Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-28

1.-The commission believes that an
example should be made of these men.
and thar. the members Of the Boston
agreement or at least all those who.
IN October and November, 1905. en-
tered in the fraudulent competitions
for the Cove street draw span and
the Brookline street bridge, should he
brought before a federal grand jury
for violation Of the act of congress o.
July =, 1880. The three years limlta-
tion for participation in these trans
actions has not yet elapsed, and the
evidence obtained by the commission
is SO complete that there should be
no difficulty in the government secur-
(, ing a conviction in this ease
l have submitted this report to the
+, department Of justice for thorough in
| vestigation and for action, if action
| shall prove practicable. Surely such
state of affairs as that above set forth
emphasizes the need of further federal
legislation. not merely because of the
material benefits such legislation will
secure, but above all because this fed
eraf action should be part, and a large
part, of the campaign to walker our
people as whole to a lively and ef-
4 fectiye condemnation of the low stand
ard of morality implied in such con-
duct on the part Of great business con-
Germs
1 1.-The first duty of every man is to
provide Il livelihood for himself and
1 for those dependent upon him. II
| is from every standpoint desirable
that each of our citizens should en-
deayor by hard work and honorable
methods TO secure for him and his
such "a competency as viii carry
with 1t tile opportunity to enjoy in
reasonable fashion the comforts anil
refnelnents of life;, and furthermore.
the man Of great business ability who
obtains a fortune in upright fashion
inevitably IN SO doing confers bene-
fit upon the community as whole and
IS entitled TO reward, to respect, and
to admiration.
But among the many kinds Of evil
social Industrial, and political-which
it is our duty as nation sternly to
combat. there is none at the same time
more base and more dangerous than
the greed which treats the plain and
simple rules of honesty with cynical
contempt if they interfere with max,
ing a profit. And as nation we car,
not be held guiltness e We condone
such action.
The man who breaches hatred OF
wealth honestly acquired, who in
culcates envy and jealousy and Sian.
| darouS ilI-u-iu tovrard thoSa. of bic4 Fol
lows who by thrift, energy and in
dustry have become men of means, Is
menace to the community. Ru
his counterpart in evil Is to be found
in that particular kind of multimll
lionaire who is almost the least enyia
bic, and is certainly one of the leas
admirable, of all our citizens-a mar
I of whom 1t has been well said tina
r his face has grown hard and crue
while his body has grown soft; whose
son is a fool and his daughter a for
. eign princess; whose nominal pleasure
. are at best those of a tasteless ant
extravagant luxury, and whose raa
delight, whose real life work, is the
, accumulation and use of power in 1t:
most sordid and least elevating form.
In the chaos of an absolutely IN
restricted commercial indiyidualisn
under modern conditions this is a typ
that becomes prominent as inevitable.
I as tile marauder baron became promi
inent' in the physical chaos of the dar,
ages We are striving for Legislation
: to minimize the abuses which give thi
; type its fourishing prominence, part!
: for the sake of what can be accom-
! plished by the legislation itself, an,
partly because the legislation mark
eur participation in great and sterl
: moral movement to bring our ideal
: and our conduct into measurable az
u cord.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
: The White House, April 81, 1903.
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