Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-10-01
BEGINS TRIP
DOWN MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Stopped at Keokuk, Iowa, This Morn
ing Long Enough to Deliver Speech
His Talk Iowans Interesting One Dealing With Que
tons Of Paramount Importance to the
Western States and Territories.

ness man. will do everything | can
do to help business conditions, except
anything that Is wrong. And 1t would
be not merely wrong but infamous to
fail to do all that can be done to Sc
cure the punishment of those wrong
doers whose deeds are peculiarly rep.
rehensible because they are not COM
mitted under the stress of want.
Whenever serious effort Is made to
cut out what Is evil in our political
life, whether the effort takes the shape
of warning against the gross and sor.
did forms Of evil in some municlpali.
ty, or whether it takes the shape of
trying to secure the honest enforce
ment of the law as against very pow
erful and wealthy people, there are
sure to be certain individuals who de-
mand that the movement stop because
1t may hurt business. In each case
the answer must be that we earnestly
hope and believe that there will be no
/ permanent damake to business from
the movement, but that II righteous
ness conflicts with the fancied needs
of business, then the latter must go
to the wall. We can not afford to sub
stitute any other test for that of guilt
or innocence, of wrongdoing or we'll
doing, in judging any man. n a man
does we'll, If he acts honestly, he has
nothing to fear from this administra.
tion. But so far as in me lies the cor
rupt politicion, great or small, the
private citizen who transgresses the
law-be he rich or poor-shall be
brought before the impartial justice
of court.
Cannot Have too Many Highways.
"Since have been President I
have travelled in every state of this
Union, but my travelling has been al
most entirely on railroads, save now
and then by wagon or on horseback.
Now I have the chance to try travel
ing by river: to 90 down the greatest
Of our rivers, the Father of Waters. A
good many years ago when I lived In
the northwest I travelled occasionally
on the upper Mississippi and its trib-
utaries; but then we went in fiat
boat and did our own rowing and
padding and polling. Now am to try
a steamboat. am a great believer in
our railway system; and the fact that
I am very firm In my belief as to the
necessity Of the government exerc,s-
ing proper supervision and control
over the railroads does not in the
least interfere with the other fact that
I greatly admire the large majority
Of the men in all positions, from the
top to the bottom, who build and run
them. Yet, while of course I am anx.
ious to see these men, and therefore
the corporations they represent or
serve, achieve the fullest measure of
legitimate prosperity, nevertheless as
this country grows feel that we can
not have too many highroads, and that
In addition to the iron highroads Of
our railway system we should also
utilize the great river highways which
have been given us by nature. From
a variety Of causes these highways
have in many parts of the country
been almost abandoned. This is not
healthy. Our people, and especially
the representatives of the people in
the national Congress, should give
their most careful attention to this
subject. We should be prepared to
put the nation collectively back of
the movement to improve them for
the nation's' use. Our knowledge at
this time Is not such as to permit me
to go into details. or to say definitely
just what the nation should do; but
most assuredly our great navigable
rivers are national assets just as much
as our great seacoast harbors.. Exact
ly as 1t is for the interest of all the
country that our great harbors should
be fitted to receive in safety the larg-
est vessels Of the merchant fleets of
the world, so by deepening and other
wise our rivers should be fitted to
bear their part in the movement of
our merchandise; and this is especial
ly true of the Mississippi and its trib-
utaries, which drain the immense and
prosperous region which makes In
very fact the heart Of our nation; the
basin of the Great Lakes being al
ready united with the basin of the
Mississippi, and both regions being
identical in their products and inter-
ests. Waterways are peculiarly fitted
for the transportation of the bulky
commodities which come from the soil
or under the soil; and no other part
OF our country is as fruitful as is this
in such commodities.
Encourage and Protect Homestead
Settler.
The states of the high plains and
of the mountains have peculiar
claim upon ME, because for num-