The San Francisco call., 1907-06-11

CIVIC PREPAREDNESS
This lesson of preparedness does not relate
merely to war; 1t is just true of our ordinary
civic affairs 1t is as true of the nation as of
the Individual. Each OF us does any given piece
OF work well or ILL., largely according to how
ne mas previously trained himself to 60 IT..
The nation, which is but the aggregate OF the
individuals composing it. will rise or fail to
rise In any great crisis according to the ideals
and standards that It has kept in mind in
ordinary days, and according to the way In which
1t has practically trained itself to realize these
ideals and come up to these standards. We
must insist on Justice and fair dealing as
between man and man. We must strive each
OF us TO treat his fellow with an eye single
to what his conduct warrants. We must work
hard and bear ourselves cheerfully and valiantly
we must be kindly and considerate, and yet
sno" that at need we have iron In our blood.
II we live our ordinary everyday lives after
this fashion. need have no fear that the
priceless gift of free government will wither in
our hands.
The president then reviewed the pa
rade of foreign and United States
sailors and bluejackets. marines. ar
tillery, cavalry and infantry, West
Point and Annapolis cadets, Virginia
cadets, Georgia national guards, vir-
ginia volunteers and other small mill
tary detachments.s The presidents
busy tour of the grounds then ensued.
At p. m. the president addressed
the national editorial association con-
ventfon as follows: M
1t is of course mere truism to say that no
other body of our countrymen WELD as extensive
an inluence as those who write for the daily
press and for the periodicals. 1t is also truism
to say that. such power implies the gravest re-
sponsibility. and the man exercising 1t should
hold himself accountable. and should be held by
others accountable. precisely as If ne occupied
any other position of public trust. do not In
tend to dwell on your duties today, however,
save that shall permit myself to point out
one matter where 1t seems TO me that the need
OF our people Is vital 1t Is essential that the
man in public life and the man who writes in
1.-The public press shall both Of them, II they are
really good servants Of the people, be prompt
to assaH wrongdoing and wickedness. But In
thus assailng wrongdolng and wickedness, there
are two conditions to be fulfilled. because II
unfulflled, harm and not good will result. In
the first place. be sure OF your facts and avoid
everything like shysterias or exaggeration; FOR
to assafl decent man for something OF which
he is innocent As to give aid and comfort to
every seoundrel, while indulgence in hystefical
exaggeration serves to weaken not strengthen.
sure that you base your judgment on conduct
and not on the social or economic position Of the
Individual with whom you are dealing
VICE NOT CONFINED
There are good and bad,smen In every walk
OF life, and their being good sor bad does not
depend on whether they have or do not have
large bank accounts. Yet this elemental fact.
this fact which all accept as self-evident,
when we think each Of US OF the people whom he
himself knows In his business and social rela-
tions. is often completely ignored by certain
public men and certain public writers. The men
who thus ignore it and who attack wickedness
only when found In particular class are al
ways unsafe. and are sometimes very dangerous
leaders. Distrust equally the man who is never
able to discover any vices of rich men TO
attack and the man who confines himself to at
tackfng the sins and shortcomings of rich men,
1t is sure sign of moral and mental dishonesty
In nv mn in Il vnhI cauIfo rtDon In
iquity he is never able to see any iniquity save
that of particular class: and this whether he Is
able only to see the crimes Of arrogance and
oppression in the rich or the crimes Of envy
and violence IN the poor.s-. He Is no true Amer
lean IL he Is a respecter OF persons where right
and wrong are CONCERNED and II he fails to
denonnce the demagogue no less than the
corraptionfst. to denounce alike crimes of or
gapized greed and jcrimes OF brutal violence
There is equal need to denounce the wealthy man
who swindles investors or buys legislatures or
oppresses wageworkers, and the needy man who
innames class hatred or incites mob violence.
We need TO hold the scales OF Justice even, and
to weigh them down on one side is as bad as TO
weigh them down on the other.
So much for what / have to say to you In
your capacity of molders and guides OF public
thought. In addition. l want to speak to you
on two great movements In public life
which I feel must necessarily occupy in
considerable part of the time of our public men
In the near future.
TAXATION REVISION
One of these is the question Of In certain
ways, reshapng our system OF taxation so as
to make 1t bear most heavily on those most
capable of supporting the strain. The other is
the question OF utilizing the natural resources
of the nation I'm the way that will be of most
benefit to the nation whole.
In utilizing and conserving the natural re-
sources of the nation the one characteristic
more essential than any other is foresight I'm
fortunately. foresight is not usually characteris-
tie of young and vigorous people, and 1t is
obviously not marked characteristic OF in
the United States. Yet assuredly 1t should be
the growing nation with future which takes
the long look ahead; and no other nation Is
growing rapidly ours or has future so
full Of promise. No other nation enjoys so
wonderful measure of present prosperity which
can Of right be treated as an earnest Of future
success, and for no other are the rewards OF
foresight SO great. 50 certain, and 30 easily
foretold. Yet hitherto as a nation we have
tended to live with an eye single to the present,
and have permitted the reckless waste and de-
struction Of much of natural wealth.
The conservation OF our natural resources and
their proper use constitute the fundamental prob
lem which underlies almost every other prob
lem of our national life. Unless we maintain
an adequate material basis for our civilization
we cannot maintain the institutions In which we
take 50 great and so just pride; and to
waste and destroy our natural resources means
to undermine this material basis During the
last five years efforts have been made in
several new directions in the government service
" get Our people 70 look ane6d, 10 exercise f0fe-
sight. and to substitute a planned and orderly
development of our resources In the place of
haphazard striving for immediate profit. The
enort has been made through several agencies.
RECLAMATION PROJECTS
In 1902 the reclamation service began to de-
velop the larger opportunities of the western
half OF our country for irrigation The work
includes all the states from the great plains
through the Rocky mountains to the Pacific
slope. 1t has been conducted with the clear and
definite purpose OF using the valuable water
resources Of the public land for the greatest good
Tor the greatest number In the long run; in
other words. for the purpose Of putting on the
land permanent home makers who will use and
develop It for themselves and for their children
and children's children. There has been oppo-
sition, Of course, to this work Of the reclama-
tion services for we have been obliged to an
tagonize certain men whose interest 1t was to
exhaust for their own temporary personal profit
natural resources which ought to be developed
through use, 30 as to be conserved for the per-
manent common advantage Of the people as a
whole. But there will be no halt in the work
OF preserving the waters which head in the
Rocky mountain region SO as to make them OF
most use to the people as a whole; for the
policy is essential to our national welfare.
The public lands OF the United States should
be utilised in similar fashion. Our present
public land laws were passed when there was a
vast surplus of vacant public land. The chief
desire was to secure settlers thereon and COM
parativeiy slight attention was paid AZ to exactly