150 Presidential Addresses 



work in a spirit as far removed as possible from 

 hysteria a spirit of sober, steadfast, kindly I want 

 to emphasize that kindly determination not to sub 

 mit to wrong ourselves and not to wrong others, 

 not to interfere with the great business development 

 of the country, and at the same time so to shape our 

 legislation and administration as to minimize, if we 

 can not eradicate, the unpleasant and vicious feat 

 ures connected with that industrial development. 

 I have said that there can be no patent remedy. 

 There is not any one thing which can be done to 

 remove all of the existing evils. There are a good 

 many things which, if we do them all, will, I believe, 

 make a very appreciable betterment in the existing 

 conditions. To do that is not to make a promise that 

 will evoke wild enthusiasm, but a promise. that can 

 be kept; and in the long run it is much more com 

 fortable only to make promises that can be kept than 

 to make promises which are sure of an immense re 

 ception when made, but which entail intolerable hu 

 miliation when it is attempted to carry them out. 



I am sufficiently fortunate to be advocating now, 

 as President, precisely the remedies that I advocated 

 two years ago advocating them not in any partisan 

 spirit, because, gentlemen, this problem is one which 

 affects the life of the nation as a whole but advo 

 cating them simply as the American citizen who, for 

 the time being, stands as the Chief Executive and, 

 therefore, the special representative of his fellow- 

 American citizens of all parties. 



A century and a quarter ago there had been no 



