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The purpose of this republic is to make a better type of manhood and womanhood. The reason for free institutions is that they develop nobler human characters than any other institutions develop. The meaning of a democratic form of government is to make people happier and better, and to make life more worth the living. The glory of this Nation is not in the exhaustless fertility of our far flung valleys and plains; not in the amazing wealth of our mines of coal, and iron, and copper and gold; not in our tremendous aggregation of riches; not in our vast network of railways; not in our astounding commerce and trade. All these are splendid; but these are not the chief sources of our pride. No, the supreme glory of the American people is a pure, clean, independent citizenship-a type of manhood and womanhood, sound of body, clear of mind, stout of heart, aspiring of soul. And to become such a human being as that is the absolute right of every boy and girl under our flag, and any system which prevents any American boy or girl from realizing that ideal is a crime against humanity and treason against liberty itself.And yet, such a system is in operation this very night. This very night this crime against humanity and free institutions is being committed. As I speak to you, thousands and thousands of little children are at work in cotton mills, in glass factories, in the sweat shop, and, every day, on the breakers of the mines. Their bones are not yet hardened, their muscles still are water, their brains are still the brains of infants. They are in that period which should be the period of the first beginning of their growth, the period when the whole foundation of their life's development should be laid.And yet, the very materials for that foundation are being forever shattered. Their normal growth is being stopped, their bones at MICHIGAN STATE UNIV LIBRARIES on April 7, 2015 ann.sagepub.com Downloaded from

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