The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1916-01-27
MIR. ROOSEyELT's SPEECH.

Mr., ROosevelt's speech last nlgnt
must be a disappointment to all MS
thoughtful followers. 1t is distinctly
below the quality of some of his re-
cent writings. He has not grown. He
can not get over being a shadow or
himself. He still hold that the chief
duty of man is to glorify Theodore
and exalt him forever, and he INDUS
triously sets the example.
The bulk OF his address was devot-
ed to industrial affairs. He called for
protective tariff. He praised him
self for allowing the steel trust to
rake in the property of the Tennessee
Coal and Iron company, in defiance
of law. But for the most part his
remarks were a mere rehash of that
new nationalism' which the coun-
try rejected when he put it forward
six years ago. He uemands the prac-
tical abolition of the states, and de-
clares flatly that "all the forces
which make for industrial y
preparedness must be under the regu-
lation of single power, and that the
national government On that basis,
one would need federal license to
operate a sewing machine.
Mr.. Roosevelt repeats his doctrine
that government should cooperate
with trusts, and, as always, goes to
Germany for examples Of the practl-
cal workings of his policy. Truth is
that, politically, Mr.. Roosevelt is and
always has been a slightly denatured
Prussian. However much he may
reprobate the conduct of Germany in
this war, he believes in the German
doctrine that the government should
mind cveryone's business, and fails to
see that this inevitably tends to the
very sort of autocracy which Ger
many has exhibited to the world.
OF international affairs, Mr. Roose-
welt said little, save that the United
States should have gone to the de-
tense of Belgium. Whether or not he
believes we still should do so, he fail
ed to state.
Nor was he more helpful when he
left the question of industrial pre-
paredness to speak of the military
sort. He believes in universal mill
tary training. So do millions OF peo-
pie, but intelligent men understand
that this theory will not help an atom
to improve our national defenses
NOW. Aside from this confession
of faith, his remarks were little more
than a blind TRADE against every
thing that bears the image and sup
description of Woodrow Wilson. The
one practical suggestion in the speech
is that we should build battle cruis-
ers faster than is outlined in the ad-
ministration programme-and no
reader of the Journal editorials will
find anything new in that idea.
Mr.. Roosevelt repeats the SANDER
that our navy has degenerated, this
in spite of the testimony of Admiral
Dewey that the efficiency of the fleet
never was higher than now. 1t is
part of the Theodorian instinct OF
self glorifica tion-he is the only per-
son on earth fit to manage a navy,
so, of course, it deteriorated when
deprived of his care. One may smile
at this, but his demand for the abol-
ton of useless army posts and navy
yards is laughable. Mr.. Roosevelt
had seven and half years to do that
work, and never even looked at the
Job.
A disappointing speech. truly, to
those who hoped to find in Roosevelt
a leader able to cope with these new
and troublous times. He is as siren
uous in language and as vague in
thought as ever, but he has lost his
old trick of tying a truism and an
absurdity SO tightly together that the
reader will swallow one for the taste
of the other-Chicago Journal.