The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1903-04-15
LISTENING TO THE PRESIDENT.
An Exclusive Crowd Heard Him in the
House of Representatives April a.

is always hailed with delight. The
visit to city gives it more local in
terest, and when that visit is con-
fined to 600 people, as was the case
when President Rooseveltand party
visited and the former addressed
the senator's and members, together
with their ladies, of the Minnesota
legislature, on the afternoon of April
4th, the interest becomes all the
more intense.
1t must be said that no committee
of the legislature has ever done its.
work better in arranging an affair
than did the committee headed by
w. A. Nolan, and consisting, IN adj
dition to Mr.. Nolan, of DR.. Dorsey
Mr. Nelson, and Senators Thomp-
son, Lavbour and Schaller. The
system of admission was perfect,
the order could not have been i'm
proved upon, and the decorations OF
the hall of representatives the lobby
of the building and the exterior
work on the capitol was strictly in
touch with the occasion-stars and
stripes placed about properly.
The joint convention assembled at
three o clock, the president OF the
convention, the speaker of the house,
ordering the roll call by the secre
tary of the chief clerk. The last
name was hardly called when Ser
geant- alarms Tanning announced
The President and party. The mem
bars of the convention arose to their
feet, and when the President en-
tered, there was an applause and
cheering sent forth, and lasting sew
eral minutes, that must haye made
the President Of this American Re
public feel as though he was in the
house of his friends.
No time was wasted. When the
cheering subsidized the president of
the convention introduced the Pres
ident of these United States in a
few well-chosen words, full of good
sense, and we'll uttered. The Pres
ident arose. There was another
round of applause and cheering by
the crowd, and when it subsidized he
began his speech. The President
spoke slowly, weighing every word.
Frequently he was applauded, but
at all times he was listened to with
profound respect. Excerpts from
his remarks are given:
"Self-government is not an easy
thing. The nations ofantiquity, the
nations of the Middle Ages, that
tried the experiment of independent
government, which should guaran-
tee freedom to the individual and
yet safety from without and within
to the body polite itself-those ma
tions rarely lasted long, never rose
to the pitch of greatness which has
ours, without having suffered some
radical, and as it proved ultimately
fatal changes of structure Until
our republic was founded it had
proved impossible, in the lotg run,
to combine freedom for the individ-
ual and greatness for the nation.
The republics of antiquity and
of the iddle Ages went on one or
two lines (either proved fataD eth
er the individual interests were
sacrificed, and while retaining the
forms of freedom. the republic be-
came in effect despotism of some
kind or sort: or else the freedom OF
the individual was kept, at the cost
of utter impotence, either to put
down disorder at home or to repel
aggression from abroad.
ct has been given TO US during
the century and quarter of our
national life, so to handle ourselves
as people that we have escaped
dangers. We have been able to es-
cape the leadership of those who,
because they are blind, fearing
Scylla would plunge us into Cha
rybdis, and those who fearing Cha
rybdis would plunge us into Scvlla
we have been able to preserve order,
liberty and strength, to grow in
greatness among the nations of the
earth while becoming steadily more
and more democratic in the truest
and broadcast sense of the word.
81 believe, with all my heart, that
we shall continue on the path marked