COLONEL ROOSEVELT'S PARIS SPEECH. 475 



" But the man who, having far surpassed the hmit of providing for the 

 wants, both of body and mind, of himself and of those depending upon him, 

 then piles up a great fortune, for the acquisition or retention of which he 

 returns no corresponding benefit to the nation as a whole, should himeslf be 

 made to feel that, so far from being a desirable, he is an unworthy, citizen of 

 the community. 



"So it is with the orator. It is highly desirable that a leader of opinion 

 in a democracy should be able to state his views clearly and convincingly. But 

 all that the oratory can do of value to the com.munity is to enable the man thus 

 to explain himself; if it makes the orator to persuade his hearers to put false 

 values on things, it merely makes him a power for mischief. 



" The phrase-maker, the phrase-monger, the ready talker, however great 

 his power, whose speech does not make for courage, sobriety, and right under- 

 standing, is simply a noxious element in the body politic, and it speaks ill for 

 the public if he has influence over them. 



" Of course all that I say of the orator applies with even greater force to 

 the orator's latter-day and more influential brother, the journalist. The power 

 of the journalist is great, but he is entitled neither to respect nor admiration 

 because of that power unless it is used aright. He can do, and he often does, 

 great good. He can do, and he often does, infinite mischief. All journalists, 

 all writers, for the very reason that they appreciate the vast possibilities of 

 their profession, should bear testimony against those who deeply discredit it. 



JOURNALISTIC MISTAKES. 



" Offences against taste and morals, which are bad enough in a private 

 citizen, are infinitely worse if made into instruments for debauching the com- 

 munity through a newspaper. Mendacity, slander, sensationalism, inanity, 

 vapid triviality, all are potent factors for the debauchery of the public mind 

 and conscience. The excuse advanced for vicious writing, that the public 

 demands it and that the demand must be supplied, can no more be admitted 

 than if it were advanced by the purveyors of food who sell poisonous adultera- 

 tions. 



" In short, the good citizen in a republic must realize that he ought to 

 possess two sets of qualities, and that neither avails without the other. He 

 must have those qualities which make for efficiency ; and he must also have 

 those qualities which direct the efficiency into channels for the public good. 



" He is useless if he is inefficient. There is nothing to be done with that 

 type of citizen of whom all that can be said is that he is harmless. Virtue 

 which is dependent upon a sluggish circulation is not impressive. There is 

 little place in active life for the timid good man. The man who is saved by 

 w^eakness from robust wickedness is likewise rendered immune from the ro- 

 buster virtues. 



" The good citizen in a republic must, first of all, be able to hold his own. 

 He is no good citizen unless he has the ability which will make him work hard 

 and which at need will make him fight hard. The good citizen is not a good 

 citizen unless he is an efficient citizen. 



" The homely virtues of the household, the ordinary workaday virtues 

 which make the woman a good housewife and housemother, which make the 



