The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-08-28
COLONEL ROOSEVELT At CHEYENNE
DELIVERS ADDRESS TO OLD FRIENDS

foundation OF national greatness.
There ar certain wel!-meaning men
OF Intellectual cul.ya ion, but lacking
mental. mora! robustness, who com
pain continually that they md Ameri-
an lie. and especially the life OF
those American communities emerg-
ius from the pioneer s.a=e, crude
and without genus or beauty. Genius
is a hne thing 10. a nation, but char
acter Is a still finer ming, and tnougn
Jeau.y Is good, strength is an even
greater good. Tne men VINO have.
made this great republic OF the west
what /. j., and especially the men
Who have turned .r into a continental
commonwealth, nave possessed in the
highest degree the great yirile yir-
tues Of strength, COURAGE, energy,
and undaunted and unwayering reso-
luton Their typical leaders-oi
whom Abraham Lincoln. though The
most exceptional, vas the most typl.
ca.--haye possessed keen intelligence,
and character not merely strong
but lofty. a charac er exalted by the
tact that great power was accomplish
ed by nigh and fine determination
to use this great power for the com
mon good, for The advancement Of
mankind. The pioneer days are over,
save in a few places, and the more
complex life of today calls for a great
or variety of good qualities than we're
needed on the frontier. There IS need
at present to encourage the devlop-
ment of new abilities which can be
brought TO high perfection only By
a kind of training useless in pi III
Ger times; but these new qualities
/ can only supplement, and never sup
plant, the old, homely virtues; he
heed for the special and distinctive
pioneer virtues is as great as ever.
/ ~ other words, as our ciyil!ZatloH
J 9: ors older and more complex. While
X IS true that We need TO !7ye!op
g.en whose lives are devoted y holly
t.: the pursuit OF special objects It
is g.; ct also true that We need a srea' er
ard not a less development Of the
Fundamental frontier yi.1Ies. These
virtues include the po"e~ of seiI-
a,ip. together with the power ot 5olo
iae With others for mutual help and
. wa. is especially important, the feel
in. OF comradeship, of social god.
! fellowship. Any man who I'D he
good fortune to live among the old
frontier conditions must, in looking
back, realize how vital was this feel
ing of general comradeship and social
! fellowship There were good men
! and bad men in the new communities
! just as in the old communities, and
the conditions on the frontier were
4 such hat the qualities OF the good
and bad alike were rather more
/ strikingly manifested than in older
| communities: but among the men who
tried to lead hard-working, decent
! lives. there was a feeling OF genuine
/ democracy, which represented an ap-
proach to the American ideal which
We certainly should do everything in
/ our power to preserve. We did not
Try to say that men We're equal when
they wre not equal but We did our
best to secure something like an
equality of opportunity and an equal
/ ity of reward for good services. and,
moreover, each man expected to be
received. and, on the whole, was re-
ceiyed. wherever he went, on the foot
I in that his merits warranted.
Now, so far as possible these quail
ties and the conditions that bring
about these qualities should be kept
in the great states which are growing
our Of the Old frontier communities.
We need TO strive for the social bet
tcrment of the people as a whole, and
yet 10 encourage individual liberty
and set high reward on individual In
itia.iYe up 10 the point where they
become detrimental TO the general
welfare In continually and earnestly
striving for this betterment OF social
and economic conditions in our com
pleX industrial civilization, We should
ork in the old frontier spirit Of rug
ged strength and courage, and yet
with the old frontier spirit OF brother
~ comradeship and good will. | do
not mean that We should refrain from
hating wrong, on the contrary, I
would preach fiery wrath against
wrong. Blu, would not preach such
wrath against the wrons-doer; save
in those cases where his wrongdo-
ing really is due 10 evil moral attri-
butes on his part, and not TO a strong
or false system, OF which he is almost
as much the victim as the benefici-
airy. Sometimes a wrong represents