The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-10-04

class government. We see, at this
Time, the great countries of Europe
shaken to their foundations by it. We
see Russia, England, France and Italy
thrown back centuries in their march
OF progress. We see Injustice mas
querading as justice and a tyranny
OF the minority masking itself as
democracy.
Inc democratic party has looked
on this country as if it were com
posed of classes. The republican
party refuses, and rightly refuses, to
recognize such a thing as class We
have no classes in this country, and
we must not have them. The sue
cessful man of today is the poor boy
OF yesterday, and the achievements
of the father will never hold a posi-
ton for the son. 1t is the son who
must make that position for himself
and by himself, and if he does not
and this applies particularly to me-
the country will cast him aside and
will be monumentally right and
American is doing SO. One of the
finest tenets of our national faith is
expressed in the homely proverb:
Every tub must stand on its own
bottom"
The FaIIacy Of Glasses.
AT this very minute the democratic
nominee is trying to foster this fall
lacy OF classes. He is smashing at
the republican party on the basis that
1t has among it's followers men Of
means. This is of no earthly mo-
ment. The question is: Are these
men OF means square Americans?
We must not distinguish against a
man simply because he has money,
any more than we must distinguish
because he has not The citizenship
and Americanism of man is some
thing entirely apart from his bank
balance, and as citizens of this coun.
try We must work together with an
utter disregard to anything but pa
triotic ideals. Our citizens must be
submitted in public work to the acid
test Of Americanism, and that is all.
The criterion of worth in politics
must be character, not cash.
There have been individuals who
have told me that they and some
others would deliver the labor vote
They lie. There is no man alive who
can deliver the labor vote in this
country. The individual laborer is
just as good an American as anyone
else, and he will vote for the inter
ests OF this country, his country, as
he makes up his mind, without pay
ing the least attention to any other
consideration. John Mitchell, long
the most prominent man in the labor
movement in New York state, and a
dear and valued friend of my fathers
20 i1v 70
thing that has stuck in my mind ever
since. We were discussing this CUES.
ton of the labor vote, and he said:
Mr.. Roosevelt, any man who tells
you he can deliver the labor vote is
either fool or a knaye."
This holds equally good with the
soldiers. There is no soldier vote as
such. The soldier of this war, before
he became soldier, was a citizen,
and now he is again citizen. AS a
citizen he is actuated by the same
motives by which every other citizen
is actuated, and will act according to
his opinion and nothing else.
During the past few years, and at
this moment, there are many quack
politicians hiding false doctrines I'M
der the cloak of Americanism. The
eyes of the people must not be blind,
ed by misleading phraseology. True
Americanism is the fundamental
ideal on which this country has been
founded. True Americanism is free
dom of religious thought; the right
for every man to worship God in the
way he desires; the right for every
man to express his convictions by the
ballot: the right of free press, free
speech and free assemblage. There
is but one way to meet force, and
that is with force. There is but one
way to meet lawlessness, and that is
with law. But there Is but one way
to meet false ideas, and that is with
sound ideas. Cleave to these thoughts
with every ounce that is in you, and
let no agitator, no preacher Of doubt.
full motives, blur your vision on these
fundamentals. These are American,