Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-10-03

Strfmback arose and distinguished
himself by making the shortest well
coming speech on record: He said:
81 have the honor of asking Cover
nor Cummins to welcome our Prest-
dent"
Presented With a Cane.
Governor Cumnins also spoke brief.
ly. He said it was a great honor to
him to have the pleasure of introduc-
ing Ip1 .rIv the frs, ma Of the ma.
ton but tho f. at man IF all nations
He treD in r.rced Pas l.. P""r-
welt. y Iau.. cl-sued how-v.- dur.
ing which Dan Anderson, prominent
colored man of Keokuk, approached
the President and presented him with
gold headed cane purchased by sub
scription by the colored people Of
Keokuk.
The Presidents Speech.
The President responded with feel
ing, expressing his heartfelt appracia-
ton Of the gift and assuring his col
ored friends that he would always
keep the gift and remember the don
ors. Then he turned to the assemblage
and launched forth into his speech.
He spoke in full as follows:
Men and Women of Iowa:
I am glad indeed to see you and to
! speak to you In this thriving city Of
your great and prosperous state. I
believe with all my heart In the peo
pie of Iowa for think that you are
good, typical Americans, and that
among you there has been developed
to very high degree that body Of
characteristics which we like to re-
gard as distinctively American.
During the last few years we of the
United States have been forced to con-
slider very seriously certain economic
problems. We have made a begin
ming in the attempt to deal with the
relations Of the National Government
that is, with the relations Of the
people of the country-to the huge and
wealthy corporations, controlled for
the most part by few very rich men,
which are engaged in interstate bust
ness-especially the great railway
corporations. You know my views On
this matter. You know that l believe
that the National Government, In the
interests of the people, should assume
much the same supervision and con-
troll over the management Of the In
terstate common carriers that 1t now
exercises over the national banks.
You know furthermore that believe
that this supervision and control
should be exercised in spirit Of rigid
fairness toward the corporations,
exacting Justice from them on behalf
OF the people but giving them Justice
in return.
Each Man Must Have Fair Chance.
Recently l 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 complex
and luxurious industrial civilization.
I am happy to say that the differen re
between that civilization and our own
are more striking than the resem.
blances; and there is no warrant for
our being drawn into any pessimistic
comparison between the two civiliza.
tons But there Is every reason why
we should study carefully the past In
or'er to draw from 1t lessons for use
in = present. One of the most strik-
Ing features OF the years which saw
the downfall of the Roman Republic
was the fact that the political life of
Rome became split between two
camps one containing the rich who
wished to exploit the poor. and the
| other the poor who wished to plumber
the rich. Naturally under such cir
cumstances, the public man who was
| for the moment successful tended %
be either a violent reactionary or i
violent demagogue. Any such condi-
ton of political life is as hopelessly
unhealthy now as It was then. be.
lleve so implicitly in the future of our
people, because believe that the
average American citizen will no more
tolerate government by mob than
he will tolerate government by q
plutocracy; that he desires to see Jus
tice done to and Justice exacted from
rich man and poor man alike. We are
not trying to favor any man at the
expense OF his fellows. We are trying
to shape things SO that as far as pos
sible each man shall have q fail
chance in life; SO that he shall have
30 far as by law this can be accom-
plished, the chance to show the stuff
that there is in him. We have NJ
intention of trying to work for thu
impossible and undesirable end q
giving to the lazy the thriftless. the
weak, and the vicious, the rewart
that belongs to. and. in the long run
can only come to. the hard working
the thrifty, the resolute and the hon
est. But we do wish to see that tbs
necessary struggle in life shall be car
ried on under genuinely democratic
conditions; that, so far as human &C
ton can safely provide It, there shall
be an approximately fair start; tina
there shall be no oppression of th'
weak and that no man shall be per
n.itted to acquire or to use vast for
tune by methods or in ways that ar
, tortuous and dishonest.
Need Wise Laws.
Therefore we need wise laws, an,
we need to have them resolutely al
ministered We can get such laws an
such admin stration only If the peopl
are alive to their interests. The othe
day listened to an admirable sermo
by Bishop Johnston Of western Texas
His theme was that the vital elemen
in Judging any man should be his cor
duct. and neither his position nor hi
pretensions: and. Furthermore, tina
freedom could only stay with pei