to men en-
gagged IN the hard. active work of life
ana, therefore. men who will count for
good or Tor evil, and IL is particularly in
cuinhent upon You who have strength Z"
set a rlght example 10 others. I ask YOU
To remember that YOU cannot retain Your
Seli-feSpeCt n YOU are loose and foul OF
tongue, that a man who is To lead a
clean and honorable life must incvita blv
suffer n his speech likewise is not clean
ana honora BILE Every man here knows
INC temptations that besct all Of US IN
TINS world. At times any man may slip
do not expect perfection, but ! do cN-
pCCt genuine and sincere effort toward
being decent and cleanly in thought, in
As ! said at the outset. I hail the
work of this society as typfying one of
those forces which tend to the better
ment and uplifting of the. social system.
cur. whole effort. should be toward Sc
l curing combination of the strong quail
" tires with those qualities which we term
virtues I'm the breast Of every good citl-
zen. ! expect YOU to be strong I would
not respect you If You were not 1 do
not want TO see Christianity professed
only by Wcaklings; ] want TO see IT a
moving spirit among men OF strength. j
do not expect YOU 90 lose one particle OF
your strength or courage by being decent.
On the contrary. I would hope to see each
man VINO Is "a member of this society.
from his membership i'm IL become all the
litter 10 DO tho rough work Of the world.
an the litter To work IN time Of peace.
and If. which may heaven forbid. war
should come. all the filter to fight in
time of war. 1 desire to see i'm this coun-
try the decent men strong and the strong
men decent and until we get the COM
bnaton IA pretty good shape we are
not going 70 be by any means as success
ful as we should be-.
Not Smart to be Wicked.
There is always a tendency among
very strong men and among bows who
are not quite young men as vet. to. think
that 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 ne is going Co see that part Of
life which IL is "A thOusand-fold better If
man here constitute himself his brothers
keeper by setting an example To- that
younger brother which will prevent him
from getting such false estimate Of life
rs that. Example is the most potent o.
an things. IT any one of YOU I'm the pres
eDce OF younger boys, and especially the
y
behave yourself, If YOU use coarse and
blasphemous language before them. you
can be sure that these younger people
viii follow your example and note your
preccpt 1t Is no use to preach TO them
if YOU do not act decently yourself. You
have got 10 feel that the most effective
way I'm. which you can preach is by your
practice. Just as j was driving up here
Il friend who was with us said that I'm
his experience the boy who went out into
life with "A foul tongue was apt SO 10 60
because his kinSfOlk. at least his intimate
associates themselves. had a foul tongue.
But while the life i'm the family cannot
do everything. while the associations or
friendship cannot do everything. still the
friends. the fathcr the elder brothers. can
do most tOward seeing that the boys as
they become men become clean and hon
oraole men.
Courage and Manliness.
81 have told YOU that I wanted YOU not
only TO be decent but TO be strong The
boys are not going to admire virtue that
is of "A purely anaemic type. They be
lieve i'm courage. I'm manliness. They ad-
nire those who have the quality OF be-
ing 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 in war. IT you are to be effec-
tive as good Christians you have got to
possess strength and courage. or your
example will count for little with the
young who admire strength and courage.
] want TO see you. the men OF the Holy
Name society, you who embOdy the quail
ities which the younger people admire.
by your example give those young people
the tendency. the trend. in the right di-
rection and remember that this example
counts iu their case as well as cleanliness
OF speech. I want TO sec every man able
hold rrrfHF hn ..na