The San Francisco call., 1910-12-15
Colonel TALKS
ON PEACE and
REAL MORALITY
Roosevelt Declares Carnegie Is
Entitled to Praise Of Patriots
of All Countries
PinchOt and Garfield Commenda
ed for Their Practical Work /
for Conservation

CAMBRIDGE Mass. Dec. 14.-IE
speaking on Applied Ethics" as thu
Nobel lecturer in Sanders theater to-
night Col. Theodore Roosevelt touched
briefly on the building OF the Panama,
canal the progress Of conservation. and
the movement toward universal peaces
as typihed by the recent fisheries de-
cision at The Hague.
The Nobel lecture at Harvard is pro-
vided by fund given by Mrs William
B. Nobel in memory of her husband, an
Episcopal clergyman. and is for the
benefit of students and the faculty.
Col Roosevelt visited Massachusetts,
expressly for the lecture. although he
attended a meeting of the Harvard
overseers at the office in Boston. He
was elected member of the board last
June.
PRAISE FOR CARNEGIE
Just before going on the lecture
platform tonight. Roosevelt learned cf
the Carnegie Peace Foundation fund.
He hailed the announcement with de-
light, and was especially pleased with
the selection Of Senator Elihu Root aS
permanent representative of the United
States at The Hague.
Toward the end of his lecture he re-
ferred to the gift as providing the
means OF making real progress" in
bringing about the results which Car
negte desires to achieve.
HE is entitled to the hearty praise
of all good citizens here" said Roose-
Welt. "and of all patriots in all coun-
tries"
But remember" he said warninE1y,
that the ultimate worth depends on
the good. practical sense. the Judg-
ment and ability of the men who, ad-
ministering the fund, succeeded in
translating the theory into action
APPLIED MORALITY IN RULE
This translation of the moral theories
of government into practice. or what
he termed applied morality" he sought
to illustrate by the Panama canal un-
der the direction Of Colonel GOethals;
conservation as exemp1ifed by the Ia
bOrs of Garfield and Pinchot- and the
peace movement as furthered BY John
Hay and Elihu Root
He favored the fortihcation OF the
canal and a larger navy as the best
guarantee of peace.
In his address. the colonel said IN
part:
1t is the easiest thing in the
world TO sketch out in the closet
a system OF government; and II Is
one Of the most difficult things in
the world to make government
preach morality. and still easier to
applaud IT when preached. but II
Is difficult TO do the only thing that
counts, which Is to apply the mo-
rality in practice.
WORK ON PANAMA CANAL
For that reason. when I speak
OF applied morality-using moral
for the efhcienf application Of the
principles, the carrying out Of
which means really good govern
ment-I wish to give concrete illus
trations.
For instance. it is greatly to the
credit of any nation, of any gov
ernment. when it performs some
vast undertaking which will last
for many centuries and which adds
perceptibly to the sum of achieve
ments OF mankind Such an under
taking is the Panama canal
Last spring, when in Europe, 7
was struck BY the fact that every
statesman I met deemed two acts
of the American people during the
past decade pre-eminently worth
notice.; these two being the voy-
age around the world. and the bust
age of the battleship fleet around
the world, and the businesslike EN-
cacy with which we were doing
the work of the Panama canal.
CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE
Again, take the question OF con-
servatiOn Of our natural resources.
of preserving our forests our water
supply. our soil. and not only or
preserving them. but Of seeing that
they are preserved for the use OF
our people as whole and not ex-
plotted merely for the bene1t OF
few people OF great wealth. II is
by no means difficult to make
speeches and deliver lectures on
that subject. nor to head cOnven-
tiOns in its favor and applaud dec
laratiOns In favor of cOnservs tfOn.
But as soon as men in actual
practical work begin to apply the
doctrine they meet with all kinds
of difficulties they are brought
face to face with all kinds of selfish
interests, and they are exposed also
to the even greater danger OF being
misunderstood by honest men.
Those who actually do the work
of conservation have. therefore.
peculiar claim upon us. While I
was president there were no two
men to whom I felt i owed more,
from the standpoint OF the public
service. than MesSrs. GARFIELD and
PinchOt for the work they did in
connection with conservation.
Their work was done not only
with a zeal of disinterestedness,
but also with the utmost efficiency.
They actually put into practice az
working principles the theories
which great many men. including
myself, for instance thoroughly
approve. but which were reduced to
action in satisfactory shape for the
first time by these two men.