East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-08-31
Strenuous One Talks to Kan
sas People on One Of Great
Problems.
STRICT REGULATION OF
COMBINATIONS NEEDED
Teddy Arrives in Insurgent State and
Dedicates Memorial Park-Great
Throng Listens to Address-Points
Que Measures Necessary to Secure
Equality of OppOrtunity-AdvOc
Federal Bureau of Corporations.


where the martyred John Brown
fought. He was met at Usage City
by Governor Stubbs and his staff and
escorted here, where congressman
Murdock, Madison and White and
other insurgents greeted him. Roose-
velt was taken to Browns cabin and
later to the field where the Kansas
abolitonist with a handful of men
withstood the pro-slavery foes. Twen-
ty-five thousand people accompanied
Roosevelt to the battlefield where he
dedicated the memorial park and ad-
dressed the throng.
After briefly rehearsing the strug-
gle of '61-'65 and paying tribute to
John Brown and Abraham Lincoln,
Roosevelt launched forth upon the
principal theme OF his address. In
part he said:
Equality of Opportunity.
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 Tor
this great end, nations rise from bar
barism to civilization, and through 1t
people press forward from one stage
Of enlightenment to the next. One
Of the chief factors in progress Is the
destruction Of special privileges. The
essence of any struggle for healthy
liberty has always been and must
always 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
special interests, who twist the meth
ods of free government into machin-
cry for defeating the popular Will
At every stage and under all circum-
stances the essence Of the struggle Is
to equalize opportunity, destroy priv
ilege, and give to the life and citizen
ship OF every individual the highest
possible value both to himself and to
the commonwealth.
Practical equality of opportunity
for all citizens. when We achieve It,
will have two great results. First
every man will have a fair chance
to make himself all that in him lies,
to reach the highest point to which
his capacities, unassisted by special
privileges 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 op-
portunity means that the common
wealth will get from every citizen the
highest service of which he Is capable
No man who carries the burden OF
the special privileges of another car
give to the commonwealth that SER
vice to which it is fairly entitled.
The Square Deal.
| stand for the square deal. But
when l say that I am for the square
deal | mean not merely tnat I stand
for fair play under the present rules
OF the game, but that l stand fol
having those rules changed SO as te
work for a more substantial equality
of opportunity, and of reward fol
equally good service.
This means that our governments
National and State, must be freed
from the sinister influence of contro
of special interests. Exactly as the
special interests OF cotton and slav.
cry threatened our political integrity
before the Civil War, so now the
great special business interests toe
often control and corrupt the mer
and methods of government for thei,
own profit We must drive thu
special interests out of politics. Tha
is one of our tasks today Ever,
special interest is entitled to justice
full, fair and complete-but no
one is entitled to vote In Congress
a voice on the bench, or to represen
tation in any public office. The Con
stitution guarantees protection t.
property, and we must make tina
promise good. But It does not Civ,
the right of suffrage to any corpor
alton.
Party, Servant Not Master.
The true friend of property, tn
true conservationist; is he who insist
that property shall be the servan
and not the master of common
wealth; who insists that the creatur
of mans making shall be the servan
and not the master Of the man VIII