24 Presidential Addresses 



she adopts toward any other power; and in return, 

 as a matter of right, we must give to Cuba a dif 

 ferent that is, a better position economically in 

 her relations with us than we give to other powers. 

 This is the course dictated by sound policy, by a 

 wise and far-sighted view of our own interest, and 

 by the position we have taken during the past four 

 years. We are a wealthy and powerful country, 

 dealing with a much weaker one; and the contrast 

 in wealth and strength makes it all the more our 

 duty to deal with Cuba, as we have already dealt 

 with her, in a spirit of large generosity. 



This Exposition is rendered possible because of 

 the period of industrial prosperity through which we 

 are passing. While material well-being is never all- 

 sufficient to the life of a nation, yet it is the merest 

 truism to say that its absence means ruin. We 

 need to build a higher life upon it as a foundation; 

 but we can build little indeed unless this foundation 

 of prosperity is deep and broad. The well-being 

 which we are now enjoying can be secured only 

 through general business prosperity, and such pros 

 perity is conditioned upon the energy and hard work, 

 the sanity and the mutual respect, of all classes of 

 capitalists, large and small, of wage workers of 

 every degree. As is inevitable in a time of business 

 prosperity, some men succeed more than others, and 

 it is unfortunately also inevitable that when this is 

 the case some unwise people are sure to try to appeal 

 to the envy and jealousy of those who succeed least. 

 It is a good thing when these appeals are made to 



