Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1906-04-20


ence of a distinguished assemblage
with the president of the United States
taking prominent part, with the SUI
preme court, senate, house of repre-
sentatives and diplomatic corps, as
spectators and before a large con-
course of people, the corner stone of
the Office building for the house of
representatives was laid with impress
sive ceremonies this afternoon.
The address of the day will be made
by President Roosevelt who will
speak on ''the Muck Rake Brigade"
The official program as made up fol-
lows:
Laying of cornerstone by grand
master of Masons of the District of
Columbia assisted by officers of the
grand lodge.
Address by Grand Master-Waller
A. Brown.
Address G. Cannon, speak
er of the house of representatives.
Selections-By the U. s. engineer
band.
Address-By Representative w. P.
Hepburn of Iowa.
Address-Jas. D. Richardson, for
mer representative from Tennessee
and grand commander of the supreme
council of the Scottish Rite.
Address-By the president of the
United States.
THE PRESIDENTS SPEECH.
President Roosevelt, taking as his
subject "The Muck-Rake Brigade"
spoke as follows:
Over century ago Washington laid
the corner stone of the capitol in what
was then little more than a tract of
wooded wilderness here beside the
Potomac. We now find it necessary
to provide by great additional build
ings for the business of the govern
ment. This growth in the need for the
housing of the government is but a
proof and example of the way in
which the nation has grown aid the
sphere of action of the national gov
eminent has grown. We now admin
lister the affairs of nation in which
the extraordinary growth of popula-
was being done than now. The fore as
ton has been outstripped by the
growth of wealth and the growth in
complex interests. The material
problems that face us today are not
such as they were in Washington's
time, but the underlying facts of hu.
man nature are the same now as they
were then. Under altered external
form we war with the same tenden-
cies toward evil that were evident in
Washington's time, and are helped by
the same tendencies for good. 1t is
about some of these that 1 wish to
say word today. ... .%zt. .s. -
In Bunyan's Pilgrims 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 a celestial crown for his
muck-rake. but who would neither
look up nor regard the crown he was
offered, but continued to rake to him
self the filth of the floor.
In Pilgrims Progress the Man with
the Muck-rake is set forth as the ex-
ample of him whose vision is fixed
on carnal instead of spiritual things.
Yet he also typifies 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-
basing. There is filth on the floor,
and it must be scraped up with the
muCk-fdke. anu tnefe are IlmeS anu
places where this service is most
needed of all the services that can be
performed. 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 help to society, not an incite-
ment to good. but one of the most po-
tent forces for evil. an
There are. in the body polite. eco
nomic 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. every evil prac-
tice, whether in politics. in business,
or in social life. I hail as a benefac-
tor every writer or speaker, every man
who, on the platform. or in book,