Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-04-16
MUCK RAKE MAN
President Condemns Rash Li-
 bels on Public Men.
FOR WAR ON CHAPTERS HIGH AND LOW
Roosevelt, Before Notable Assembly, Took For His Text Character Tn sPiIgrim's ProEress"-s.Liar
 No Better Than Thief"

Took For His Text Character In
 ssPiIgrim's Progress,--s.Liar
 No Better Than Thief" l WASHINGTON, April IS. - In the presence of both houses of congress,
 members of the diplomatic corps and great concourse of people the presi- dent delivered his already famous speech on "The Man With the Muck ] Rake" The presidents address, which was enthusiastically received, was de- 1 livered at the end of the Masonic cere- l monies attending the laying of the cor nerstone of the office building for the l use of members of the house of repre- sentatiyes. The gavel used during the ! ceremonies and afterward handled for ] few moments by the president was the same one used by President Wash ington at the laying of the cornerstone of the capitol itself in 1793. The president came unattended by military or naval aids and took his place on the platform, quietly awaiting the conclusion of the Masonic cerenno- 1 nies.
 l He was introduced by Speaker Can non, and after joking appeal to the speaker to stand by him he said in part:
 "Over century ago Washington laid the cornerstone of the capitol in what ! was then little more than tract of wooded wilderness here beside the Po- 1 tomac. We now find it necessary to l provide by great additional buildings l for the business of the government l This growth in the need for the hous- \ ing of the government is but proof and example of the way in which the l nation has grown.
 "In Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress you may recall the description of the man | with the muck rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck rake in his hand, who was offered celestial crown for his muck i rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor
 ''In Pilgrims Progress the presi- dent continued, ''the man with the muck rake is set forth as the exam pie of him whose vision is fixed on carnal instead of on spiritual things. Yet he also typiies the man who in this life consistently refuses to see aught that is lofty and fixes his eyes with solemn intentness only on that which is vile and debasing. Now, it is very necessary that we should not finch from seeing what is vile and de- passing. There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake, and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be per formed. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes save of his feats with the muck rake, speedily becomes not |sa help to society, apot an indictment to good, but one ofSthe most potent forces for evil.
 "There are in the body polite, eco homie and social many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man. whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, in busi- ness or in social life. I hail as a ben efactor every writer or speaker. every man who on the platform or in book, magazine or newspaper with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful.
 "The liar is no whit better than the | thief, and if his mendacity takes the | form of islander he may be worse than | most thieves. It puts premium upon knavery untruthfully to attack an hon. est man or even with hysterical exag- geration to assail bad man with un- truth. An epidemic of indiscriminate | assault upon character does not good, | but very great harm. The soul of ev- cry scoundrel is gladdened whenever an honest man is assailed or even when a scoundrel is untruthfully as- | sailed.
 "It is important to this people to grapple with the problems connected with the amassing of enormous for tunes and the use of those fortunes. both corporate and individual. We should discriminate Fin the sharpest way between fortunes well won and fortunes i'll won. We shall ultimately have to consider the adoption of some such scheme as that of progressive tax on all fortunes beyond a certain amount either given in life or bequeath- ed upon death to any individual-a tax so framed as to put 1t out of the power of the owner of one of these enormous fortunes to hand on more than a cer- tain amount to any one individual"