The Washington herald., 1907-06-11
PROUD OF THE SOUTH.
CoNTINuEp lion PAGE Two.

OF kinship with every portion OF our great
common country, which should be the
birthright Of every true American
Since I have been President I have
visited every State and Territory within
the borders of the Union. save such as
can only be reached by sea. ] have trav-
eled from the Atlantic TO the Pacific,
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. |
have spoken at country fairs, TO colleges,
TO commercial and business organizations,
to associations Of professional men, to
labor organizations. to men OF every
creed and parentage. The thing that has
struck me most has been the essential
oneness. the essential unity Of our people.
In the fundamentals l have found the
American citizen 10 be just about the
same everywhere. In whatever locality
Of the country we live. whatever our
fortune or occupation In life, there exist
Just about the same essential good quail
ties and much the same shortcomings in
any gathering Of our citizens. OF course,
each community has its special tempta-
tions, It's especial shortcomings. and If it
is wise each community will try 70 cure
itself rather than to cause heartburnings
by railing at the shortcomings of a sister
There is ample field for the
reform energies of every one of US in his
or her particular sphere Of home and
activity.
Distrust Should Not Exist.
Not only is all Of this true as between
one community and another. but it is
Just as true between one class Of our cit
liens and another, Now and then we
meet well-meaning people who have a
genuine horror and dread Of all rich
men. and think Of them as being set apart
by peculiar vice and iniquity. Now and
then We meet equally well-meaning rich
men wo have an equally Irrational
dread OF those whom they style labor
leaders. In each case l think the hos
tility Is in large part due to a want Of
sympathy caused by complete ignorance
of the men who arouse such distrust or
anger.
Rapid Progress In the south.
During the last quarter OF a century
this nation has made astounding strides
IN material progress, and in no other sec
ton has this progress been more note
worthy than I'm the South. While her
agriculture has grown faster than ever
before. there has also been new
growth of her manufacturing industries
indeed. there has been growth Of every
kind. But Of course there Is ample room
for further growth. The South will be
all the better for new immigrants Of the
right type and 1 hope to see steamship
lines carrying such immigrants estab-
lshed at ports like Savannah and
Charleston, just as I hope 10 see ports
like New Orleans connected by lines Of
steamers with the South American c0Hti-
neHt the continent with which our rela-
tions should grow ever closer and mutu-
ally more advantageous.
In the South. as everywhere through
the Union. we need 10 see a good educa-
lion given free TO all children. no matter
what may be their race or color Nor
can we wisely permit this education To
be of a merely literary type. More and
more We are growing 20 realize that there
must be an education of the hand as
well as Of the head. There must be agri-
cultural and industrial colleges. and,
above all. schools IN which there can be
elementary preparation for agriculture
and industry. These schools for technical
training will hold a great place In the
future In fitting our citizens for doing
their economic duties In the best possible
shape. In the South there Is a population
peculiarly fitted to profit by them. a pop
ulatiOn which has been generally referred
TO as poor white a population Of
splendid capacities. and almost purely OF
the old native stock. which simply lacks
the opportunity to develop a degree Of In
dustrial efficiency unsurpassed elsewhere
on this continent.
Tt is matter for cOngratulatiOn that
there is such a steady increase Of inter
est in the Southern States i'm everything
pertaining to children. This has already
markedly shown itself. and I hope will
still more markedly show itself i'm the
future. in warning against the evil Of
child labor In factories. The factory is
very poor place, indeed. for a child: in
deed, personally I think the factory d
poor place for woman-certainly for a
woman for more than a very few years
IN any community organized on really
healthy lines the average woman will
have quite enough 20 do IN her own home
whether she is rich or poor; and nowhere
else can she do work OF such value 10
the nation as a whOle-aud by work
mean her homework, her work as house
wife and mother and not so-Called home
industries
There is increasing need that the well
fare Of the children should be effectively
safeguarded by governmental action, with
the proviso. however. that this action
shall be taken with knowledge and In IL
spirit Of robust common sense. for philan-
thropy, whether governmental or indi-
vidual. is a curse and not a blessing
when marked by a spirit Of foolish sent:.
mentality and ignorance. Such govern
mental action is merely one Inevitable
result Of the ever-increasing growth Of
our complex industrialism Decade by
decade. it becomes more and more nee
essaTy that. without sacrificing their indi-
vidual independence, the people Of this
country shall recognize in more effective
form their mutual interdependenCs. and
the duty of safeguarding the interest Of
tdCt lU Lnf ultimate interest OF al. " 2
have inherited and developed a sIperbly
self-reliant individualism In this country
I most earnestly hope that il Will not be
lost. that il Will never be exchanged for
a deadening socialism. The only perma-
nently beneficial way in which to help
any one is TO help him TO help himself; if
either private charity. or governmental
action. or any form OF social expression
destroys the individuals power of self
help. the gravest possible wrong is really
done 20 the individual
Nevertheless. as the conditions OF life
grow more complex, it is not possible TO
trust our welfare only to the unbrided
individual initiative of each unit of our
population. working as that unit wills
We need laws for the care OF our chill
Greu which were not needed when this
country was In its infancy. We need
laws for the control Of vast corporations
such as were not needed when the in
dividual fortunes were far smaller than
at present, and when these fortunes were
not combined for business use. In the