The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1905-10-27
HONESTY IN PUBLIC LIFE.

HONESTY IN PUBLIC LIFE
Theodore Roosevelt, whom the HeralC
does not in the very least a1mirs. IL
his mnch talking occasionally says the
right thing. In his speech at Little Rock,
! Ark, he was at his best when he said:
"What is true of sections is true Of
occupations ard positions. Thanh
/ heaven we are free now fIom all dan
4 ger of territorial antagonist. Now
we must see that there shall never
come any antagonisms of the classes,
or antagonisms between capital and
labor. Treat each man according to
his worth as a man. Don't hold for
OIL against him that he is either rich
or poor. But if he is rich and crooked
hold 1t against him, If not rich but
crooked, then hold 1t against. But if
he is square man stand by him, Dis
trust him who would have sny one
class placed before any other. Other
Republics have fallen because of the
INSCRIPTIONS lien or the ulscrupulous
poor who gained ascendancy who sub
stituted loyalty to class for loyalty to
the people as whole. Abhor the
insolence and arrogance of the itch
who look down upon the poor; if they
lost their wealth, they would be ready
to plumber the rich, and the unscrupu-
lous poor man who becomes rich would
Cypress the poor.
The man who is true to you is the
ultimately righteous ana the man who
will steal for you Will steal from you.
The man who will seek to persuade
you that he will benefit you by wrong
ing any one else will wrong you when
it will benefit him.
What we must do as Nation is to
stand for the principles of decency and
virtue, regarding vice with adherence.
If we make any artificial divisions we
have done irrepaIable injury to the
people.
Governor. you spoke of hiueous
crime that is often hideously avenged.
The worst enemy Of the negro race is
the negro criminal, and above all, the
merge criminal of that type for he has
committed not only an unspeakably
hideous and infamous crime asa inst
the victim, but he has committed a
hideous crime against the people of
his own color, and every reputable
colored man, every colored man who
wishes to see the uplifting of his race,
owes it as his first duty to himself and
to that race to hunt down that Grim
inal with all his soul and strength.
Nov, for the side OF the white |
man. To avenge one hideous crime by |
another hideous crime is to reduce the
man doing it to the bestial level of the |
man who committed the bestial crime. |
The horrible effects of lynch law are
shown In the fact that three fourths of |
the lynchlngs are not for that crime at
al, but for other crimes. And above /
al other men, Governor. you and l.
and all people who are opponents and
representatives of the law, owe 1t to
our people, owe 1t to the cause of civ.
lization and humanity, to do every
hing in our power, officially and un.
directly and indirectly. to
rec the United States from the menace
md reproach of lynch law. We can
lfford to be divided on questions OF
mere craftsmanship, for comparatively
he differences of tariff and the cur
ency are of no consequence.
AFTER all the real question Is that
# decency in the life OF the home and
honesty in public lite. 1t makes little
Inference whether a Democrat or a
republican is President, but it makes
very difference to have all our public
'fficlals honest and clean. The candi-
late is the candidate of his party, but
he President. II he is worth his salt
g the President of the whole people.
"You cant have good public life
nless you have good private life. The
ountry will be all right if the average
nan is decent and clean in his nome
ife, but If it goes below that average
ou cant make the country right.
ave great respect for a good man,
nd the only person l have greater Ies-
ect for is good woman.
off the newspapers were to cease TO
lention Roosevelt he would soon drop
I,t NJ cioht ~ cauc tha Mach villa Am1r- |