Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-12-17

olate nelghDor to the south OF us, do not
know how many men came to me and
suggested that the government of Mexico
should be altered as we thought it ought
to be altered, but, being subscriber to
the doctrine of the Virginia bill of rights.
! could not agree with them. The Mexi-
cans may not know what to do with their
government, but that is none of our bust
ness; and so long as have the power to
prevent it. nobody shall butt in" to alter
it for them.
That is what mean by being Demo-
crat built on the original plan of the bill
of rights.
Now. those bills of rights say some things
that are very pertinent to business. They
assert the absolute equality of right on
the part of individuals to access to oppor-
tunity. That is the reason that am OPP
posed to monopoly, not because monopoly
does not produce some excellent results of
kind, but because it is intended to shut
out lot of people who ought not to be
shut out and believe that democracy is
the only thing that vitaizes a whole peo-
pie instead OF vitalizing only some of the
people Of the country. am not fit to be
the trustee of prosperity for this country
neither are you; neither is any group of
men fit to be the trustees for the oconomi-
cal guidance of this country. | believe in
the common man. believe the genius of
America to be that the common man
should be consulted as to how he is gov
erned and should be given the same oppor-
tunity with every other man under his
government.
believe that that spirit is the spirit of
the average business man in America.
am sure that it is the spirit of the average
business man in America, because, al
though 1t is current theory that the Presi-
dent of the United States is a very much
secluded person, good many people talk
to him. assure you. and he takes par
ticular pains to know what the people are
talking about who do not talk directly to
him. Nobody who has been bred in the
atmosphere of American societies from one
end OF this continent to the other can mis-
take the spirit Of the average man, and |
am for the average man. The country con-
sists Of him. He is the backbone of the
country. The man who is above the aver
age uses him, and ought to respect his
tool. ought to respect his instrument, ought
to respect the veins through which the
very life blood of the country flows.
Now. with regard to the future of BUSH
ness in this country, no man can speak
with confidence, because it happens that
the distressing events of the months since
the great European war began have put
America in peculiar relation to the rest
of the world. 1t looks as if we would have
to be the reserve force of the world in re-
spect to financial and economic power. 1t
looks as If in the days of reconstruction
and recuperation which are ahead of
Europe we would have to do many of the
things, many of the most important things,
which hitherto have been done through
European instrumentalities. No man can
say just how these matters are going to
shape themselves, but every man can see
that the opportunity of America is going
to be unparalleled and that the resources
J of America must be put at the service OF
1.-THE world as they never were put at its
service before.
Therefore. it is imperative that no i'm.
pediments should be put in the way Of
commerce with the rest of the world. You
: cannot sell unless you buy. Commerce is
only an exalted kind of barter The bar.
! tering may not be direct, but directly OF
I indirectly il is an exchange of commodi.
ties and the payment Of the balances; and
s therefore. there must be no impeachment.
: to the free flow of the currents of com
merce back and forth between the United
Il States, upon which the world will in par
l. depend, and the other countries which she
: must supply and serve. And for the frs
time. gentlemen, it happens-l believ,
= providentially-that the business men o
r America have an fundamentally in the new
y banking law such as they never had be
: fore for the ebb and flow and free course
4 OF the natural processes Of credit. For the
n first time we are not bound up in an in,
II elastic currency Our credit is current, anC
that current will run through all the chan
j nels of commerce in every part of the world
E The vision of Democracy that hav,
n is this, that you must not be presumption.
: enough to determine beforehand where tn,
! vitality is going to come from. The beaut,
e of Democracy is that you never can tel
e when youngster is born what he is goinl
e to do with you, and that no matter how
s humbly he is born, no matter where he il
n born. no matter what circumstances ham
: per him at the outset, he has got chanc,
to master the minds and lead the imagi
It nations of the whole country. That is the
n beauty of Democracy. that you do not be
: forehand pretend to pick out the vita
# centres, but they pick themselves out. The
e men who are going to lead you and domi
d nate you pick themselves out and cleo
II themselves by an electoral process owe
e which legislation can have no cOntro
y whatever. like to think that the young
: sters now playing somewhere, perhaps il
d gutter, who are some time or other 60
n ing to stand up and speak the voice o
n America for all the world to hear.
l So want you to share with me thi
# vision of the future of American business
= of cosmopolitan spirit, of a spirit of en-
terprise out of which the old timidity hai
/ gone For you will have to admit, gentle
d men, that American business men hav,
r been timid. They have constantly run L
Washington and said ut looks like rain
| E. n.la. L. - L-I.-- - IL