首页 >出版文学> Theodore Roosevelt>第25章
  QuayhadbecomeparticularlyconcernedabouttheDelawaresintheIndianTerritory。HefeltthattheInteriorDepartmentdidnotdothemjustice。HealsofeltthathiscolleaguesoftheSenatetooknointerestinthem。Wheninthespringof1904helayinhishousemortallysick,hesentmewordthathehadsomethingimportanttosaytome,andwouldhavehimselfcarriedroundtoseeme。Isentbackwordnottothinkofdoingso,andthatonmywaybackfromchurchnextSundayIwouldstopinandcallonhim。ThisIaccordinglydid。
  Hewaslyinginhisbed,deathwrittenonhisface。Hethankedmeforcoming,andthenexplainedthat,ashewasonthepointofdeathandknewhewouldneverreturntoWashington——itwaslatespringandhewasabouttoleave——hewishedtoseemetogetmypersonalpromisethat,afterhedied,IwouldmyselflookaftertheinterestsoftheDelawareIndians。HeaddedthathedidnottrusttheInteriorDepartment——althoughheknewthatIdidnotsharehisviewsonthispoint——andthatstilllessdidhebelievethatanyofhiscolleaguesintheSenatewouldexertthemselvesintheinterestsoftheDelawares,andthatthereforehewishedmypersonalassurancethatI
  wouldpersonallyseethatnoinjusticewasdonethem。ItoldhimI
  woulddoso,andthenadded,inratherperfunctoryfashion,thathemustnottakesuchagloomyviewofhimself,thatwhenhegotawayforthesummerIhopedhewouldrecoverandbebackallrightwhenCongressopened。Agleamcameintotheoldfighter’seyesandheanswered:“No,Iamdying,andyouknowit。Idon’tminddying;butI
  dowishitwerepossibleformetogetoffintothegreatnorthwoodsandcrawloutonarockinthesunanddielikeawolf!”
  Ineversawhimagain。WhenhediedIsentatelegramofsympathytohiswife。Apaperwhichconstantlypreachedreform,andwhichkeptupitscirculationbythenolessconstantpracticeofslander,apaperwhichintheorycondemnedallpublicmenwhoviolatedtheeighthcommandment,andinpracticesubsistedbyincessantviolationoftheninth,assailedmeforsendingmymessagetothedeadman’swife。I
  knewtheeditorsofthispaper,andtheeditorwhowastheirpredecessor。Theyhadledlivesofbodilyeaseandtheavoidanceofbodilyrisk;theyearnedtheirlivelihoodbythepracticeofmendacityforprofit;andtheydeliveredmalignantjudgmentonadeadmanwho,whateverhisfaults,hadinhisyouthfreelyriskedhislifeforagreatideal,andwhowhendeathwasalreadyclutchinghisbreasthadspentalmosthislastbreathonbehalfofhumbleandfriendlesspeoplewhomhehadservedwithdisinterestedloyalty。
  Thereisnogreaterdutythantowaronthecorruptandunprincipledboss,andonthecorruptandunprincipledbusinessman;andforthematterofthat,onthecorruptandunprincipledlaborleaderalso,andonthecorruptandunprinciplededitor,andonanyoneelsewhoiscorruptandunprincipled。Butwheretheconditionsaresuch,whetherinpoliticsorinbusiness,thatthegreatmajorityofmenhavebehavedinawaywhichisgraduallyseentobeimproper,butwhichatonetimedidnotconflictwiththegenerallyacceptedmorality,thenthewarfareonthesystemshouldnotincludewarfareonthementhemselves,unlesstheydeclinetoamendtheirwaysandtodissociatethemselvesfromthesystem。Therearemanygood,unimaginativecitizenswhoinpoliticsorinbusinessactinaccordancewithacceptedstandards,inamatter-of-courseway,withoutquestioningthesestandards;untilsomethinghappenswhichsharplyarousesthemtothesituation,whereupontheytrytoworkforbetterthings。Thepropercourseinsucheventistoletbygonesbebygones,andifthemenprovebytheiractionsthesincerityoftheirconversion,heartilytoworkwiththemforthebettermentofbusinessandpoliticalconditions。
