Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-09-02
WELL DOING NOT A. MATTER OF
PARTIsANsHlP, SAYS
ROOSEVELT.
PRIME NECESSITY TO
OUR SUCCESS AS A NATION
Great Issues Declared to Be tho Doing
! Away With Special Privileges -
| Roosevelt Talks Of Honesty and Cor
ruption at Kansas city-Praise is
! Given Senator Bristow.

enthusiastic WELCOME which is follow
ing Theodores Roosevelt everywhere in
his wauderings thru the west. The
crowds which blocked the streets of
Kansas City cheered him whenever he
made an appearance and the three
speAcl1es which he made here were re-
ceiyed with shouts of approval.
TheAcolonel was told that he was an
tnsurg2nt thru and thru in song
which was sung in his honor at a
luncheon yesterday. But he said it
would be better to call him progress
sive. The members of the commercial
club, who were entertaining him,
cheered his definition of his political
status.
Roosevelt wound up the day by MAX
Ing speech to a throng that filled the
auditorium. His speech was about hon
esty in public and private life. He
said:
There arei certain matters which
should never be treated as party mat
ters; and foremost among these is the
great and vital virtue of honesty. Hon
esty should be treated as prime ne
cessity to our success as a nation. The
minute that question of honesty as
against dishonesty is involved. then we
without the slightest regard to party
iafiliations. Honesty Is not a party
matter; and the first man to attack q
scoundrel of any party should be the
office. I always proceeded upon the
theory that there would be no need
,of my opponents raising the cry OF
Turn the rascals out" because
would turn them out myself just as
soon rs. by vigiiant and intelligent in
dustry. I could discover them. The
present Senator Bristow, for instance
was in the Post-Ofice Department
when information reached me which
convinced me that there was extensive
Hascaiity being practiced in the depart
mont. This information came to me
through the then First Assistant Post
master General. Mr.. Wynne-an admir-
able man whose honesty 1 knew to be
Investigation was done by another
post -off1ce official in whose honesty
courage. and energy I had absolute
eonfdence-the present Senator Bris-
tow. When he got through I knew
that all the rascals whose rascality
could be detected were out of office and
that all of them that had committed
acts which we could proceed against as
criminal were iadicted or imprisoned
As we dealt with the crooked public
ehaciaL we dealt with the crooked
private citizen: with the rich swindler
in New Fork or Chicago as with the
horse thief or homicide in Indian Ter
STORY. We never attacked man be-
cause he was q man Of one political
1aith or another, because he did or did
mot possess wealth: and we never
shielded him because he was poor or
trich. because he belonged to any par
ftcular church or to any particular
party. But I also wish you especially
TO remember that never hesitated
to shield him and stand up for him
once we We're convinced that he was
,1mproperly attacked. There is no
greater foe OF honesty than the man
who. for any son. in any capacity.
attacks or seeks to attack. an honest
man for a crime which he has not COM
mitted. Falsely accusing an honest
man of dishonesty is an act which
Stands on the same level of infamy
with that Of the dishonest man HIM
self; and 1t is no higher duty to attack
the dishonest man than 1T is to exoner-
ate the honest man falsely accused:
and I should be ashamed to hesitate
the fraction Of a second longer in one
case than in the other.
Honesty 10 Not UniiateraI.
Remember that honesty cannot be
unilateral. Good citizens should cor
daily distrust the man who can never
class he dislikes. The reckless agi-
tator who invariably singles out men
OF wealth as furnishing the only ex-
aMples of dishonesty; and the equally
lous-reactionary who can see dshon-
esty only in a Matchmaking politician
or crooked labor leader; both stand
on the same plane of Consciousness.
You will never get honesty from poll
ticians until you exact honesty from
business men: on the other hand, you
brand yourselves as fools or as hypo-
critics IL you say that the corporation
owner. or the employer. is always the
never, that it is only the wealthy
man who corrupts the politician and
never the politician who blackmails
the corporation.
Any man in his senses knows that
country who prosper by bribing legis-
Iatures Just as they prosper by swim
ding the public; and any man in his
senses ought to know. in addition, that
small means who, in Legislative or
other bodies, try to blackmail corpora
tions-and try to blackmail other peo-
PIE as we'll. If they doubt this, let
ruption in my own state-New York
end in yours. my hsarers-here IN
Missouri; let them look at what hts
occurred in California and what has
occurred in Illinois. In Illinois, for in
stance, one of the rascalities Developed
by the recent investigation was the
existence Of a combination Of legisla-
tors who blackmailed fishermen along
. certain river, forcing them TO pay to
prevent legislation which would have
interfered with their business.
No Distinction Of Glass.
Now scoundrels who do these kinds
Of things are, Of course, the very men
who. on the one hand, will blackmail
. corporation. If they get a chance,
and, on the other hand will cheerfully.
IL the chance occurs. sell themselves to
that corporation against the interests
Of the public. Their corruption Is no
more due to the action Of the corpora
lions than the corruption OF the cor
pofatiops is due to their action: and
evil, and not good. 10 done by the hon
ct but misguided man who would per-
Buade you that either fact is true. Our
duty 10 to war with equal sternness
AUAinst the corrupt man of great
wealth and the small man who makes
~ trade of corruption: our fight 10
A0Ainst both the swindling corporation
And the blackmailing or bribe-taking
boaitician.
We cannot afford to limit q campaign
hOninst corruption to those who hap.
pm 20 have . cDrtain social status. We
mead laws which shall put the corpora
1)on out OF busine as, 30 far a. concerns
C6rrupting the servants Of the public
aAd betraying the rights Of the public.
I believe that the great issue now be-
1sre the people IL the doing away with
special prSviaege In all its forms: do,
1ng the power IT the htG