The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1907-10-30

oO6tSS my uCtSl iiitloClOti lila LUZ OiC
remaining sixteen months of my term
these policies shall be persevered in un
~swervingly.
IF, to arouse that type of civic man.
hood in our nation il were necessary to
suffer any temporary commercial de-
preston, ] should consider the cost but
small. All we have done has been to
unearth the wrongdoing. 1t was not
the fact that it was unearthed that did
the damage, All I did was to turn on
the light. l am responsible for turn
ing on the light, but l am not respon-
sible for what the light showed.
"No material well-being can save
this nation if it loses the life towards
higher things. 1 am we'll aware that
in any such movement as that in which
we have engaged there are sincere men
who take advantage of the movement
to do away with the wrongs of wealth
themselves inveigh against wealth.
81 will permit neither the demagogue
upon n side nor the reactionary on
the other to drive me away from the
course Or policy which / regard most
vital for the well-being of this nation.
And the thing most important to re-
member is that that policy has two
sides. 1t would, indeed, be an evil day
for this nation; it would, indeed, mean
the beginning of the end Of our ma
TONS greatness, if we ever permitted
in this republic to grow up a spirit
which would discriminate against the
honest man who achieves business sue
cess.
"There is nothing baser and meaner
than the hatred of the man who pros
pered honestly, simply because he has
prospered, and l challenge the spirit of
every good American when l say that
the honest railroad man, the honest
banker and the honest business man,
the man who makes a fortune because
his exceptional business ability enables
him to render exceptional service to
the community, l challenge the spirit
of every good American citizen when /
say he shall receive the amplest pro-
lection and be safeguarded against all
injustice.
eff ever there should be any tempo
rary gusts of popular feeling at de-
mand what was wrong, what un-
righteous, then the true servt.AC ~ the
people, the man who truly serves the
interests OF the people, is the man who
disregards that temporary wish of the
people to do evil. No man will stand
more strongly than l will in the defense
of property, SO long as it is honestly &C.
CURED and honestly used. / will stand
against the poor man if he does wrong,
just as l will stand against the rich
man if he does wrong. / will stand
against crimes of brutal violence, just
az | stand against crimes of unscrupu-
lous cunning.
"a crime Is a crime, and j. lhakes
no difference whether the wrong is per
petrated by plutocracy or by a mob; by
8 capitalist or by a wage-worker.
There are certain gentlemen who
have affected to misunderstood my po-
sition on that point, and to say that ]
have talked against men of wealth as
such; that / have melted attacks upon
the class that owns great wealth. These
gentlemen are blind if they see the
facts in that light. l will protect
every way in my power honest prop.
erty; | will protect the honest man of
wealth to the extent of my ability, and
IN no way a | ultimately protect the
honest man of wealth so effectively as
by doing everything in my power to
bring to justice his dishonest brother
of wealth. 1t is a difficult matter to
punish the crimes of INSCRIPTIONS cum
ming committed by men of great wealth.
1t Is a difficult matter to punish as he
should be punished the mar who, at the
head of a great business concern or at
the head of a great railroad, does
wrong to the whole body polite by
Encouragement of that policy. 1t is
difficult, because as yet we hardly have
the proper laws, and still more because
the people themselves, through their
representatives and personally, do not
yet fully realize how serious the crimes
are committed in this fashion.
Remember this, that atonement in
this world is largely vicarious; that if
we sit supine and let men of great
wealth set before the country as a
whole the standard of successful dis
honesty, so that young men are taught
TO think of business trickery, of evasion
and violation of the law against stock
gambling and swindling as the chief
a to financial success; if we should
let such a state of affairs exist, not
only do we bring about a deterioration
of the public conscience as a whole, but
as sure as fate we ultimately invite ip-
norant and vile reaction, which, in
trampling out the wrong, will trample
out each right at the same time: which
IN furnishing the wealthy wrongdoer
will inflict the punishment so brutally
n SO unskilfully as to confound in It
many men who have done honestly and
we'll.
Il want to see the process of gaining
wealth by successful dishonesty STONED
before it goes so far as so invite the
very reaction of which | speak. and
the nan of property, the man Of great
means, will do well in turn, and in the
lOftieSt waU fo hooL -