The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-08-07


be steadily built up until lit proves
possible to secure by international
agreement a general reduction of
ornaments; the Panama canal must
be fortified Panama canal tolls on
deep water commerce should be uni
form to all nations including our
selves; American coastwise vessels
should pass through the canal free,
for this would be no discrimination
against foreign nations and would
give us reasonable competition with
transcontinental railways. No foreign
treaty should be entered into which
we do not mean scrupulousiy 10 oh
serve in every particular.
Conclusion.
In summing up the specific policies
expounded in his address Mr.. Roose-
Welt spoke as follows;
Now. friends this is my confess
sion of faith. / have made it rather
long because / wish you to know just
what my deepest convictions are on
the great questions Of today, SO that
If you choose to make me your stand
ard bearer in the fight. you shall make
YOUR choice understanding exactly
how | iceland If, after hearing me
you think you ought to choose some
one else, / shall Loyalty abide by your
choice The convictions TO which
have come have not been arrived at
as the result of study in the closet
or the library, but from the knowl-
edge / have gained through hard eX-
perience during the many years in
which under many and varied con-
dftions, 7 have striVcn and toiied with
men. | believe in larger use Of the
governmental power to help remedy
Industrial wrongs. because 1t has been
borne in on me by actual experience
that without the exercise of such
power many of the wrongs will go
unremedied. believe in a larger OPP
portunity for the people themselves
directly to participate in government
and to control their governmental
agents. because long experience has
taught me that without such con-
troll many OF their agents will repre-
sent them badly. BY actual expert
ence in office | have found that. as
rule / could secure the triumph of
the causes in which | moct believe.
not from the politicians and the men
who claim an exceptional right 10
speak in business ana goVcrnnen Mt
but by going over their heads and APP
pealing directly 10 the people them
l.
desusion as to any power that dur
ing my political career / have at any
time possessed.
Whatever of power I at any time
had, obtained from the people !
could exercise it only SO long as. and
to the extent that the people not
merely believed in me, but heartily
backed ME up. Whatever ! did as
president I was able to do only be
Gauge / had the backing of the people.
When on any point l did not have the
backing, when on any point | differed
from the people. 1t mattered not wheth-
or was right or whether | was wrong,
my power vanished. l tried my best TO
lead the people. to advise them. 10
tell them what / thought was right;
IL necessary, | never hcsitated 10 tell
them what / thought they ought 10
hear. even though ! thought it would
lie unpleasant for them 10 hear il;
but I recognized that my task WAS 10
try TO lead them and not to drive them.
to take them into my confidence, to
try to show them that | was right,
and then loyalty and in good faitl
to accept their decision. I Bili do any
thing for the people except what my
conscience tells me Is wrong. and that
7 can do for no man and To set of
men: / hold that q man cannot serve
the people well unless he serves his
conscience: but | bold also that whore
his conscience bids him refuse To do
what the people desire, he should not
try 70 continue in Office against theif
will Our government system should
be SO shaped that the public servant,
when he cannot conscientiouslX carry
out the wishes OF the people, shall at
their desire leave his Office and not
misre present them in office: and hold
that the public servant can by SO dong
better than iii any other WaN. seff"
both them and his conscience.
surely there never was a fight het~
ter worth making than the one in
which We are engaged. II little mat
tiers what befalIs any one of as who
for the time being stand in the fore
win, and believe that II we can wake
the people to what the fight really
means we shall win But, win or
lose We shall net falter Whatever
fate may ar the moment over take anN
of as. the movement itself Will not
stop. our case is based OF the etef-
nal principles OF righteousness and
even though we who now lead may
for the time fail. in the end the cause
&
here in Chicago T spoke 10 the honest
representatives Of a convention Whit
was not dominated by honest men;
convention X herein sat, alas a MAJOR
itv of men who. with sneering indifer-
ence to every principle Of right so
acted as to bring TO a shameful end
a party which had been founded over
half century ago -'y men IN whose
souls burned the fire OF lofts eNdeSNor.
Now TO YOU men who. In your turn,
| have come together to spend and be
spenr in the endless crusade against
wrong 10 YOU who face the future
resolute and confident tn YOU who
strive in a spirit Of brotherhood for
the bettcrmeut of our nation. To voa
Who gira. yourselves fer this great
new fight lin the never-endne warfare
for the good of humankind. I say
In closing what in that speech | said
in closing: Ne stand at Armageddon,
and we battle for the Lord"