Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-17
TALKS TO CATHOLICS.
President Addresses Society
Of the Holy Name.
GREAT CROWD ATTENDS
HE MAKES A PLEA FOR PRACTI-
CAL CHRISTIANITY.
Decency in Speech and Conduct the
Things That Count for q
Model Life.

A dispatch from Oyster Bay. N. T., yes
terday says:
President Roosevelt delivered the princi-
pal address at the quarterly meeting OF the
Society Of the Holy Name of Brooklyn ana
Long Island. held here today. Decency OF
speech and conduct constituted the theme
of his address. which was enthusiastically
appIauded by an audience Of more than
1000 persons. chiefly men.
During the afternoon special trains
brought hundreds Of members Of the So
ciety to Oyster Bay from Brooklyn and
western Long Island. Threatening weather
kept many away. Although light rain
fell during the exercises the crowd re-
manned banked about the fag-decked stand
on beautiful hill opposite st. Dominics
Catholic Church
AS President Roosevelt drove up to the
stand in a closed carriage. accompanied by
Capt w. H. Brownson. superintendent OF
the Naval Academy; Secretary Barnes and
a representative of the society. he was ac-
corded an enthusiastic =. ret tsp oano
After the audience had sung America
Father Power, rector of st. Domfnics 8, IN
troduced the President in a felicitous
speech, in which he spoke Of the esteem in
which Mr. Roosevelt Is held by the Catho-
lies of this country.
When President Roosevelt rose to speak
he was greeted with cheers. and 1t was
quite minute before he was able to pro-
coed. His address follows:
VERY Rev. Dean, Reverend Clergy and
you of the Holy Name Society: count my
self fortunate in having the chance to say
q word TO you today. and at the outset let
me, Father Power, on behalf Of my neigh
bors. your congregation. welcome you here
to Oyster Bay. 1 have a partial right to
good fortune in the days of Father Powers
predecessor, Father Belford. to be the first
man to put down a small contribution for
the erection of the church here.
Decency and Strength.
81 am particularly glad to see such a So
ciety as this flourishing as your society has
flourished. because the future welfare of
your nation depends upon the way in which
we can combine in our men-in our young
men-decency and strength. Just this
morning, when attending service on the
great battle ship Kearsarge. listened to
sermon addressed to the officers and en-
listed men of the navy in which the CEN
trail thought was that each American must
be a good man or he could not be a good
citizen. And one Of the things dwelt upon
in that sermon was the fact that man
must be clean Of mouth as well as clean of
life, must show by his words. as well as
by his actions his fealty to the Deity and
to the Savior. II he was to be what we
have a right to expect from men wearing
the national uniform.
I'VE have good scriptural authority for
the statement that 1t Is not what comes
into mans mouth, but what goes out of
it. that counts. I am not addressing weak
lings. or 1 should not take this trouble to
come here. l am addressing strong, vigor-
Gus men, who are engaged In the active,
hard work of life. and life to be worth liv-
ing must be a life of active and hard work.
Il am speaking to men engaged in the
hard, active work Of life. and, therefore.
men who will count for good or for evil,
a nd
who have strength to set right example
to others. l ask you to remember that you
cannot retain your self-respect If you are
loose and foul Of tongue: that a man who Is
evitably suffer If his speech likewise is not
clean and honorable. Every man here
knows the temptations that beset all of us
in the world At times any man will Slip
I do not expect perfection, but do expect
genuine and sincere effort toward being
decent and clearly in thought in word and
in deed.
Tribute to the Society.
GAS said at the outset, I hail the work
of this society as typifying one of those
forces which tend to the betterment and
uplifting Of our social system. Our whole
effort should be toward securing combina-
ton of the strong qualities with those quail
tiles which we term virtues in the breast Of
every good citizen. i expect you to be
strong. I would not respect you If you
were not. / do not want to see Christianity
professed only by weaklings: I want to see
1t a moving spirit among men of strength.
I do not expect you to lose one particle of
your strength or courage by being decent.
On the contrary, should hope to see each
man who Is a member of this society from
his membership in 1T, become all the filter
to do the rough work of the world all the
filter to work in time of peace. and If.
which may heaven fOrefend, war should
come, all the filter to fight in time Of war.
fo in, 10 ntrVr fla
ren strong and the strong men decent, and
until we get that combination in pretty
good shape we are not going to be by any
means as successful as we should be. There
is always a tendency among very strong
men and among boys who are not quite
young men as yet to think that to be
wicked Is rather smart; 1t 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 thou
sandfold better if 1t remains unseen.
Il ask that every man here constitute
himself his brothers keeper by setting an
example to that younger brother which will
prevent him from getting such false esti-
mate of life as that. Example is the most
potent of all things. If any one of you in
the presence of younger boys, and especial
ly the younger people of your own family
misbehave yourself; IL you use coarse and
blasphemous language before them. you
can be sure that these younger people will
follow your example and not your precept
1t Is no use to preach to them il you do not
act decently yourself. You have got to feel
that the most effective way in which YOU
can preach Is by your practice.
Effect Of Environment.
Gust as I was driving up here a friend
who was with us said that in his experience
the boy who went out into life with a foul
tongue was apt so to go because his kins-
folk. at least his intimate associates them
selves had foul tongues But while the life
in the family cannot do everything, while
the associations of friendship cannot do
everything, still the friends, the father the
elder brothers. can do most toward seeing
that the boys as they become men become
clean and honorable men.
Il have told you that I wanted you not
only to be decent. but to be strong These
boys are not going to admire virtue that
is Of a purely anaemic 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 in war
If you are to be effective as good Chris
tians you have got to possess strength and
courage or your example will count for lit
tie with the young who admire strength
and courage. I want to see you, the men
of the Holy Name Society. you who embody
the qualities which the younger people adj
mire, by your example give those Young