Page:The truth about the railroads (IA truthaboutrailro00elli).pdf/259

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

VIII

PUBLIC OPINION: ITS EFFECT ON BUSINESS[1]

In the preface to his friendly volume “The United States in the Twentieth Century,” M. Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu, one of the keenest of foreign observers of conditions in the United States, and a noted economist, uses this striking language:—

“Moral worth, which includes the recognition of duties as well as of rights, self-respect, and respect for one’s fellows, has contributed, fully as much as the magnificent resources of their country, to the brilliant success of the American people. Of the qualities that have coöperated to elevate them so rapidly to such a commanding position, the most impressive is a great, a tireless energy. Now that the obstacles raised by nature have been overcome, now that the country is already so wealthy

  1. Address delivered before the Publicity Club of Minneapolis, January 10, 1912.
231