The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-04-14
The Presid lent Speaks.


The President Speaks.
The president, in his turn, spoke as
follows, his address being interrupted
frequently by applause:
the corner stone Of the capitol in what
was then little more than tract Of
wooded wilderness here beside the Poto-
mac. We now find it necessary to pro-
vide by great additional buildings for
the business Of the government. This
growth in the need for the housing Of
the government lis but q proof and ex-
ample Of the way in which the nation
and the sphere of action Of the
national governiHfieelm hay9 grown. We
now administer the afairs Of a nation
in which the extraer dinary growth Of
population has been outstripped by the
growth Of 3wealth and the growth in
complex interests. %4a .s.sE aA +
shThe material problems that face us
today are not SUCH as they were in
Westinghouse time, but the underlying
facts Of human nature are the same now
as they were then. Under altered ex-
ternals form we war with the same ten
denotes toward evil that were evident in
Washington g time, and are helped by
the same tendencies for good. It Is
about some Of these that I wish to say
word today.
Tin Bunyan's Pilgrim Is Progress you
may recall the descriptionHof the man
could look no way but downward, with
the muck rake in his hand; who was
offered celestial crown for his muck
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. IS
"In Pilgrim g Progress the man
with the muckrake is set forth as the
example of him whose vision is fixed
on carnal instead Of on spiritual things
Yet he also typifes 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 il
Now, it is very necessary that We
Eshould not finch from seeing what il
vile and debasing. There is filth on the
floor. and it must be scraped up will
the muckrake; and there are times anG
I places where this service is the mos
needed Of all the services that can b.
performed. But the man who nevel
/ does anything else, who never think,
or speaks or writes, save Of his feat
with the muckrake, speedily becomes
not a help to society, not an incitemen
to good, but one Of the most poten
forces for evil. VI
Applauds Beneficial Exposure.
aThere are, in the body polite, eco
nomic and social, many and grave evils
and there is urgent necessity for TIL
sternest war upon them. There Shout.
be relentless exposure Of and attacl
upon every evil man, whether politician
Eor business man, every evil practice
whether in politics, in business, or i
social life I hail as a benefacto
5Eevery writer or speaker, every MAJ
Ewho, on the platform, or in book, mag
azine, or newspaper, with merciless sc
verify makes such attack, provided al
ways that he in his turn remember
that the attack is OF use only if it j
absolutely truthful.
.The liar Is no whit better than tn
thief, and If his mendacity takes tn
form Of SANDER, he may be worse tina:
most thieves. It puts premium upo
Il knavery untruthfully to attack an hor
est man, or even with hysterical e.
iaggeration to assail bad man wit
Iuntruth. An epidemic Of indiscriminat
4 assault upon character does not gool
but very great harm. The soul Q
every scoundrel is gladdened wheneve
an honest man is assailed, or even whe
Ia scoundrel is untruthfully assailed.
s. Now, it is easy to twist out ,
shape what I have just said, easy
affect to misunderstand 1t, and, # It
slurred over in repetition, not diffcu
really to misunderstood 1t. Some pc
SONS are sincerely incapable Of unde
standing that to den0unce mud slingil
does not mean the Endorsement
withdrawing; and both the interests
individuals who need whitewashin
and those others who practive mu
! singing. like to encourage such co
fusion Of ideas.
One Of the chief counts again
those who make indiscriminate assau
J upon men in business or men in publ
{ life, is that they invite reactit
which is sure to, tell powerfully
favor Of the unscrupulous scound1
lwho really ought to be attacked, vi
ought to be exposed, who ought,
] possible, to be put in the penitentia1
! If Aristides is praised overmuch
: just, people get tired Of hearing
+ and sovercensure OF the unjust final
{ and from similar reasons results
their favor. hi