The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-18


 prove to be a right not worth having. The inheritance really worth while which we can transmit to our children and to our children's children is the ability to do work that counts. not the means of avoiding work: the ability for efficient ef- fort, not the opportunity for the slorhful avoidance of all effort The leaders in the fight for industrial and social justice today should be the men to whom much has been given and from whom we have a right to expect in return much of hon. esty and of courage, much of disinterested and valorous effort for the common good. The multi-millionaire who opposes us is the worst foe Of his own children and childrenss children, and alittle though he knows it. we are the benefactors when We strive to make this country one in which justice shall prevail: for it is they themselves who would in the end suffer most if In this country we permitted the average man gradually to grow 10 feel that fair play was denied him. that jus tice was denied to the many and privilege accorded to the few.
 We who in this contest are fighting for the rights of the plain people. We who are lighting for the right of people to rule themselves, need offer no better proof of the fact that we are fighting for all citizens, no matter what their politics. than that which is afforded by the action of that portion of the press which Is con- trolled by privilege by the great special in- terests in business.
 Compliments to Press
 Newspapers of this type are found in every part of the country, in San Fran cisco, in Chicago and in St. Louis, in Boston and Philadelphia. But they are strongest in New York. Some of these newspapers are nomina1y democratic, some nomfnally republican, some nominal- ly independent But in reality they are true only to the real or fancied interests of the great capitalist class by certain of whose members they are controlled Some times the interests of this capitalist class are identical with those of the country as a whole, and in that case these papers serve the interests of the commonwealth. Sometimes the interests of the capitalist class are against the interests of the people as whole and in that case these papers are hostile to the interests of the com- monwealth. But neither their acting fav-. orable to nor their acting adversely to the interests of the commonwealth is any, thing more than an incident to their sup- port of the interests to which they arc bound The great and far reaching evil of their action is that they choke and foul the only channels of information open to so many honest and well meaning citi- zens. The most prominent representatives of these papers in New York and Mas sachusetts supported MT. Parker against me in 1904. Mir. Parker was a democrat, but he was entirely satisfactory to these masters, and for the time being they ar- dently did all they could to overthrow the republican party and to elect demo- cratic President. But when I began to be seriously talked about for the repub- lican nomination this year these papers one and all turned republican to the ex- tent of becoming my furious opponents and the furious champions of Mir Taft. There is an element of pure comedy in reading in these papers continual lamen- tations about the liklihood of my can- didacy breaking up the republican party. They themselves did all they could to beat thee republican party when they thought they could elect Mir. Parker. Now these papers would eagerly champion the re- publican party if they could keep MT. Taft as it's nominee for President Tn the past they have not concealed their contempt for MT. Taft and none of them regard him in any way as leader.
 The difference between us and our present day opponents is as old as civ lized history. In every great crisis of the kind we face today we find arrayed on one side the men who with fervor and broad sympathy and lofty idealism stand for the forward move- ment, the men who stand for the uplift and betterment of mankind and who have faith in the people; and over against them the men of restricted vis- ion and contrasted sympathy, whose souls are not stirred by the wrongs of others Side by side with the latter appear the other men who lack all in- tensity of conviction who care only for the pleasure of the day; and also those other men who distrust the people who 1T dishonest. wish to keep the people helpless so as to exploit them and who hy@~- --t t-t.- the people to bring about wholesome re- form that every appeal to popular con- science and popular injustice fills them with an angry terror, according to their own lights these men are often very respectable very worthy.
 Have Low Ideals
 "But they live on plane of low ideals. In the atmosphere they create inposters flourish and leadership comes to be thought of only as success fin making money and the vision of heaven becomes a sordid vision and all that is highest and purist in human nature ia laughed at and honesty Is bought and sold in 1he market place.
 Opposed undyingly to these men are the men of faith and vision, the men In whom love of righteousness burns like a flaming fire, who spurn lives of soft and selfish ease, of slothful self indul- gence, who scorn to think only of pleasure for themselves who feel for and believe in their fellows, whose high fealty is reserved for all that Is good, that is just, that is honorable. By thier very nature these men are bound to battle for the truth and the right. They don't address themselves only to the cultured and the exclusive few. They prize character even more than intellect They know we'll that con- science Is not the privilege merely of men of wealth and cultivation and they make their appeal to all men alike in the name of the great fundamental qualities and qualities that every man should have, the qualities of generosity and unselfishness. of fearless honesty and high courage.
 We who war against privilege pay heed to no outworn system of philoso- phy We demand of our leaders today understanding of. and sympathy with the liging and the vital needs of those in the community whose needs arc greatest. We are against privilege In every form. We believe in striking down every bulwark of privilege Above all we are against the evil alliance of special privilege in business with spe- clal bushes in politics. We believe in giving the people free hand to work in efficient fashion for true jus tce. To the big man and to the little man. in all the relations of life we pledge justice and fair dealing.
 Period of Change
 "A period of change is upon us. Our opponents. the men of reaction. ask us to stand still. But we could not stand still if we would we must either go forward or go backward Never was the need more imperative than now for