  BythetimethatIwasendingmycareerasCivilServiceCommissionerIwasalreadygrowingtounderstandthatmereimprovementinpoliticalconditionsbyitselfwasnotenough。Idimlyrealizedthatanevengreaterfightmustbewagedtoimproveeconomicconditions,andtosecuresocialandindustrialjustice,justiceasbetweenindividualsandjusticeasbetweenclasses。Ibegantoseethatpoliticaleffortwaslargelyvaluableasitfoundexpressionandresultedinsuchsocialandindustrialbetterment。Iwasgraduallypuzzlingout,ortryingtopuzzleout,theanswerstovariousquestions——someasyetunsolvabletoanyofus,butforthesolutionofwhichitistheboundendutyofallofustowork。IhadgrowntorealizeverykeenlythatthedutyoftheGovernmenttoprotectwomenandchildrenmustbeextendedtoincludetheprotectionofallthecrushableelementsoflabor。Isawthatitwastheaffairofallourpeopletoseethatjusticeobtainedbetweenthebigcorporationanditsemployees,andbetweenthebigcorporationanditssmallerrivals,aswellasitscustomersandthegeneralpublic。Isawthatitwastheaffairofallofus,andnotonlyoftheemployer,ifdividendswentupandwageswentdown;thatitwastotheinterestofallofusthatafullshareofthebenefitofimprovedmachineryshouldgototheworkmanwhousedthemachinery;andalsothatitwastotheinterestofallofusthateachman,whetherbrainworkerorhandworker,shoulddothebestworkofwhichhewascapable,andthatthereshouldbesomecorrespondencebetweenthevalueoftheworkandthevalueofthereward。Itistheseandmanysimilarquestionswhichintheirsummakeupthegreatsocialandindustrialproblemsofto-day,themostinterestingandimportantoftheproblemswithwhichourpubliclifemustdeal。
  InhandlingtheseproblemsIbelievethatmuchcanbedonebytheGovernment。Furthermore,Ibelievethat,afterallthattheGovernmentcandohasbeendone,therewillremainasthemostvitalofallfactorstheindividualcharacteroftheaveragemanandtheaveragewoman。Nogovernmentalactioncandomorethansupplementindividualaction。Moreover,theremustbecollectiveactionofkindsdistinctfromgovernmentalaction。Abodyofpublicopinionmustbeformed,mustmakeitselffelt,andintheendtransform,andbetransformedby,thegradualraisingofindividualstandardsofconduct。
  Itiscurioustoseehowdifficultitistomakesomemenunderstandthatinsistenceupononefactordoesnotandmustnotmeanfailurefullytorecognizeotherfactors。Theselfishindividualneedstobetaughtthatwemustnowshacklecunningbylawexactlyasafewcenturiesbackweshackledforcebylaw。Unrestrictedindividualismspellsruintotheindividualhimself。Butsodoestheeliminationofindividualism,whetherbylaworcustom。Itisacapitalerrortofailtorecognizethevitalneedofgoodlaws。Itisalsoacapitalerrortobelievethatgoodlawswillaccomplishanythingunlesstheaveragemanhastherightstuffinhim。Thetoiler,themanuallaborer,hasreceivedlessthanjustice,andhemustbeprotected,bothbylaw,bycustom,andbytheexerciseofhisrighttoincreasehiswage;andyettodecreasethequantityandqualityofhisworkwillworkonlyevil。
  Theremustbeafargreatermeedofrespectandrewardforthehandworkerthanwenowgivehim,ifoursocietyistobeputonasoundbasis;andthisrespectandrewardcannotbegivenhimunlessheisasambitioustodothebestpossibleworkasisthehighesttypeofbrainworker,whetherdoctororwriterorartist。Theremustbearaisingofstandards,andnotalevelingdowntothestandardofthepoorestandmostinefficient。Thereisurgentneedofintelligentgovernmentalactiontoassistinmakingthelifeofthemanwhotillsthesoilallthatitshouldbe,andtoseethatthemanualworkergetshisfullshareoftherewardforwhathehelpsproduce;butifeitherfarmer,mechanic,ordaylaborerisshiftlessorlazy,ifheshirksdownrighthardwork,ifheisstupidorself-indulgent,thennolawcansavehim,andhemustgivewaytoabettertype。
  IsupposethatsomegoodpeoplewillmisunderstandwhatIsay,andwillinsistontakingonlyhalfofitasrepresentingthewhole。Letmerepeat。WhenIsay,that,evenafterwehaveallthegoodlawsnecessary,thechieffactorinanygivenman’ssuccessorfailuremustbethatman’sowncharacter,itmustnotbeinferredthatIamintheleastminimizingtheimportanceoftheselaws,therealandvitalneedforthem。Thestruggleforindividualadvancementanddevelopmentcanbebroughttonaught,orindefinitelyretarded,bytheabsenceoflaworbybadlaw。ItcanbeimmeasurablyaidedbyorganizedeffortonthepartoftheState。Collectiveactionandindividualaction,publiclawandprivatecharacter,arebothnecessary。Itisonlybyaslowandpatientinwardtransformationsuchastheselawsaidinbringingaboutthatmenarereallyhelpedupwardintheirstruggleforahigherandafullerlife。Recognitionofindividualcharacterasthemostimportantofallfactorsdoesnotmeanfailurefullytorecognizethatwemusthavegoodlaws,andthatwemusthaveourbestmeninofficetoenforcetheselaws。TheNationcollectivelywillinthiswaybeabletobeofrealandgenuineservicetoeachofusindividually;and,ontheotherhand,thewisdomofthecollectiveactionwillmainlydependonthehighindividualaverageofcitizenship。
