The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-08-08

privilege. every hired agent o. eene-
netary OF the special interests. includ-
Ing many wellneAning parior re-
formers. will denounce al ,hls ~
Socialism or 'anarehy'-the same
terms they used In the past in de-
nouncing the movements TO control
the railways an dto control public
utilities As q matter OF fact. the
propositions ! make constitute neith-
er anarchy nor Socialism. but. on the
contrary. q corrective for Socialism
and an antidote TO anarchy"
Control d Trusts.
Colonel Roosevelt emphasized the
need for constructive control OF the
trusts. which he recognized as the re-
suit Of present-day business develop
ment- A national Industrial commits
sion should be created for the pur-
pose of exercising this supervision
He appealed for social and indus
trial justice to the wage-earner: asks
for searching inquiry in TO the cost
Of living, demands an elastic system
of currency; the proper conservation
of the Nations resources: the opera
ton OF railways in Alaska by the
Government
Conclusion.
In summing up the specific policies
expounded in his address, Mr.. Roo
sevelt spoke as follows:
g.
sion of faith. | have made IL rather
long before | wish you TO know just
what my deepest convictions are on
the great questions of to-day, so that
if you choose to make me your stand .
ard-bearer in the fight, you shall
make your choice understanding ex-
actly how / feel-and If. after hear
ing me, you think you ought to
choose one else, | shall Loyalty abide
by our choice. The convictions II
which | have come have not been ar
rived at as the result Of study in the
closet or the library, but from the
knowledge l have gained through
hard experience dnuring the many
years in which, under many and va
ried conditions, | have striven and
toiled with men. l believe in larg-
er use of the governmental power to
help remedy industrial wrongs, be-
cause 1t has been borne In on me BY
actual experience that without the
exercise of such power many of tha
| wrongs will 60 unremedied. / be-
lieve in a larger opportunity for the
people themselves directly to partici-
pate in government and to control
their governmental agents, because
long experience has taught me that
without such control many of their
agents will represent them badly. By
actual experience in office nave
| found that. as a rule, l could secure
the triumph of the causes in which
| most believed, not from the politi-
clans and the men VIII oclaim an ex-
ceptional right to speak in business
and government, but by going over
their heads and appealing directly to
the people themselves. / am not un-
der the slightest delusion as to any
power that during my political career
| have at any time possessed. What
ever Of power ! at any time had,
obtained from the people. l could
exercise it only so long as, and to the
extent that, the people not merely be-
| lieved in me, but heartily backed me
up.
| Whatever | did as President | was
able to do only because l had the
backing of the people. When on any
point l did not have that backing,
when on any point l differed from
the people, it mattered not whether
| was right or whether l was wrong
my power vanished. / tried my best
to read the people, to advise them. to
tell them what | thought was right
IL necessary. never hesitated to tell
them what / thought they ought to
hear, even though I thought 1t would
be unpleasant for them to hear IL;
but l recognized that my task was to
try to lead them and not to drive
them, to take them into my conf.
dence, to try to show them that was
right. and then Loyalty and in good
faith to accept their decision.
Il will do anything for the people
except what my conscience tells me
is wrong. and that / can do for nc
man and NO set Of men: hold that q
man cannot serve the people vel
unless he serves his conscience; but
hold also that where his con.
science bids him refuse to do whai
the people desire, he should not try
to continue in ONCE against theil
will. Our government system should
be so shaped that the public servant
when he cannot conscientiously carr
out the wishes Of the people. shall a
their desire leave his ONCE and no,
misrepresent them in once; and
hold that the public servant can BY
90 doing, better than In any othei
way, serve both them and his CON
science.