The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-06-21
ADDRESSED TO R. SPRECKELs
President Urges That the prosecu.
tors do Not Become DIsheartencd
and by All Means Keep up the
Fight


Call today prints letter dated June
y at the white house Washington,
from President Roosevelt, to Mr.,
Rudolph Spreckcls IN which he com.
ments upon the local graft prosecu.
tions and urged the prosecutors 10
keep up the fight" The following
Is a synopsis Of the text;
my Dear Mr.. Spreckels--I know
that you and Mr.. Heney and the
others associated with you must feel
fown.hcarted when you see men
= guilty OF atroeious crimes who for
some cause or other succeed In es-
Gaping punishment. and especially
when you see men Of wealth and OF
high social standing banding togeth.
er against you.
MY dear sir, want you to feel
tha, your experience is simply the
experience OF all OF Ms who are en-
gagged in this fight There Is no form
OF SANDER and OF wicked ialsehood
which will not as a matter Of course
be employed against all engaged in
such struggle.
Nov ] do hope that you and your
colleagues will treat all this bitter.
ness with entire disregard. II is OF
small consequence to you or to any
OF us who are engaged in this work
whether men think well or III OF us
personally; but Il Is OF very great
consequence that we should do the
work without flinching, Therefore
hope you and Heney and your asso-
vates will keep reasonably good
aatured; but that above all that
you will not lose he art You
Anust battle on valiantly, no matter
Iwhat the biggest business men may
say, no matter what the mob may
say no matter what may be said by
that element which may be regarded
as the beS society, You must stead
fastly oppose those foolish or wicked
men who would substitute class con-
sciousness and loyalty to class inter-
ct for loyalty TO American citizenhip
as whole for loyalty to the immu-
table laws OF righteousness, Of Just
and fair dealing as between man and
man.
at is just as bad to be ruled by a
plutocracy as by mob, 1t Is pro-
foundly un-American and in a social
sense, profoundly immoral, to stand
for or against given man, because
he is or is not brave, upright and
able man, but because he does or
does not belong to a labor union or
Noes or does not represent the big
bNiness interests, In their essence,
down at the foundation OF things, the
ties that are all important are those
that knit honest men. brave men,
together and il is mighty poor sub
stitutc ii we replace these ties by
those that bind men together wheth-
cr they are good or bad simply be-
cause they follow a particular busi-
ness, have a given social standing or
belong to a particlar organization
Indeed IL there can be any de-
grees in the contemptous adherence
with which right-thnking citizens
should regard corruption IT must be
felt in its most extreme form for the
so.called "bcst citizens" the men high
in business and social life, who by
backing up or by preventing the
punishment of wealthy criminals set
the seal OF their approval on crime
and give honor to rich felons
"You have heart breaking difficult
ties with which to contend, You have
to fight not only the banded powers
of evil, but alas that it should be
said, the supineness and indifference
OF many good men on whose Jealous
support you had a right to feel that
you could rely Do not be discour-
aged do not finch. You are in
fight for plain decency, for the plain
DEMOCRACY Of the plain people who
believe in honesty and in fair dealing
as between man and man Do not
Ncome disheartened Keep up the
fight,
Every sincerely yours,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Rudolph Spreckels, EsqF San
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