  Therelationshipofmanandwomanisthefundamentalrelationshipthatstandsatthebaseofthewholesocialstructure。Muchcanbedonebylawtowardsputtingwomenonafootingofcompleteandentireequalrightswithman——includingtherighttovote,therighttoholdanduseproperty,andtherighttoenteranyprofessionshedesiresonthesametermsasaman。Yetwhenthishasbeendoneitwillamounttolittleunlessontheonehandthemanhimselfrealizeshisdutytothewoman,andunlessontheotherhandthewomanrealizesthatshehasnoclaimtorightsunlesssheperformsthedutiesthatgowiththoserightsandthatalonejustifyherinappealingtothem。Acruel,selfish,orlicentiousmanisanabhorrentmemberofthecommunity;
  but,afterall,hisactionsarenoworseinthelongrunthanthoseofthewomanwhoiscontenttobeaparasiteonothers,whoiscold,selfish,caringfornothingbutfrivolouspleasureandignobleease。
  Thelawofworthyeffort,thelawofserviceforaworthyend,withoutregardtowhetheritbringspleasureorpain,istheonlyrightlawoflife,whetherformanorforwoman。Themanmustnotbeselfish;nor,ifthewomaniswise,willsheletthemangrowselfish,andthisnotonlyforherownsakebutforhis。Oneoftheprimeneedsistorememberthatalmosteverydutyiscomposedoftwoseeminglyconflictingelements,andthatover-insistenceonone,totheexclusionoftheother,maydefeatitsownend。Anymanwhostudiesthestatisticsofthebirth-rateamongthenativeAmericansofNewEngland,oramongthenativeFrenchofFrance,needsnottobetoldthatwhenprudenceandforethoughtarecarriedtothepointofcoldselfishnessandself-indulgence,theraceisboundtodisappear。
  Takingintoaccountthewomenwhoforgoodreasonsdonotmarry,orwhowhenmarriedarechildlessorareabletohavebutoneortwochildren,itisevidentthatthemarriedwomanabletohavechildrenmustonanaveragehavefourortheracewillnotperpetuateitself。
  Thisisthemerestatementofaself-evidenttruth。Yetfoolishandself-indulgentpeopleoftenresentthisstatementasifitwereinsomewaypossiblebydenunciationtoreversethefactsofnature;and,ontheotherhand,improvidentandshiftlesspeople,inconsiderateandbrutalpeople,treatthestatementasifitjustifiedheadsoffamiliesinhavingenormousnumbersofbadlynourished,badlybroughtup,andbadlycaredforchildrenforwhomtheymakenoefforttoprovide。Amanmustthinkwellbeforehemarries。Hemustbeatenderandconsideratehusbandandrealizethatthereisnootherhumanbeingtowhomheowessomuchofloveandregardandconsiderationashedoestothewomanwhowithpainbearsandwithlaborrearsthechildrenthatarehis。Nowordscanpaintthescornandcontemptwhichmustbefeltbyallright-thinkingmen,notonlyforthebrutalhusband,butforthehusbandwhofailstoshowfullloyaltyandconsiderationtohiswife。Moreover,hemustwork,hemustdohispartintheworld。Ontheotherhand,thewomanmustrealizethatshehasnomorerighttoshirkthebusinessofwifehoodandmotherhoodthanthemanhastoshirkhisbusinessasbreadwinnerforthehousehold。
  Womenshouldhavefreeaccesstoeveryfieldoflaborwhichtheycaretoenter,andwhentheirworkisasvaluableasthatofamanitshouldbepaidashighly。Yetnormallyforthemanandthewomanwhosewelfareismoreimportantthanthewelfareofanyotherhumanbeings,thewomanmustremainthehousemother,thehomekeeper,andthemanmustremainthebreadwinner,theproviderforthewifewhobearshischildrenandforthechildrenshebringsintotheworld。Nootherworkisasvaluableorasexactingforeithermanorwoman;itmustalways,ineveryhealthysociety,beforbothmanandwomantheprimework,themostimportantwork;normallyallotherworkisofsecondaryimportance,andmustcomeasanadditionto,notasubstitutefor,thisprimarywork。Thepartnershipshouldbeoneofequalrights,oneoflove,ofself-respect,andunselfishness,aboveallapartnershipfortheperformanceofthemostvitallyimportantofallduties。Theperformanceofduty,andnotanindulgenceinvapideaseandvapidpleasure,isallthatmakeslifeworthwhile。
  Suffrageforwomenshouldbelookedonfromthisstandpoint。