"tj
IEPTEMBER 1, 1S05'" -
The Commoner.
t wvz,
HE PRESIDENT ON TEMPERANCE
President Roosevelt's speech at Wilkesbarro,
a. before the annual convention of the Catholic
tai Abstinence union is one or tne best tuo
resident has made. It is a wholesomo and help-
ul speech. The Catholic Total Abstinence union
doing a very important work and the president
is to be commended for lending the influence of
his great office to the movement.
Strong drlnii is tne iruiuui cause 01 an im
mense amount of misery, and total abstinence,
whlle not the only remedy, is the surest pre
ventive. The president has added to the sum of
fhuman happiness by his visit to WilKesbarre.
On that occasion Mr. Roosevelt spoke as rol-
Hows:
I am particularly glad to speak to thi3
audience of miners and their wives and chil
dren, and especially to speak under the aus
pices of this great temperance society.
In our country the happiness of all tho
rest of our people depends most of all upon
the welfare of tho wage-worker and the wel
fare of the farmer. If we can secure tho
welfare of these two classes we can be rea
sonably certain that the community as a
whole will prosper. And we must never for
get that the chief factor in securing the
welfare alike of wage-worker and of farmer,
as of everybody else, must be the man himself.
The only effective way to help anybody
is to help him help himself. There are ex
ceptional times when any one of us needs
outside help, and then it should be given
freely; but normally each one of us must
depend upon his own exertions for his own
success. Something can be done by wise
legislation and by wise and honest admin
istration of the laws; that is, something can
be done by our action taken in our collective
capacity through the state and the nation.
Something more can be done by com
bination and organization ' among ourselves
in our- private capacities as citizens, so long
as this combination or organization Is managed
with wisdom and integrity, with Insistence
upon the rights of those benefited and yet
with just regard for the rights of others.
But in the last analysis the factor most
influential in determining any man's success
must ever be the sum of that man's own
qualities, of his knowledge, foresight, thrift
and courage. Whatever tends to increase his
self-respect, whatever tends to help him over
come the temptations with which all of us are
surrounded, is the benefit not only to him but
to the whole community.
No one society can do more to help the
wage-worker than such a temperance society
as that which X am now addressing. It Is of
incalculable consequence to the man himself
that he should be sober and temperate, and
it Is of even more consequence to his wife
and his children; for it is a hard and cruel
fact that in this life of ours the sins of the
man are often visited most heavily upon those
whose welfare should be his one special care.
For the drunkard, for the man- who loses
his job because he can not control or will not
control his desire for liquor and for vicious
ploasures, we havo a fooling of anger and con
tempt mixed with our pity; but for his unfor
tunate wife and littlo ones wo foel only pity,
and that of the deepest and tenderest kind.
Everything possible should bo done to en
courage the growth of that spirit of self
respect, self-restraint, self-reliance, which, if
it only grows enough, is certain to make all
those in whom it shows itself move steadily
upward toward the highest standard of Ameri
can citizenship. It is a proud and responsible
privilege to bo citizens of this great aolf
governing nation; aud each of us needs to keep
steadily before his eyes the fact that ho is
wholly unfit to take part In tho work of gov
erning others unless he can first govern him
self. He must stand up manfully for his own
rights; he must respect the rights of others;
ha must obey the law and ho must try to
live-up to thoso rules of righteousness which
are above and behind all laws.
This applies just as much to tho man of
great wealth as to the man of small means;
to tho capitalist as to the wage-workerT And
as one practical point; let me urge that in tho
event of any difficulty, especially if It is what
is known as a labor trouble, both sides show
themselves willing to meet, willing to consult,
and anxious each to treat tho other reason
ably and fairly; each to look at tho other's
side of the case and to do the other justice.
If only this course could be generally followed
tho chance of industrial disaster would be
minimized.
Now, my friends, I want to read you an
extract from a letter I have just received
from a Catholic priest, whom I know well,
and whom I know to be as stanch a friend of
the laboring man as there is to be found in
this country. Now and then not too often
it Is a good thing for all of us to hear what
is not perhaps altogether palatable, provided
only that the person who tolls the truth is
our genuine friend, knows what he is talking
about (even though he may not see all sides
of the case,) and tells us what he has to say,
not with a desire to hurt our feelings, but
with the transparent purpose to do us good.
With this foreword, here is a part of tho
letter:
"I would humbly recommond that you
lend your entire weight to the cause which
the Catholic Total Abstinence union of Amer
ica represents, and especially so In its rela
tion to the working classes of this country,
for whom it is doing so much good. You
know that the temperance movement is a
potent auxiliary to the institutions of our
country in building up a better manhood,
and a truer Christianity among our citizens.
