Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 1 (of 7)

by Theodore Roosevelt

BY
THEODORE ROOSEVELT

PUBLISHED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE
AUTHOR THROUGH SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
VOLUME I

NEW YORK
THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS COMPANY
MCMX

The Publishers desire to make clear to the readers that Ex-president Roosevelt
retains no pecuniary interest in the sale of the volumes containing these
speeches. He feels that the material contained in these addresses
has been dedicated to the public, and that it is, therefore,
not to be handled as copyrighted material from which
Mr. Roosevelt should receive any pecuniary return.

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES
AND STATE PAPERS
FEBRUARY 19, 1902
TO
MAY 13, 1903

INTRODUCTION

By ALBERT SHAW

The materials contained in the Addresses and State Papers of Theodore Roosevelt, while President of the United States, possess far more than a transitory interest and value. It is obvious indeed that for the future student of American politics and history their preservation in convenient and authentic form is not merely an important service, but an indispensable one; for it would have been impossible to collate them in any accurate or complete way from the scattered files of newspapers, especially since many of the addresses were delivered at points remote from news centers, and some of these were very inadequately reported by the press. This observation, it is needless to say, does not apply to the formal State Papers—chiefly messages to Congress—for such official deliverances are duly preserved and published by the Government itself. It is, however, suitable as well as convenient to include these State Papers in a collection of the recent utterances of President Roosevelt, for reasons so obvious as to need little comment.

The palpable fact is that President Roosevelt’s messages to Congress and a large number of his speeches, delivered in various parts of the country in his capacity as President, pertain to the same topics and serve a like public purpose. The messages must, of course, deal with matters affecting the welfare of the nation, and with various questions of public business or policy, in those aspects that bear upon the work of Congress. It is the President’s Constitutional right and duty to present information upon such topics, or to expound them from the standpoint of the Administration. In the long series of Presidential messages one may, indeed, read the history of this country for more than a hundred years. To that official narrative these messages by Mr. Roosevelt add some of the most fascinating chapters.