Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1904-09-08
COMMUNICATED.
Washington. september 6. 1904

Washington, September g. 1904
Recurring to my fayorite topic Of
Roosevelt M matter for this correspond.
ence which consider Of Importance for
the voters Of thecountry TO becomefamil
lar with in all the various phases Of HE
original and many sided attitudes on pub
lie questions, | win give them few more
gems from his ieeund pen
Here's what he thinks Of the ayerag,
voter and citizen Of foreign birth:
In American Ideals Vol. !, p. ~, he
gives this tip to the man Of foreign birth
who has been elevated to public life by
his iellow-men:
ct is from these same great cities that
the worst legislators come. 1t is tru,
that there are always among them n few
cultivated and seholarly men who are wei
educated and who stand CD higher and
broader intellectual aud moral plane than
the country members, but the bulk are
very low indeed. They are usually for.
eigners, of little orno education, with ex.
ceedingly misty ideas az To morality and
possessed Of an ignorance 80 profound
that it could only be called comic were il
not for the fact that il has at times such
serious effects upon our laws"
In American Ideals Vol II, p. 23), he
iavors the Populists with this compli,
ment:
Refinement and comfort they are apt
to consider quite ~ objectionable as ian.
morality. A taste for learning
and cultivated friends, and tendency t.
bathe frequently, cause them the deepest
suspicion. Though they often
make war on vice, they rather prefer
making war ON prosperity and refine
ment.
And again, in his pamphleton the Cam.
paign Of 1896:
Thrifty industry, and business energy
are qualities which are quite incompati.
BILE with true Populistic feeling. Payment
Of debts, like the suppression OF riots, il
abhorent TO the Populistic mind. Such
conduct strikes the Populist as immoral .
And the pops are just now engaged
in an attempt to play into Roosevelt 4
hands by stealing Democratic votes.
49,
Theodore Roosevelt started out in poll.
tics as an outspoken and ardent free
tfader.
This means. as we all know, not a ref,
ormation of the tariff, but complete
adjustment Of all duties and therefore OF
all customs revenues. He joined free.
trade club in New York and continued
his membership during all the time he
was "a member Of the assembly and until
after the nomination Of James e. Blaine
in 1884
In the Life Of Thomas ii. Benton.
Author Roosevelt writes, among other
things, in regard to the tariff as follows:
Political economists have pretty gen.
orally agreed that protection il vicious
IN theory and harmful in practice; but il
the majority Of the people in interest wish
il, and it affects only themselves; there is
no earthly reason why they should not
be allowed to try the experiment to their
hearts content. The trouble is that it
really does affect only themselves, and in
1928 the evil was peculiarly aggravated
on account Of the unequal way in which
the proposed law would affect different
sections. 1t purported to benefit the
rest Of the country, but it undoubtedly
worked real injury to the planter States,
and there is small ground for wonder
that the irritation over it in the region
affected should have been so intense
Again, in speaking Of the tariff, he
says;
"In 1928 the tariff whether il benefited
the country as whole or not, unques-
tionably harmed the South, and in a fed
eral union it is most unwise to pass laws
which shall benefit one part OF the com
munity to the hurt ofanother part, when
the later receives no compensation.
In commenting upon thespeech Of Clay
in defense Of protective tariff, Author
Roosevelt says;
'Clay's assertions as to what the tariff
has done for the West were equally i'll
founded, as Benton showed in good
speech wherein he described picturesque
ly enough the industries and generalcon-
dition of his portion Of the country, and
asserted with truth, that it's revived
prosperity was due to it's own resources,
entirely independent Of Federal aid or
legislation
No one ever heard Of Theodore Roose-
velt becoming protectionist until he
became the Republican candidate for