Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-04
BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy

Tolerance and liberty are Siamese
twins. When one dies, the other is
doomed also. He who strikes at
either strikes at both. These princi-
pies are threatened now, both by
governmental and individual action.
From it's inception until very re-
cent years every amendment made
to our Constitution extended the lib
critics of the people. Now we are
coming to an era when amendments
are urged or passed which restrict
the liberties rather than extend them.
Hand in hand with this, and bred
Of the same causes, Is a tendency on
the part of the States to gather in
to the State government functions
formerly exercised by the counties
and municipalities. Worse than this,
there is q tendency to draw from
the States the powers which rightly
lie therein and vest them in the
Federal Government in Washington.
All such movements are damaging
to the United States and subversive
to both liberty and tolerance. Our
theory of government is that the in
dividual should be given every op-
portunity and aid in developing him
self. We hold that America will
citizens. We maintain that our Gov
eminent will be good or bad directly
dependent on whether the average
citizen in the country is of a high
or low type.
Tends to AtrOphy Individual.
If you take from the individuals in
the community the responsibility for
the welfare Of their own community.
you not only destroy personal liberty
thereby, but in addition, tend to
atrophy the individual. 1t is by the
exercise of responsibilities that
man increases in ability and charac-
ter. Remove such necessity from him
and he not only does not improve,
but tends to slip backward. This Is
all common sense. If you are train
ing for a foot race, the only way you
can build yourself up is by running
You cannot do it by sitting in a
swivel chair.
At the same time, and sometimes
coincident to this undue federaliZa-
| ton, Is the passage Of improperly re-
strictive laws. There seems to be
a belief that every evil, old or new,
| can be cured by legislation. This is
both unsound and untrue. Many Of
these attempts are made by good
people and for good causes. That
| does not make them any more sound.
We must make those people see that
| though 1t is slower and more labori-
| Gus, the way to cure an evil Is by
| precept and example to build the
| moral stamina Of the community SO
that that community. without pro.
Military laws, will eliminate the evil
| itself.
| We do not believe in socialism.
Why? Because the members Of a
| social!stic community are like SO
many sheep. Their every action is
| dictated by the government. Laws
of an improperly restrictive nature
are akin to socialism. II we permit
their passage unchecked. we will soon
| get to the condition where our peo-
! pie have as much freedom of action
as a mannikin in a Punch and Judy
| show, and as a result, as much char
| acter and initiative. The valuable
| citizen is the citizen who does right
| when no one Is looking at him. His
morals have been educated into him,
| not legislated into him.
In some instances this lust for leg
! islation has gone so far that State
Legislatures have attempted to pre-
scribe scientific theory Il Is idle