The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1905-10-26
The GOLD LEAF.
ROOSEVELT IN RICHMOND.
GContinned from First Page. }

ape and endurance had reached an
even higher heroic ievel-these men
and women set themselves undaunt-
edlv to the great task before them.
For twenty years the struggle was
hard and at times doubtful. Then
the splendid qualities OF your man
hood and wOmanhood told, as they
were bound to tell, and the W T. OF
your extraordinary naturall ices
began to be shown. Now tn teem-
ing riches OF mine and field and fac
tory attest the prosperity OF those
who are all the stronger because OF
the trials and struggles through
which this prosperity has come. You
stand Loyalty to your traditions and
memories; you also stand Loyalty Tor
our great common country OF today
and for our common flag, which sym
bolizes all that is brightest and most
hopeful for the future of mankind;
you face the new age in the. spirit OF
the age. Alike in your material and
in your spiritual and intellectual de-
velOpment you stand abreast OF the
foremost in the worlds progress.
But TO PRESENT PROBLEMS
And now, my fellow-citizens, my
fellow-Americans, exactly as all OF US,
whether we live in the East or the
West, in the North or the South,
have the right merely as Americans
to feel pride in every great deed done
by any American i'll the past, and
exactly as we are knit together by
this common heritage of memories,
so we are knit together by the bond
of our common duties in the present,
our common interests i'll the future.
Many and great problems lie before
us. II we treat the mighty memo
ries of the past merely as excuses for
sitting lazily down in the present, or
for standing aside from the rough
work of the world, then these memo
ries will prove a curse instead OF n
blessing. But if we treat them as |
believe we shall treat them, not as
excuses for inactiOn, but as incent-
ives to make us show that we are
worthy of our fathers and of our
fathers fathers. then IN truth the
deeds of the past will not have been
HaSIeu loT tliel Slldil DIliS ioi II
fruit hundred fold in the present
generation. We of this nation, we
the citizens of this mighty and Won
derful republic, stretching across a
continent between the two greatest
oceans, enjoy extraordinary privi-
leges, and as our opportunity Is
great, therefore our responsibility Is
great. We have duties to perform
both abroad and ut home, and we
cannot slIirk either set of duties and
fully retain our self respect.
InfOreign affairs we must make mp
our minds that whether we wish it
or not, We are IL great people and
must play q great part i'll the world.
1t is not open to us to choose wheth-
er we will play that great part or
not. We have to play it; all we can
decide is whether we shall play it we'll
or ILL., And | have too much conf
dence in my cOuntrymen to doubt
what the decision will be- Our mis-
sion in the world should be one of
peace, but not the peace Of cravens, the
peace granted cOntemptuOusly to
those who purchase it by surrender
ing the right. No. Our voice must
be effective for peace because it is
raised for righteousness first and for
peace only as the handmaiden of
righteousness. We must be scrupu-
lous in doing justice to Others and
scrupulOus in eXacting justice for our
selves. We must beware equally OF
that sinister and cynical teaching
which would persuade us to disregard
ethical standards in international
relations, and of the no less hurtful
folly which would stop the whole
work OF civilization by a well-meant,
but silly persistency in trying to APP
ply to peoples untitled for them those
theories of government and Of ma
tiOnal action which are only suited
for the most advanced races. Impair
ticular we must remember that in
undertaking to build the Panama
Canal we have necessarily undertaken
to police the seas at either end of it;
and this means that We have Il pecu-
liar interest i'll the preservation OF
order in the coasts and islands OF
the Caribbean. | firmly believe that
by little wise and generous aid we
can help even the most backward OF
the peoples in these coasts and
islands forward along the path OF
orderly liberty so that they can stand
alone. If we decline to give them
such hel p the result will be bad both
for them and for us; and will in the
end in all probability cause us to
face humiliation or bloodshed
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS ABROAD.
The problems that face us broad
are important, but the problems
that face us at home are even more
important. The extraordinary
growth of industrialism during the
last half century brings every civil
lied people face to face with the
gravest social and economic ques-
tions. This is an age of combina-
ton among capitalists and combina-
ton among wage-workers. 1t is idle
to try to prevent such combinations.
Our efforts should be to see that they
work for the good and not for the
harm of the body polite. New de-
vices OF law are necessary from time
to time In order to meet the changed
and changing conditions. But after
all we will do we'll to remember that
although the problems to be solved
change from generation to genera
ton, the spirit in which their solu-
ton must be attempted remains for
ever the same. 1t is in peace as it is
in war. Tactics change and weapons
change. The Continental troops in
their blue and buff who fought under
Washington and Greene and Wayne,
differed entirely in arms and in train
ing from those who in blue or gray
faced one another in the armies OF
Grant and of Lee, of Sherman and OF
Johnston. And now the sons of these
same Union and Confederate veter-
ans who serve i'll our gallant little
army OF today, wear a different uni.
form, carry q different weapon. and