Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1916-10-19
SPEECH OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT
At Wilkes. BARRE, Pa
SATURDAY, OCTOBER Il, 1910

''"'' ! meant Wbat ] SAN, ina
both side. could count IN my eurlravor tn
stiici Ili-i ice, and that they could also
count IN my insisting that the public
needs hr immediately met, the capitalists
yielded and the commission was APP
pointed
iolI know the rest. you miners here!
Work VA resumed IN the mines immehi-
atrl,, nn the I'D terms. which, continued
until the r"lmnl->i"m reported. The Comr.
mission cnii>ls led of as able and as i'm.
partial men as there were in the country,
including the head Of the Order of Rail.
way Conductors. Mr.. Clark. 1t also in.
cluded among others. Il Federal Judge, a
skilled engineer, n trained labor expert
and II beloved friend OF mine. Archbishop
Spanldnnp, at Illinois. whose interest in
the welfare of the ~workingmen was genu.
me and SYMPATHETIC, and also under.
stoud with entire clearness that in the
long run justice to the wnikingmen could
br permanently secured. only if it was
made part of a scheme to secure justice
tor everyday concerned.
The arbitration was successful. un-
drrstand that with slight notifications.
you have continued to operate the mines
under It's terms up to the present day.
M",e important still. it set the precedent
tor the course that ought to lr followed
in all disputes of This nature hereafter.
Mr.. Wilson. ON the contrary. has set a
precedent which hr himself admits must
never hereafter he followed if justice is to
be done, This is II vital point Of differ
ence het wern the conduct of the Chief Exc.
ruti>e in one case and in the other. When
fourteen years ago. | acted. there was no
precedent for me to follow. and M eStab.
Ii.lIed ln~stiWn-ntalitie> through which to
work. had To establish the precedent
in order to meet u great crisis. had to
create my own instrument. the arbitration
commission. Mr.. Wilson had before him
the precedent had created. and he had as
instruments ready to hand the Arbitration
Board. and the Interstate Commerce Com
ill>Slpn, WIN us eHluIet'I V""eIs. i"t TIC
failed to follow the precedent. or to use
the Instruments which were ready to his
hand. |, although lacking the agencies of
law for the application OF the principle,
nevertheless applied it., and established ar
hitrution in the settlement on their merits
of industrial disputes. Mr.. Wilson, with
all the agencies of law subject to his com.
mand, ignored them. destroyed ~thesprin.
ciple of arbitration in the settlement of
industrial disputes. and put a premium on
securing this settlement by threat and du-
ress.
President Wilson in his speech of Au.
kust Doth and September 23d has furnished
his owr condemnation out OF his own
mouth. In them he explicitly condemns
exactly what he has done and actually de.
mards legislation which will make impos,
sible the repetition of such a proceeding!
This is so extraordinary an attitude that
| uuote his own words. He said he wished
ito provide" against "the recurrence OF
such unhappy situations in the future by
securing "the calm and fair arbitration OF
all industrial disputes in the days ia
come" This is an explicit assertion that
arbitration of all industrial disputes is
the right method of action; and therefore
that he had adopted the wrong method
of action although in the case OF
the anthracite coal strike he had an
exact precedent in point. by following
which he would have enforced the right
method.
President Wilson further says, "This ii
assnredly the best way Of vindlcating
principle, namely. having failed to make
certain of its observance in the present tt
make certain of its observance in the tn
ture." On the contrary, this is the yer!
worst way of indicating a principle. In
deed, it il impossible to devise a worst
way of vindicating a principle, than te
finch ANONYMOUSLY from enforcing It II
the case at issue and at the same time IL
seek to cover the ignominy by vociferou'
protestations about applying it in the ne
bulous future. The same paper, the New
York Times, from which | quote the abov'
sentences, contained statements from I'M
leaders of the Brotherhoods whom he wa'
befriending, in which they said that the,
would never consent to the legislation pro
vidinp for future arbitration for which
President Wilson asked; and President
Wilson kept a weak and nervous sllenc'
about this defiance. He did not get tn
legislation which he declared was essentla
to "yindicate the principle" in the future
All that he accomplished was the violation
of the principle in the present. in the con
crete case at issue. The only law he &c
cured established the precedent of viola
ton of the principle. All that he did wa
to establish the most evil Of all precedent
for A democracy, the precedent OF violat
inc a principle under the duress of threa
and menace. 1t is a precedent which vii
return to plague us throughout all futur
time whenever we have in the Whit
House a President who is timid in the fac
Of threat of physical violence or VIII
subordinates duty to the hope OF persona
political profit.
President Wilson further said, while try
ing to gloss.over his timidity in the pres
ent by assuming an attitude of frowninl
defiance as regards the nebulous future
that the American people must be made 4
partner in the settlement of disputes tina
interrupt the life of the nation" that Il
must enforce the partnership and Gee u
It that no organization 10 stronger thar
that organization to which we all belong
our own Government" and that we, tn
people, must say to any outside orsaniza
ton that it must not interrupt the Ma
tional life without consulting u.s." Ihes
are fine words about the future. They ar
intended to cover up, hut as a matter d
fact. they furnish the strongest condemna
ton of Mr.. Wilson's deed in the present
IN these words Mr.. Wilson exactly Dc
scribes what he ought to have done wit
the Brotherhoods. and explicitly condemn
the action which he in fact took. II tn
principles he laid down were good 10
the future. they were good for the presen'
do it now, Mr.. Wilson! Do not use I'M
words about what somebody else ought I
do In the future in order to cover your ow
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