The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-08-31
COLONEL ROOSEVELT At OSAWATOM|E
LABOR IS INDEPENDENT Of CAPITAL

less pull down the house OF another
; On; let him work diligently and builC
/ one for himself thus by example
! showing that his own shall be safe
; from violence when built 1t seems
TO ME that in these words Lincoln
took substantially the attitude that We
ought TO take, he showed the proper
sense OF proportion in his relative
estimates of capital and labor, of hu
man rights and property rights. Above
all in this speech, as many others
he taught a lesson in wise kindliness
and charity; an indispensable lesson
to US OF today But this wise kindli-
ness and charity never weakened his
arm or numbed his heart. We cannot
afford weakly to blind ourselves TO
the actual conflict which faces us to-
day The issue is joined, and we must
fight or fail.
In every wise struggle for human
betterment one of the main objects,
and often the only object, has been to
achieve in larger measure equality of
opportunity. In the struggle for this
great end, nations rise from barbar.
/ ism to civilization, and through it
peoples 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 struggle for healthy
| liberty has always been and must al
ways be to take from some one man
or class OF men the right to enjoy
| power, or wealth, or position, or i'm
munity, which has not been earned by
service to his or their fellows
At many stages in the advance of
humanity this conflict between the
men .who possess more than they
/ have earned and the men who have
earned more than they possess is the
central condition of progress. In our
day it appears as the struggle of free
men to gain and hold the right of
self-government as against the spec
ial interests, who twist the methods
of free government into machinery for
defeating the popular will. At every
stage and under all circumstances the
essence of the struggle is to equalize
opportunity, desrtOy privilege, and
give to the life and citizenship of
every individual the highest possible
value both to himself and to the com.
monwealth
Practical equality of opportunity for
all citizens, when we achieve it. will
have two great results. First. every
man viii have "A fair chance To make
of himself all that in him lies. to
reach the highest point to which his
capacities, unassisted by special priv
lege of his own and unhampered by
the special privileges of others, can
carry him, and to get for himself and
his family substantially what he has
earned. Second, equality of opportu-
nifty means that the commonwealth
will get from every citizen the highest
service of which he is capable. No
man who carries the burden of spec.
ial privileges of another can give to
the commonwealth that service G.
which it is fairly entitled.
stand for the square deal. But
when | say that | am for the square
deal | mean not merely that stand
for fair play under the present rules |
of the game, but that | stand for hav-
ing those rules changed so as to work |
for more substantial equality of OPP
portunity, and of reward for equally |
good service.
This means that our governments,
national and state must be freed
from the sinister influence or control
of special interests Exactly as the
special interests of cotton and slavery
threatened our political integrity be-
fore the Civil War. so now the great
special business interests too often
control and corrupt the men and
methods of government for their own
profit. We must drive the special in.
erests out of politics. That is one of ,
1ur tasks today. Every special in ,
crest is entitled to justice-full. fair. ,
md complete-but not one is entitled !
o vote in congress. voice on the !
'ench, or to representation in any I
public Office. The constitution guar =
ntees protection to property, and we 9
must make that promise good. But Z
does not give the right of suffrage =
o any corporation. h
The true friend of property. the true n
Conservative, is he who insists that =
roperty shall be the servant and not
nd DD