The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-01


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and neither his position nor his preten-
sions; and. furthermore, that freedom
could only stay with people which has
the habit of self-mastery. AS he said,
the price of liberty is not only eternal
Vigilance, but eternal virtue: and may
add, eternal common sense. Each man
here knows that he himself has been
able to use his freedom to advantage
only provided that he could master
himself, that he could control his own
passions and direct his own faculties.
Each of you fathers and mothers mere
knows that il your sons are to do well
IN the world they must know how to
master themselves. Every man must
have a master; if he is not his own
master, then somebody else Will be.
This is just as true of public life as or
private life If we can not master our
selves. control ourselves, then sooner or
later we shall have to submit to outside
control! for there must be control some
where.
one way of exercising such control is
through the laws of the land. Ours is
government of liberty, but 1t Is a gov
eminent of that orderly liberty winch
comes by and through the honest en-
forcement of and obedience to the law.
At intervals during the last few months
the appeal has been made to me not TO
enforce the law against certain wrong
doors of great wealth because to do so
would interfere with the business pros
perity of the country. Under the effects
Of that kind of fright which when sur
hcfently acute We call panic, TINS ap-
peal has been made to me even by men
who ordinarily behave as decent cit;-
gems. One newspaper which has itself
strongly advanced this view gave prom
inence to the statement of certain
man of great wealth to the enect uldt
the so-called financial weakness was
due entirely to the admitted intention
of President Roosevelt to punish the
large moneyed interests which had
transgressed the laws" do not admit
that this has been the main cause OF
any business troubles we have had: but
it is possible that it has been a contrib
utory cause. If so, friends, as far as
am concerned it must be accepted as a
disc greeahle but unavoidable feature IN
a course of policy which as long as
am president will not be changed. In
any great movement for righteousness,
where the forces of evil are strongly m
trenched. it is unfortunately 1neV1tabie
that some unoffending people should
suffer in company with the real offend
ers- This is not our fault. 1t Is the Iault
of those to whose deceptive action these
Innocent people owe their false position.
Reply to Labor Delegation.
A year or two ago certain repre-,
in the course of very pleasant con-
versation told me that they regarded
me as ''the friend of labor" 1 an
swered that 1 certainly was, and that
for the laboring man except anything
that was wrong. I have the same an
swer to make to the business man.
will do everything 1 can do to help
business conditions, except anything
that is wrong. And it would be not
merely wrong but Infamous to fail to
do all that can be done to secure the
punishment of those wrongdoers
whose deeds are peculiarly reprehenst-
BILE because they are not committed
under the stress of want. Whenever
a serious effort is made to cut out
what is evil in our political life, wheth-
err the effort takes the shape of war
ring against the gross and sordid
forms of evil in some municipality. or
whether it takes the shape of trying
to secure the honest enforcement or
the law as against every powerful and
wealthy people, there are sure to be |
certain individuals who demand tina, |
the movement stop because it may |
hurt business. In each case the an |
swer must be that we earnestly hope |
and believe that there will be no per- |
manent damage to business from the |
movement. but that If righteousness |
conflicts with the fancied needs OF |
business, then the latter must go to the |
wall. We can not afford to substitute !
any other test for that of guilt or in
nocence, of wrongdoing or welldoing, |
in judging any man. If a man does
well, if he acts honestly. he has moth I
ing to fear from this administration.
But SO far as in me lies the corrupt
politician, great or small, the private