"I believe in shaping the ends of government to protect property as well as human welfare. Normally, and in the long run, the ends are the same; but whenever the alternative must be faced, I am for men and not for property, as you were in the Civil War. I am far from underestimating the importance of dividends; but I rank dividends below human character. Again, I do not have any sympathy with the reformer who says he does not care for dividends. Of course, economic welfare is necessary, for a man must pull his own weight and be able to support his family. I know well that the reformers must not bring upon the people economic ruin, or the reforms themselves will go down in the ruin. But we must be ready to face temporary disaster, whether or not brought on by those who will war against us to the knife. Those who oppose reform will do well to remember that ruin in its worst form is inevitable if our national life brings us nothing better than swollen fortunes for the few and the triumph in both politics and business of a sordid and selfish materialism."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Activists from the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesSocial activistsMedal of Honor recipientsNobel laureates from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Theodore Roosevelt
1858 – 1919
26. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika (1901-1909)
420 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Theodore Roosevelt →
Related Quotes
"We meet to-day, representing the people of this continent, from the Dominion of Canada in the north, to Chile and the…"
"We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but we despise no less…"
"By sheer force of moral purpose, by clarity of perception, by mastery of detail and benign manipulation of men, he ha…"
"What is the lesson to us to-day? Are we to go the way of the older civilizations? The immense increase in the area of…"
"In many respects there is a complete lack of analogy between the civilization of to-day and the only other civilizati…"
"Hitherto every civilization that has arisen has been able to develop only a comparatively few activities; that is, it…"
"The whole world is bound together as never before; the bonds are sometimes those of hatred rather than love, but they…"
"In new and wild communities where there is violence, an honest man must protect himself; and until other means of sec…"
"Throughout their early stages the movements of civilization—for, properly speaking, there was no one movement—were ve…"
"The people of the United States suffer from periodical financial panics to a degree substantially unknown to the othe…"