Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-05-31
EVERYBODY BOOST
FOR ROCK ISLAND
ROOSEVELT TELLS farmer
CHILDREN ARE BEST CROP

and faced 10000 people who had gath
dress.
Speaks from Balcony.
The president spoke for about five
minutes from the balcony The presi-
dent was given an ovation as he con-
Cluded the balcony speech. He went
members of the legislature. He spoke
there about ten minutes. He said the
railroad problem in this country must
be dealt with unflinchingly, but with
sanity and reason. There must be
steady progress along the lines that
have already been laid down.
After the second address the presi
dent and party entered automobiles
and were driven to the residence of
President J. l.. Snyder of the agricul-
tural college, where luncheon was
served.
Makes Formal Speech.
At O'Clock the president made d
formal address from a platform erected
at the head of the campus. He. said:
The 5Oth anniversary of the found
ing of this college is an event of ma
tional significance, for Michigan was
the first state in the union to found
this, the first agricultural college in
America. The nation is to be col-
graduated on the fact that congress a.
Washington has repeatedly enacted
laws designed to aid the several states
in establishing and maintaining agrI-
cultural and mechanical colleges. i
greet all such colleges, through their
representatives who have gathera
here today, and bid them Godspeed n
their work
Pride i'm system.
AS a people there is nothing in
which we take juster pride than our
educational system. 1t is our boaa.
that every boy or girl has the chance
to get a school training; and we feel
it is a prime national duty to furnish
this training free, because only there
by. Can we secure the proper type u
citizenship in the average American.
Our public schools and our colleges
huNt Nl'ilt llitll "Dlh we'll, anu tlle,G
provided for training young men in the
! trades, and that this must be coord,
mated with the public school system.
An industrial school can turn out Il
| finished journeyman; but it can flu
| nish the material out of which a finish.
! ed journeyman can be made, just as an
| engineering school furnishes the train.
| ing which enables its graduates speed
, lily to become engineers.
Little Fear of Competition.
1--WE hear a great deal of the neeG
of protecting our wOrkingmen from
competition with pauper labor. | have
very little fear of the competition OF
pauper labor. The nations with paupeI
| labor are not formidable industrial
competitors of this country. What the
American workingman has to fear ::
the competition of the highly skilled
workingman of the countries of grea
est industrial efficiency.
I'VE have been fond as a nation O
speaking of the dignity of labor, meal,
ing thereby manual labor. Personal;
| don't think that we begin to unde
stand what a high place manual labO
should take; and it never can take
this high place unless it offers sco1;
for the best type of man. We har'
TENDED TO regard education as matte
of the head only, and the result is tina
a great many of our people, themselve
the sons of men who worked with thei
hands, seem TO think that they rise il
the world if they get into a positiO
where they do no hard manual wori
whatever; where their hands will Groy
soft, and their working clothes will b.
kept clean.
Malicious Conception.
Such a conception is both false an
mischievous. There are, of course
/, kinds of labor where the work mus
be purely mental, and there are othe
kinds of labor where, under eXistin
conditions, very little demand indee
is made upon the mind, though | al
, glad to say that | think the proportio
: of men engaged in this kind of work
: diminishing.
"The people of our farming region
5 must be able to combine among then
= selves, as the most efficient means {
Il protecting their industry from tn
: highly organized interests which no
surround them on every side. va
field is open for work by. cooperatiy