Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1906-07-12
TASK OF GOVERNMENT
RIGHTS OF PEOPLE MUST COME
THROUGH CONGRESS.
PRESIDENT TELLS OF WORK
Efforts to Restrain Corporate of Indi-
vidual Greed Must Be Approached
in Spirit of Fairness and
Justice to Ali.


Roosevelt delivered remarkable
Fourth of July address here Wednes-
day. 1t was an address against the
demagogue, against hatred and rancor
in public officials and in private citi-
zens and a plea for charity in the ad-
ministration of all duties.
The president spoke as follows:
Gives Account of Stewardship.
Mr.. Chairman and you, my old
friends and neighbors, you among
whom l was brought up and with
whom l have lived for so many years,
1t is a real and great pleasure to have
the chance of being with you to-day,
to say few words of greeting to you,
and in a sense to give an account of
my stewardship. say in a sense,
friends, because after all the steward
ship really has to give an account of
itself. II man needs to explain over
much what he has done, it is pretty
sure proof that he ought to have done
1t little differently and so as regards
most of what l have done l must let
it speak for itself.
But there are two or three things
about which | want to talk to you to-
day, and if in the presence of dominies
/ may venture to speak from text |
shall take as my text the words OF
Abraham Lincoln, which he spoke in
a remarkable little address delivered
to band of people who were serenad-
ing MIN at the White House just after
his reelection to the presidency. He
said:
I'm any great national trial hereaf-
ter, the men of that day as compared
with those of this will be as weak and
as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad
and as good. Let us therefore study
the incidents of this, as philosophy
from which to learn wisdom, and not
as wrongs to be avenged" and he add
ed later in the speech touching and
characteristic expression of his, say
ing SO long as l have been here,
have not willingly planted a thorn in
any mans breast"
Says Iniquity Exists.
We have heard a great deal during
the past year or two of the fir. ghtful
iniquit:es in our politics and our bust
ness, and the frightful wrongdoing in
our social life. Now there is plenty
of iniquity in business, in politics, in
our social life. There is every war
rant for our acknowledging these great
evils. But there is no warrant for
growing hysterical about them.
This year in congress our chief task
has been to carry the government for
ward along the course which | think
it must follow consistently for a num-
Der Of years to come-that is in the di-
rection of seeking on behalf of the
people as a whole, through the nation
al government which represents the
people as whole, to exercise a meas
ure of supervision, control and re-
straint over the individuals, and espe-
cially over the corporations, of great
wealth, in so far as the business use
of that wealth brings it within the
reach of the federal government We
have accomplished fair amount and
the reason that we have done so has
been in the first place because we have
not tried to do too much, and in the
next place because we have approached
the task absolutely free from any
spirit of rancor or hatred.
In any such movement a man will
| find that he has allies whom he does
| not like. You cannot protect property
| without finding that you are protecting
| the property of some people who are
not very straight. You cannot war
| against the, abuses of property with
out finding that there are some people
warning beside you whose motives you
would frankly repudiate. But in each
case be sure that you keep your own
motives and your own conduct straight
Will Defend the Oppressed.
When it becomes necessary to curb a
| great corporation, curb it. | will dc
my best to help you do it, But l will
| the men who own or control that cor
poration; and if any seek in their turn
| to do wrong to the men of means, tC
do wrong to the men who own those
| corporations, | will turn around and
| fight for them in defense of their rights
| just as hard as | fight against them
when | think they are doing wrong.
Distrust as a demagogue the man
who talks only of the wrong done by
| the mean of wealth. Distrust as dem
| agogue the man who measures iniquity
by the purse. Measure iniquity by The
heart, whether a mans purse be FIJI
or empty, partly full or partly empty
If the man is decent man, whether
we'll eff or not well off, stand by him;
If he is not decent man stand against
him, whether he be rich or poor. Stant
against him in no spirit of vengeance
but only with the resolute purpose tC
make him act as decent citizens mus
act if this Republic is to be.