The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-09-01
ROOSEVELT URGES
EQUALITY FOR ALL
Essence of Struggle is to Destroy
Privilege and Give to Every Ctr
zen Highest Value, He Says.

Osa watomie, TO the Great Insurgent
Col Roosevelt today preached the doc
trines and principles OF modern In
surgency.
Just about every issue that insurg-
ency has embraced was endorsed by
Roosevelt. Beginning with the Brown
statements: II stand for square
deal and We must drive the special
interests out OF politics. the colonel
went on to advocate the progressive
| policies.
The constitution does not in any
case give the right OF suffrage TO cor
porations, he said. I'VE must have a
corporation affairs"
He demanded a strict government
regulation OF railroads as the only al
tentative of government ownership,
saying: Il do not wish to see the ma
ton forced into ownership OF the rail
roads IL IL can possibly be avoided
and the only alternative Ia thorough
going effective regulation based on
full knowledge OF the facts, including
q physical valuation OF the property.
Tariff revision by commission OF
experts. direct primaries. publication
of campaign expenses before election,
simple ballot, the recall, corrupt prac-
tices acts. the income tax, the In
heritance tax and federal conserva-
ton were all reviewed and endorsed
and the necessity for them set forth.
| On the question OF corporations the
colonel expanded at great length and
said that In the coming fight for gov
eminent regulation financial condi-
tons would be undoubtedly disturbed
by The interests" in an attempt to
head or the movement.
Col. Roosevelt in his speech here
said:
In every wise struggle for human
| betterment one or the main objects.
| and often the only object. has been to
| achieve In larger measure equality or
opportunity In the struggle for this
great end. nations rise from barbarism
to civilization. and through II peoples
press forward from one stage Of en-
| lightenment 10 the next. One OF the
chief factors In progress 10 the de-
| struction OF special privilege. The es-
! sence OF any struggle for healthy lib
erty has always been and must always
be TO take from some one man or class
wealth. or position. or, immunity.
| which has not been earned by service
/ to his or their fellows
| AZ many stages In the advance OF
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 II
appears as the struggle OF free men
| to gain and hold the right OF self
| government as against the special In
1 terests who twist the methods OF free
government into machinery for defeat
ing the popular will. Al every stage
| and under all circumstances the es-
sence OF the struggle Is TO equalize OPP
| TO the life and citizenship of every In
| dividual the highest possible value
both TO himself and to the common
| wealth
| Practical equality OF opportunity for
| all citizens, when We achieve II. will
have two great results: First. every
man will have a fair chance to make
OF himself all that in him lies. to reach
the highest point to which his capa-
cities. unassisted by special privilege
OF his own and unhampered by the
him. and to get for himself and his
| family substantially what he has
earned. Second. equality OF opportu-
nifty means. that the commonwealth
hig hest service Of which he is capable.
No man who carries the burden OF the
special privileges Of another can give
i to the commonwealth that service to
which II IL fairly entitled.
| I stand for the square deal But
| when I say that / am for the square
deal I mean not merely that l 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 a 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 spe-
| cial interests Exactly as the special
interests OF cotton and slavery threat
ened our political integrity before 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 interests out or
politics. That IL one OF our tasks TO.
day. Every special interest Is entitled
to justice-full. fair. and complete
but not one IL entitled to a vote In
congress. a voice on the bench. or to
| representation In any public ofhce.
The constitution guarantees protection
, TO property, and We must make that
! promise good. But IL does not give the
right OF suffrage to any corporation.
conservative. is he who insists that
property shall be the servant and not
| the master Of commemorative: who In
sists that the creature OF mans maxi
| ing shall be the servant and not the
/ master OF the man who made IL. The
! citizens OF the United States must eff
! fectlvely control the mighty CONNER
cial forces which they have themselves
! called into being.
| There can be no effective control OF
| corporations while their political ac-
| tivity remains. To put an end to II
\ will be neither a short nor an easy
task. but IL can be done.
| We must have complete and effective
publicity OF corporate affairs. so that
the people may know beyond perad-
venture whether the corporations obey
| the law and whether their manage
ment entities them to the confidence
| OF the public. IL IL necessary that
\ laws should be passed to prohibit the
| use OF corporate funds directly or In
directly for political purposes; IL lis
should be thoroughly enforced Cor
| porate expenditures for political pur-
| poses. and especially such expenditures
4 by public service corporations, have
| supplied one OF the principal sources
OF corruption In our political affairs,
II has become entirely clear that we
must have government supervision OF
| the Capitalization not only OF public
service corporations. including particu-
! larry railways. but OF all corporations
doing an Interstate business / do
not wish TO see the nation forced into
| ownership of the railways III II can
possibly he avoided. and the only al
tentative II thoroughgoing and erect /,
I I've regulation. which shall be based
/ on a full knowledge OF all the facts,
including a physical valuation OF the
property This physical valuation Is
/ not needed, or at least IL very rarely
needed. for hxins rates; but IL Is
needed as the basis OF honest capi-
| talization
We have come to recognize that
franchises should never he granted ex-
Z cent FOR n limited time and never