The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-09-09
R00SEVELT'S
DECLARATION
Leaves No Doubt as to His PO-
litiCal Beliefs on Current Issues
A PROGRESSIVE SPIRIT
Says That Special Privilege is the Curse
OF the Government and Must be
Welded Out Of Politics.

In ringing speech at Osawatomia,
Kan, Wednesday. Theodore Roosevelt
declared himself in the most positive
fashion upon the public questions Of
the day, and there can no longer be.
any doubt as to where he stands with
regards to the two wings of the Re-
publican party; Col Roosevelt is an in
surgent. He said:
''The issue is joined and we must
fight or fall, said he.
The former president declared him
self in favor of these principles:
Elimination of special interests from
politics.
Complete and effective publicity of
corporation affairs.
Passage of laws prohibiting the use
of corporate funds directly or indirectly
for political purposes.
Government supervision of the cap
italNation not only of public service
corporations, but of all corporations do
ing an interstate business.
Personal responsibility of officers and
directors of corporations that break
the law.
Increase in the power of the federal
bureau of corporation and the Interstate
Commerce Commission to control in-
dustry more effectively. ~
Revision of the tariff, one schedule
at a time, on the basis of information
furnished by an expert tariff commits
sion.
Graduated income tax and graduated
inheritance tax.
REIMBURSEMENT of the country's f.
nancial system in such way as to pre-
vent the return of periodical financial
panics.
Maintenance of an efficient army and
navy;large enough to ensure for the
nation the respect of other nations as a
guarantee of peace.
Use of national resources for the
benefit of all the people.
Extension of the work of the depart
ments of agriculture of the national
and State governments and of agricul-
tural colleges and experiment stations
so as to take in all phases Of life on
the farm.
Regulation of the terms and cOndi-
tions of labor by means of comprehen-
sive workmen's compensation acts;
State and national laws to regulate
child labor and the work of women, en-
forcement of better sanitation condi-
tions for workers and extension Of the
use Of the safety appliances on industry
and commerce both in and between the
States.
Clear division of authority between
the national and the various State
governments.
Direct primaries associated with cor
rupt practices acts.
Publicity of campaign contributions
not o ,ly after election but before cleo
ton as well.
Prompt removal Of unfaithful and in
competent public servants.
Provisions against the performance
of any service over interstate corpora
tions by national officers.
While Col. Roosevelt's speech is re.
garded by many of those who heard it
as carrying him farther than the pro-
gressive movement, the colonel coupled
with his declaration warning against
the extremist injecting an extempor.
aneous remark on the subject in his
prepared speech.
81 don't want our people TO follow
men whose intentions are excellent but
whose eyes are little too wild to
make it safe to trust them" he said.
Another sentence which Col. Roo1a.
welt put into his speech extemporan-
eously brought forth applause from tho
crowd He said:
''No man should make promise be-
fore election that he does not intend to
keep after election, and if he does not
keep it hunt him out.
The people gave his word an inter-
probation of their own, and the burst
of cheering which broke out when they
heard them was one of the widest Of
the day.
This speech was delivered in grove
battlefield where John Brown fought
the Missouri raider on August 80, 1856.
The setting was picturesque. Thous-
ands of people had gathered for the
dedication of the battlefield as State
park.