The Springfield herald., 1908-07-17
ROOSEVELT ON
SOCIALIST IDEA
DECLARES THE THEORY OF So
ciALISM TO BE DISHONEST
AND HARMFUL.
a FORM OF PRIVILEGE CE
EQUALITY OF REWARD MUST
ONLY GO WITH EQUALITY OF
SERvIcE.

Oyster Bay.-To the memory OF
Caut John Underhill, who became
prominent in the government of the
colonies and as a soldier achieved
high reputation in the Pequot Indian
war beautiful monument was ded-
icated Saturday before several hun
dred OF his descendants at Matne'
cock, Long Island. President Roose-
welt was at the unveiling of the mon
ument and made short address.
President Roosevelt said in part:
1.-The founder of the family here
was a good soldier and a good citizen
and the Underhills of today have fur
nished their full quota OF good soldiers
and good citizens in their time. If
they had not, would not have been
here; | have no use whatever for the
man with nothing but a pedigree, the
man the best part of whom is under
ground. l believe in the pride of an
cestrv but only IL 1t takes the part
of making the man or woman TO car
ry himself or herself well as regards
the duties of today.
IF at the time of the Civil war,
you, Mr.. Chairman, had felt that the
fact tnat the original Captain Under
hill was fighter excused you from
fighting, l should have thought
mighty little of you. The thing to do
is to feel (and l guess you, comrade
over there-I mean the man with the
Grand Army button--you will agree
with mel that if you had ancestors
who did their duty, it is doubly in
cumbent upon you to do your duty.
We have made this country what 1t is
partly because we have measurably
succeeded in securing in the past
equality of opportunity. That is very
different from equality OF reward.
Il believe epphatically in dong
everything that can be done by law
or otherwise to keep the avenues OF
occupation. of employment, of work.
of interest, so open that there shall
be. so far as it is humanity possible
to achieve it, measurable equality of
opportunity; equality of opportunity
for each man to show the stuff that
is in him.
But when it comes to reward, let
him get what by this energy, fore
sight, intelligence, thrift. courage he
is able to get if the opportunity opens.
Il don't believe in coddling any one;
| would no more permit the strong
TO oppress the weak than tell weak
man or a vicious man that he ought
by right to have the reward due only
properly we in this country set our
faces against privilege.
There can be no grosser example
of privilege than that set before us
as an ideal by certain Socialistic writ
ers-the ideal that every man shall
put into the common fund what he
can, which would mean what he chose,
and should Jake out of whatever he
wanted; il. other words this theory Is
that the man who is vicious foolish.
drag on the whole community, who
contributes less than his share of the
common good should take out what is
not his; what he has not earned; that
he shall rob his neighbor of what that
neishbor has earned. This particular
Socialistic ideal would be to enthrone
privilege in one of the grossest crul-
est, most dishonest. for the most harm.
full and most unjust forms. Equality
of opportunity to render service-yes.
| will do everything l can to bring it
about. Equality of reward-no. unless
there is also equality of service"