Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1905-08-16
PRESIDENT SPOKE TO MINERS
President Roosevelt Gave Some Splen-
did Advice.

11l1llC1S dlu ltAlC :)i di1GV ~ hCiS SdLllO
here, thousands arriving on the early
trains, and before daylight crowds Of
people with lunch boxes and umbrel-
las had camped out in advantageous
spots to await the arrival OF President
Roosevelt.
The Catholic Total Abstinence Union
delegates transacted but little business
this morning, and at noon the ten
thousand uniformed cadets and soldiers
OF the two regiments OF the order pa
raded. This parade ended in time for.
the regiments to line the streets and
keep back the great crowds. Before
the Presidents train N to a full
stop a great shout went from the enor-
nous crowd assembled at the station,
which increased into a roar as the
President stepped briskly from the
train. The President was met by the
local reception committee, which in
Guided Father Curran and John Mitch
ell. The streets along the route from
the station to the Susquehanna river,
where the speakers stand was erected,
were lined with a solid mass of people.
Many of them had been standing at
favorite places for hours. The Presi-
dents reception as he was rapidly driv-
en- over the route was a tremendous
one The President appeared to be ex-
tremely pleased at the demonstration
and kept bowling to the right and left.
The crowd at the speakers stand was
so noisy that it took several minutes to
quiet the enthusiasm and permit the
exercise to begin. Those who spoke
were President Roosevelt, Cardinal
Gibbons, President Mitchell, Mayor
Kirkdall and Father Curran.
John Mitchell, in introducing the
President, made a long defence of trade
unionism. The President then spoke as
follows:
PRESIDENTS ADDRESS.
l am particularly glad to speak to
this audience of miners and their wives
and children and especially to speak
under the auspices Of this great tenn
perance society. In u country the
happiness of al 1.-The rest of our people
depends most of all upon the welfare
O fthe ~wage-Worker and the welfare of
the farmer. If we can secure the well
fare of these two classes we can be
reasonably certain that the community
as a whole will prosper. And we must
never forget that the chief factor in
securing the welfare alike of wage
worker and of farmer, as Of everybody
else, must be the man himself.
The only effective way to help any
body is to help him help himself. There
are exceptional times when any one of
us needs outside help, and then 1t
should be given freely; but normally
each n of us must depend upon his
own eXertions for his own success.
Something can be done by wise legisla-
ton and by wise and honest admins
tration of the laws; that is, something
can be done by our action taken in our
collective capacity through the State
and nation.
INDIVIDUAL MAN PARAMOUNT.
Something more can be done by COM
bination and organization among our-
selves in our private capacities as citi-
Zens, so long as this combination or
organization is managed with wisdom
and integrity, with instance upon the
rights of those benefited and yet with
just regard for the rights of others.
But in the last analysis the factor
most influential in determining any
mans success must ever be the sum
OF that mans W qualities, of his
knowledge, foresight, thrift and our
age. Whatever tends to increase his
seif-respect, whatever tends to help him
overcome the temptations with which
all of Us are surrounded, is of benefit,
not only to him, but to the whole com
munity.
No n society can do more to help
the wage-worker than such a temper
ance society as that which l am now
addressing. 1t is of incalculable con-
sequence to the man himself that he
should be sober and temperate, and it
is of even more consequence to his wife
and his children; for it is a hard and
cruel fact that in this life of OURS the
sins of the man are often visited most
heavily upon those whose welfare
should be his one special care.
THE DRUNKARD'S FAMILY.
For the drunkard, for the man who
loses his job because he cannot control
or will not control his desire for liquor
and for vicious pleasure, we have a
feeling of anger and contempt mixed
with our pity; but for his unfortunate
wife and little ones we feel only pity,
and that of the deepest and tenderst
kind.
Everything possible should be done
to encourage the growth of that spirit
Of s~elf-respect, self-restraint, s~elf-re-
lance, which, if it only grows enough,
is certain to make all those in whom it
shows itself move steadily upward to-
ward the highest standard of American
citizenship. 1t is a proud and respon-
sible privilege to be citizens of this
great self-governing nation; and each
Of us needs to keep steadily before his
eyes the fact that he is wholly unfit to
take part in the work of governing
others unless he can first govern him
self. He must stand up manfully for
his own rights; he must respect the
rights of others; he must obey the law,
and he must try to live up to those
rules of righteousness which are above
and behind all laws.
This applies just as much to the ma
Of great wealth as to the man of small
means; to the capitalist as to the wage
worker. And as n practical point,
let me urge that in tn eevent of any
difficulty, especially if it is what is
known as a labor trouble, both sides
should show themselves willing to
meet, willing to consult, and anxious
each to treat the other reasonably and
fairly, each to look at the others side
Of the case and to do the other justice.
If only this course could be generally
followed, the chance of industrial dis
aSter would be minimiZed.