Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-06-27


monism is what it is to-day because of its
abominable leaders, he continued The Ro-
man Catholic church, many ot whose adher
ents are devoted christians is stand
ing menace to our liberties because of
the consummate skill of its leaders.
The anarchists are dangerous because of
their leaders. Many theories gain influence
and following merely on account of the
strength of the leaders. While the great
leaders of any particular age or cause with
large and enthusiastic following are not
many, 1t is true that the members of inhu-
entiai men and women who touch and sway
others is large and continually increasing.
1t seems as if America were training
school to furnish leaders for the world. This
is especially the province Of tho universities
and colleges. They are doing much to fix
the destiny of the nation. Soon you will
cease to be in the ranks of those led and
become leaders. May you be equal to tho
trust.
The elements of wise and competent leader
ship are, first intelligence &C wisdom. a
well trained mind is essontie o leadership.
There seems to be exceptions but these are
only apparent Abraham Lincoln, Horace
Greedy and Henry Wilson were not
college bred but were thorough students.
Leaders must understand history and be
ready to recognize the mistakes Of the past
and get future out of them as Philips
Brooks says The mass of literature makes
this heavy exaction upon him who would
lead, much larger than was made in former
ages. 1t is III the realm OF thought that
leadership IS most needed as it is most diff
hcult. 1t is a German maxim that what
you would have appear in the life Of a peo-
pie must first be put into their schools.
We should Judge OF the nature Of a leader
ship by the results rather thnn the leader
The religion of the future cannot afford to
ignore ideas and thoughts As We think we
are. John c. Calhoun furnished the theo-
res which jefferson Davis and General Lee
put into practice on the field of battle, and
Daniel Webster enunciated the principles
which through Abraham Lincoln and Gen
eral Grant aided by the soldier became the
law of the land. The war Of the rebellion
was really a conflict between theories begun
years before. You need to be thinkers
yourselves as well as to know the thoughts
of others.
But intellectual training alone does not
qualify for safe leadership Ability with
out principle, genius without godline5s can
only make one mighty in wrong doing
Tho keener the weapon the more dangerous
in the hand of a bad man. No republic has
been overthrown III which Intelligence was
not more general and higher at its over
throw than at its founding. We dwell
upon the glories OF Athens, but Archdeacon
Farrar says that Athens was more than
any other city corruptresS o. the world.
West Point trained men so well in military
skill that they almost ruined the nation.
Suppose that the current Of the lives of
Nero the Duke of Alva. or Charles Y. or
Phillip H. had been changed, how different
would have been the course o. human his
tory. The highest honor = ard can be
stow reflect no credit upon the recipients if
they have not been taught the lesson of re
straint enough to keep them from getting
drunk over ball game and painting the
statue of John Harvard and the outside
town red.
The danger of our country to-day is
moral collapse. We have surplus of
everything except goodness. The old
| ship is overburdened and it must he taken
in hand or it will labor and toss and per
chance go to pieces while listening to the
siren song of the enchantress of material
| success.
How to make the moral master the ma
| tcrial is the problem Goodness and zeal
alone are not enough, clear vision is neces-
sary. There are so many false lights that
ones vision must be telescope and micro
| scopic that he may see the hidden and dis
| tinguish between the symptoms and the
disease and know how to apply the remedy.
| The leader must be n man, III short, born
from above. He must be able to recognize
| the pillar of fire and of the cloud. Chris
| tian leadership is the demand of the hour,
| whate yer vocation man may follow.
| To intelligence and Christian purpose
must be added profound conviction as a
third element in leadership. Agnosticism
never launched u Mayhower, never planted
| Il church, never saved soul The men
who have inaugurated great movements
| have believed in God and in man
| Such man was one of your honored
alumni who recently died i'll California
DR.. Dwinell. Here the speaker quoted an
extract from newspaper showing in what
| high esteem the deceased was held as a man
aud how his qualities as a leader We're re
garded Those who raise more doubts than
| they dispel cannot lead. They cannot even
follow. Coleridgo says such men only be
lieve that they believe. What do we say OF
a man who tries to be a
| pilot and stands at the wheel
although he knows not where the rocks are :
| The speaker told how an incompetent guide
led some friends into the forests of Wis
consin ana after several days confessed that
he did not know the way out and this sug
| gested another essential.
| A fourth element in substantial leadership
| is "A well defined goal. y leader must know
where he is going and how to get there. A
man has no right to project n movement
unless no fixes upon the soul, the eternal in
terests, the perfection of being as the goal of
his ambition Leadership necessitates a
long per,pectve and a strength that can
| not be diverted by the way.
| Enthusiasm is another qualification for
| leadership. | do not mean an acquired enthus-
! iasm for that is impossible but enthusiasm
from above. Culture tends to repress enthus-
iasm, yet nothing is SO contagious as genuine
enthusiasm. There is no lack of it in bust
ness, where it is at white heat but in the
church it is luke warm, Nothing will eX-
cuse so many mistakes as we'll directed en-
thusiam, When Oklahoma was opened for
settlement the settlers went on the trains
with stake ready sharpened in their hand,
to stake out the best claims for themselves
| They were not so prompt, however &c
pre-empt u claim for church.
An Indispensable element OF the highest