Omaha daily bee., 1908-05-12
PRESIDENT TO BUSINESS MEN
Makes Address to National Prosperity
Association.
PUBLIC CONSCIENCE Is AWAKE
Nation suffers from Acts of Corrupt
Men-RoOseveIt Reiterates Need
of Relentless Pursuit
of Evil.

| WASHINGTON, May IA committee
from the National Prosperity association
Of St. Louis called on President Roosevelt
/ today to urge his aid in furthering their
plans for encouraging the return OF pros
perity throughout the country. The com
mittee found the president cordial IN his
treatment and frank in his expressions Of
willingness to aid them in every way possi-
bic. A short speech was made by E. c
simmond. chairman of the executive COM
mittee of the association, which was re-
sponded to by the president.
Mr. Simmond's speech was in part as
follows:
The National Prosperity association has
been formed to improve business conditions.
| II has in view no backward step from
| which reforms have been instituted. II
raises no question as to the wisdom of
laws which have been placed upon the
national statute books. It applauds the
! correction Of evils in business methods.
] This association will facilitate inter
change Of opinion among 10000 nonparuan
business organizations Business has sur
| fered too much already from denagogic
agitation; therefore the association Will
| seek relief from the continued agitation by
| professional agitators II will deDrecate
the unworthy spirit which arrays class
against class. 1t will seek that unity OF
brotherhood which you have proclaimed.
! II Will proclaim what you have proclaimed,
that the bulk of our business is honestly
done 1t will point out that the disturbance
Of public confidence was not due to the
punishment of specific wrong in methods
but to gross violations of law by some cor
porations and grating by some public off,
cials and defective currency system.
In seeking your support of the work of
the association. Mr. President, we are in
! spired by the view that your cooperation
will go far to aid in the restoration of
| hopefulness. OF confidence and of right
| thinking in our land
President RoOseveIt's Reply.
The president responded as follows:
| Il am in hearty sympathy with the
avowed object of the National Prosperity
association. 1t is excellent. We have gone
far in uprooting abuses which threaten our
national life. Taken as a whole. the stand
ard Of honesty in our business life has
been high and today the standard Is, be-
leve, beyond what 1t has ever been, and
this largely because we have made deter
mined war on the abuses that lowered it.
As you have said, the depression and stag
nation from which our country is now hap
PLY beginning to recover were not caused
by reform legislation, but by the revela-
tion of shocking conditions in certain of
our corporations. by reckless operations in
high finance and by certain striking
though. / believe, observation-disclosures of
business and civic dishonesty OF course,
all good men must agree with you in your
condemnation of unwise agitation.
THE apathetic acceptance OF abuses In
our governmental and business administra-
tions is no more dangerous than the dema-
gog1c appeals of professional agitators to
class hatreds. Our national conscience, l
firmly believe has been awakened. We
will not and cannot go back TO the condi-
tions which tolerated wrongdoing Neither
can we afford TO be led astray by those
who would embark us in a visionary and
twisted crusade against all corporations,
all business methods.
Honest Observance of Laws.
I'VE should address ourselves to the faith
fuI and honest observance of laws Of civic
righteousness The welfare Of all OF US
can best be obtained by striving for a
policy which will promote the welfare Of
each of us. We must all cooperate in
order that benefit may be derived by the
entire nation. Good laws make for good
government but laws are Of no avail un-
LESS vitalized by the people who made them.
our recent legislation has been good and
It is to the interest OF the entire country,
especially of the business interests, that 1t
should be enforced. Such further regu-
latory legislation as is required is merely
a building up on the broad foundation that
II mas DSGn Idlu. II NOhNtd4s Ao hlNAaCV "
business any more than that legislation
which has already been enacted. There, is
no need for agitation concerning it; there is
no excuse for demagoglc excitement about
It. 1t is as much our duty to conserve the
real rights of property as II is 10 conserve
the real rights of labor. This we have
done in the past and this we ought to do
and will do In the future.
1.-The country realizes that confidence
I ia not a matter of law. II is an Intangible
something which exists in the relation of
men, Those relations have been strength
| ened in our own country by the economic
reforms that have been instituted. There
fore we are more powerful today than We
have ever been SO far as the present ad-
ministration is concerned, 1t will continue
unchanged, It will continue unchanged the
policy OF safeguarding the rights Of all
and Of embracing every possible and legiti-
mate means 10 advance the welfare and
prosperity of our country
Relentless Pursuit of EVIL.
Let there be no Misunderstanding about
this The business and commercial inter-
/ ests Of the country to be prosperous in any
enduring sense must be administered hon
estly. With occasional exceptions they
have been and are now so administered as
you have well said whenever there is evil
dence Of dishonesty il must be pursued re-
Ientlessly and punished; but having thus
moved forward to a high plane Of business
integrity and on that plane built wisely,
let no man say that all American business
men. or even and considerable number of
them are malfactors. I welcome your work
J and shall be glad 10 cooperate with pou in
: any effort to establish prosperity on right
} and honest lines"