Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-01
LEAVES FOR THE CONVENTION AT MEMPHIS
Fleet of Fifteen Steamers Follows Mississippi Which Presi
Dental Party Embarks- Headed Cane Presented
by Negroes of Iowa Town.

Keokuk, Iowa, Oct 1-President
Roosevelt began his river trip from
Keokuk this morning. He arrived here
at $40 and was met at the station by
the governors of Iowa, Florida, Louisi-
ana, Minnesota, Nebraska, both Dako-
tas, Oregon, Wyoming, and Illinois, and
by three companies of state troops.
Rains During Morning.
The morning was fair, but a
sprinkle of rain began shortly after
the presidential party started in car
riages to Rand park, where the speech
es We're delivered.
President Roosevelt's speech in full
was as follows:
Men and women of Iowa: am glad
indeed to see you and to speak to you
in this thriving city of your great and
prosperous state. | believe with all
my heart in the people of Iowa. for
think that you are good, typical Ameri-
cans, and that among you there has
been developed to very high degree
that body of characteristics which we
like to regard as distinctively Amer:
can.
PrOblefs Forced Upon Us.
During the last few years we of the
United States have been forced to con-
slider very seriously certain economic
problems. We have made Il beginning
in the attempt TO deal with the rela-
tions of the national government-thdt
is, with the relations of the people of
tn hn "
corporations. controlled for the most
part by few very rich men, which
are engaged in interstate business
especially the great railway corpora
tions. You know my views on this
matter You know that | believe tn 1t
the national government, in the inte'-
ests of the people. should assume much
the same supervision and control over
the management of the interstate COM
mon carriers that it now exercises
over the national banks.
Believes in Justice.
You know furthermore that | be-
lieve that this supervision and control
should be exercised in a spirit of rigid
fairness toward the corporations. eX-
acting justice from them on behalf of
the people but giving them justice il.
return.
Recently | have been reading the
work of the eminent Italian scholar
Ferrero on the history of the Roman
republic, when the life of the Roman
state had become that of a complex
and luxurious Industrial civilization
| am happy to say that the differences
between that civilization and our own
are more striking than the resem
blances; and there is no warrant 70:
our being drawn into any pessimisti>
comparison between the two civiliza
tions. But there is every reason why
we should study carefully the past l.
order to draw from it lessons for use
in the present.
Rome's Fate Warning.
"One of the most striking feature
of the years which saw the downfall
of the Roman republic was the fac
that the political life of Rome became
split between two camps, one contain
ing the rich who wished to exploit th'
Door and the other the poor who wish
ed to plumber the rich. Naturally, I'M
der such circumstances, the publ;
man who was for the moment success
full tended to be either Il violent rea2
tionary or violent demasOgue. An!
such condition of political life is a
hopelessly unhealthy now as it wa
then. believe so implicitly in the fu
ture of our people, because | believ
that the average American citizen WI
no more tolerate government by mo-
than he will tolerate government by
plutocracy; that he desires to see jus
tice done to and justice exacted iron
rich man and poor man alike.
"We are not trying to favor any ma
at the expense of his fellows. We ar
trying to shape things so that as ia
as possible each man shall have fai
chance in life; so that he shall have
so far as by law this can be accom-
plished, the chance to show the stu
that there is in him. We have no il
tention of trying to work for the in
possible and undesirable end of givin