It played a very important part in the two
coal strikes of 1900 and 1902, respectively,
by keeping the men sober, and thus remov
ing the danger of riotous and unbecoming
conduct. There Is one discouraging feature
connected with the upward tendency of the
wage scale among the workmen of this
country. The higher the wages, the more
money they spend in saloons. The shorter
the hours, the more they are inclined to ab
sent thomsolvco from home. An apparent
dlsrogard for family ties is growing among
tho poorer classes which will eventually lead
to a disregard for tho blessings our country
affords them. Hence, with an Increase of
wages a corresponding movement for better
manhood, nobler citizenship and truer '
Christianity should bo sot on foot. Tho dig
nity of labor should be maintained, which can
bo done only through tho lovo that a man
should havo for his work, and through the
intelligence which ho puts Into it, A steady
hand and sobor mind nro- nocossary for this.
Hpnco, tho necessity of tho tomperanco cause,
. and of the efforts which organized abstainers
are putting Into tho movement."
Now, In what Is horo written this priest
does not mean that tho tendency Is to grow
worBo; but ho means that with shorter hours
and Increased wages thero Is a tendency to
go wrong which must be offset by movements,
such as this groat tomperanco movement,
and similar efforts for social and civic betterment,-
or else tho Increase In leisure and
mouoy will provp a curso Instead of a bless
ing. I strive never to toll anyone what I do
not thoroughly believe, and I .shall not say
to you that to bo honest and tomperato and
hardworking and thrifty will always bring
success.
The hand of the Lord Is sometimes
heavy upon tho just, as well as upon tho un
just, and In the life of labor and offort which
we must lead on this earth It Is not always
possible, either by work, by wisdom, or by
upright behavior, to ward off disaster. But it
is most emphatically true that the chance for
leading a happy and prosperous life is Im
mensely improved if only the man is decent,
sober, industrious, and exercises foresight and
judgment.
Let him remember above all that tho
performance of duty is the first essential to
right living, and that a good type of average
family life is the corner stone of national hap
piness and greatness. No man can be a good
cltizon, can deserve the respect of his fellows,
unless first of all he Is a good man in liis
own family, unless ho does his duty faithfully
by hfs wife and children.
I. strongly believe In trades unions, wisely
and justly handled, In which the rightful pur
p6so to benefit thoso connected with them Is
not accompanied by a desire to do Injustice or
wrong to others. I believe in the duty of
capitalists and wage-workers to try to seek(
one another out, to understand each other's'
point of view, and to endeavor to show broad
and kindly human sympathy one with the
other.
I believe in tho work of these great
temperance organizations, tff all kindred move
ments like tho Young Men's and Young
Women's Christian associations, In short, In
eyery movement which strives to help a man
by teaching him how to help himself.
But, most of all, I believe In the efficacy
of tho best man himself striving continually
to increase his own self-respect by the way
in which he does his duty to himself and to
hii neighbor.
THEY ARE NOT ENTIRELY PHILANTHROPIC
The Railroad Literary Bureau has frequently
asserted that transportation charges in this
country are not excessive, because they are as low,
and in some cases lower, than the rales charged
in other countries, especially in continental Eu
rope. A Commoner reader who is well acquainted
with railroad affairs says that this claim "lulls
to sleep many people."
Referring to the claim, this Commoner reader
says:
"The comparison may be fair and the figures
may be right, but the fact that transportation
rates are not higher In the United States than
they are In Europe does not prove that the rates
charged in the United States are not excessive.
Transportation -rates should be based upon the
capital actually invested, as the charge for every
other service should bear some relation to the
actual cost of furnishing the service. This fact
was not 'taken into consideration , in the com
parison of rates made by the 'railroads. They
have begun a campaign of 'education so the pa
pers state, and this is one- of their strongest
arguments. It was used by Secretary IVJorton,
and it will be used over and over again, and with
effect, too, for if It is not exposed and explained,
the average person will think that the railroads
are very charitable institutions if they do not
charge more than do the railroads of other
countries. I submit herewith a few facts which
should be carefully considered in connection with
a superficial comparison of rates charged in
different countries, which, if properly presented
to the public, will not leave the railroads In so
favorable a light before the public. Whether we
are charged excessive rates or not depends upon
whether the rates are based upon the capital
actually Invested In the construction and equip
ment of the road and the actual operating ex
penses. I shall only cite a few facts regarding
the cost of construction.
"1. In the United States the railroads were
mostly built before the country' was settled up
and the right-of-way cost practically nothing as
compared with what it cost the roads of Europo
to secure the right-of-way through densely popu
lated countries where the value of land was very
high.
"2. The government aided the construction
of over 15,000 miles of railroad by grants of pub
lic land and by Issuing bonds. This 15,000 miles
of railroad was constructed without any cost
for right-of-way, and in addition thereto the com
panies were given millions of acres of land as an
Inducement to build.
"3. Few roads were built that did not receive
large donations from the cities and towns through
which they pass. The town In which I live voted
about $150,000 to railroads to induce them to
build through the town, and no doubt offered
other inducements. The city's debt is now about
$100,000, all of which was incurred this way.
"4. The government subsidizes every railroad
that carries mail '"by paying exorbitant rates for
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