246 The Labor Question 



a spirit of mere emotionalism. When we come to 

 dealing with our social and industrial needs, rem 

 edies, rights and wrongs, a ton of oratory is not 

 worth an ounce of hard-headed, kindly common- 

 sense. 



The fundamental law of healthy political life in 

 this great Republic is that each man shall in deed, 

 and not merely in word, be treated strictly on his 

 worth as a man; that each shall do full justice to his 

 fellow, and in return shall exact full justice from 

 him. Each group of men has its special interests; 

 and yet the higher, the broader and deeper interests 

 are those which apply to all men alike ; for the spirit 

 of brotherhood in American citizenship, when rightly 

 understood and rightly applied, is more important 

 than aught else. Let us scrupulously guard the spe 

 cial interests of the wage-worker, the farmer, the 

 manufacturer, and the merchant, giving to each man 

 his due and also seeing that he does not wrong his 

 fellows ; but let us keep ever clearly before our minds 

 the great fact that, where the deepest chords are 

 touched, the interests of all are alike and must be 

 guarded alike. 



We must beware of any attempt to make hatred in 

 any form the basis of action. Most emphatically 

 each of us needs to stand up for his own rights ; all 

 men and all groups of men are bound to retain their 

 self-respect, and, demanding this same respect from 



