New-York tribune., 1910-09-01
Debt to the Veterans.

We can admire the heroic vaIor. the sin
cerity, the Self-deVotion shown alike by
.he men who wore the blue and the men
who wore the gray; and our sadness that
such men should have had 10 fight one an
that ever hereafter their. descendants shall
be found fighting side -ly side, struggling
in peace as well as in war for the uplift Of
their common country all alike reSoute 10
fulness the nation TO which they all belong.
AS for the veterans OF the Grand Army of
the Republic. they deserve honor and recog-
milton such is paid to no other citizens of
the Republic, for to them the Republic
owes its all, for TO them ii owes its very
existence.
/ do not speak of this struggle of the
past merely from the historic standpoint
Our interest is primarily in the application
to-day of the lessons taught by the CON
test of half a century ago II is Of little
Use for us to pay lip loyalty TO the mighty
men of the past unless we sincerely en-
deavor 10 apply TO the problems of the
present precisely the qualities which in
other crises enabled the men OF that day
TO meet those crises II is half melancholy
and half amusing to see the way in which
well meaning people gather to do honor
10 the men Who ih company with John
Brown, and under the lead of Abraham
Lincoln. faced and solved the great prob
lens of the nineteenth century, while at
The same time these same good people ner-
NouSly shrink from or frantically denounce
those who are trying TO meet the problems
OF the twentieth IN the spirit which was
accountable for the successful solution of
the problems Of Lincolns time
OF that generation of men, TO whons we
owe so much. the man 10 whom We owe
the most is. of course, Lincoln. Part of
our debt TO him is because he forecast our
present struggle and saw the way out. he
said:
y hold that while man exists il is his
duty TO improve not only his own conQt-
ton, but TO assist in amelioTa ting man
kind And again Labor is prior to and
Independent Of capital. capital is only the
fruit of labor, and could never have existed
but for labor Labor is the superior Of
capital and deserves much the higher con
sideratlon. Capital has its rights which are
Rs worthy Of protection aS any other rights
Nor should this lead TO a war upon
the owners Of property. Property, is the
positive good in the world. Let not him
who is hOuSeless pun down the house OF
another. but let him work diligently and
build one for himself, thus by example
showing that his own shall be safe from
violence when built"
Destroy Special Privilege.
II seems to me that in these words Lin
coin took substantially the attitude that
We ought to take; he showed the proper
sense OF proportion in his relative est1-
mates Of capital and labor. of human
rights and property rights \ Above all in
this speech. as in many Others he taught a
lesson in wise EindHness and charity; an
indispensable lesson to Us OF today But
this wise kindness and charity never
weakened mis- arm or numbed his heart
We cannot afford weakly to blind ourselves
TO the actual conflict which faces US to-
cay The issue Is Joined. and we must
fight or tall.
IN every wise struggle for human better
nnent one OF tile main objects, and often the
only object has been 10 achieve in larger
measure equality OF opportunity. In The
struggle Tor this great end nations rise
from barbatisnl TO civilization. and through
81 people press forward from one stage of
enlightenment TO the next One Of the chief
factors in progress is the destruction of
special privilege. The essence OF any strue-
gie for healthy liberty has always been
enG must always be 20 take from some
power, wealth. or position, or immunity
Nhich has not been earned by service 10
his their fellows
Practical equality of opportunity for all
citizens, when We achieve IL. viii have TWO
great results First. every man viii have
6 Iafr chance 20 make Of himself all that
3n him lies, 10 reach the highest point to
which lis apaclttes. unaSsiSted by special
privilege OF his own and unhampered by the
special privileges OF others. can carry him
and TO get for himself and his family sub
sTantiailv what he has earned. Second
equality Of oportlnity means that the com
Inonwealth VIII get from every citizen the
highest service Of which he is capable No
man who carries the burden of special
privileges Of another can give TO the com
y,aonwealth that service to which il is fair
ly entitled.
stand for the square deal But when 7
Say that J am for the square deal | mean
not merely that ] stand for fair play under
the present rules Of the game. hut that /
stand for having those rules changed so A :
to work for more substantial equality
OF opportunity. and Of reward for equally
good service.
This means that our goyernments-na-
tfonal and state-muSt be freed from the
sinister lnffl3snce OF control Of special in
tsrests Exactly as the special. interests
OF cotton and slavery threatened our no.
lfficsI Integrity before The Civil War so
now the great special business interests too