Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-01-31
Noble Words Uttered Before
Union League Club, Found
ed to Uphold Handsof
l.incolu
THE MOST ES-
SENTIAL FEATURE
The Good Character Of The In
dividual The Basis OF All
Good Citizenship and
Good Government

PHILADELPHIA, jan 31.--At the
session of the Union league club last
night, President Roosevelt. who was
the guest of honor, spoke as follows;
This club was founded to uphold the
hands OF Abraham Lincoln when he
stood as a great leader in the strug
gle for union and liberty. We
have right, therefore, to appeal to
this. club for aid in every government
tai or social effort made along the
lines marked out by Lincoln.
The great president taugh' many
lessons which we who come
after him should lean Amor Y
the most important of these
was the lesson that for veal or for
woe we are indissolubly bound to-
gether, in whatever part Of the coun.
try we live, whatever our social stand.
ing, whatever our wealth or our pov.
erty, whatever form of mental or
physical activity our life work may
assume. Lincoln, who was, more en-
phatically than any other president we
Nhave ever had, the president Of the
plain people, was yet as far removed
as Washington himself from the
slightest taint of demagogy. With
bis usual farsighted clearness of
vision he~saw that in republic such
as ours permanent prosperity of any
part of our people was conditioned
upon the prosperity of all; and that
on the other hand any effort to raise
the general level OF happiness by
striking at the well-being of portion
OF the people could not but be in the
end disastrous to all.
The principles which Lincoln ap-
piled to the solution of the problems
OF his day are those which we must
apply II we expect successfully to
solve the different problems Of our
own day-problems which are so
largely industrial Exactly as it is
impossible to develop a high morality
unless we have as foundation those
qualities which give at least certain
minimum Of material prosperity, so
Ii is impossible permanently to keep
material prosperity unless there is
back of 1t a basis of right living and
right thinking In the last ANALYSIS,
Of course, the dominant factor in OBJ
tanning this good conduct must be the
individual character of the average
citizen. Ii there Is not this condition
OF individual character In the average
citizenship of the country all effort
tC supply its place by the wisest
legislation and administration will In
the end prove futile. But given this
average of individual character, then
wise laws and the honest adminstra.
tion of the laws can do much to sup
plement it, II either the business
world or the world OF labor loses its
head then II has lost something which
can not be made good by any govern
mental effort. Our faith in the future
Of the republic is firm, because we
believe that on the whole and In the
long run our people think clearly and
act rightly.
Unquestionably. however. the great
development Of industrialism means
that there must be an increase In the
supervision exercised by the govern
ment over business enterprises. This
supervision should not take the form
of violent and ill-advised interference,
and assuredly there is danger lest
it take such form II the business lead
ers of the business community confine
themselves to trying to thwart the
effort az regulation instead of guiding
1t Alright. Such men as the members
of this club should lead in the effort
10 secure proper supervision and
regulation of corporate activity by the
government. not only because II is for
. the interest of rhe community as
whole that there should be this super
vision and regulation. hut because in
the long run it viii be in The interest