The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-24
CALIFORNIA; UNIVERSITY.
Its 33rd Anniversary Celebrated.
President Hadley Speaks on gov
.rument by Public Opinion"

eminent by Public Opinion"
perkley, Cal, March 23,-"Charter Day.
ras celebrated here to-day. the occasion
be,ng the thirty-third anniversary of the
founding of the University of California.
The faculty, in caps and gowns, assem-
HE'D at 1890 a. m. and marched across the
college campus to the gymnasium where
,be exercises were held. The Grafton was
daljvered by President Arthur T. Hadley
Of Yale, whose subject was Government
by Public Opinion.
President Hadley said in part:
self-interest being an inadequate sup
nort for political and moral order, and
nver-legislation an evil worse than that
which it undertakes to cure, We must
90 hack to the, true principles of self
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS based on public
Sentiment. This is a phrase which is Of
ton used but generally misunderstood.
whenever a large number of people want
= thing we hear it said that there is a
nnblic sentiment in it's favor. This is not
necessarily true. Even the fact that a
majority may be willing to vote for a
measure does not prove that it has this
basis The desire may be simply the
Much. though not ALL of the objection
10 trusts is based on the fact that the
critics do not own them-that they find
themselves at the wrong end of certain
+ransa actions instead of at the right END.
II a man really believes that a trust is
had thing, and would refuse to coun-
tenance its pursuits If he were their ben
eAciary he can call his opposition to
them by the honorable title of public
shirt And it may be added that most
of the actual reform in trust abuses has
been thus made from inside. by the self
respect of their owners. But if the critic
is doing on small scale what thet trust
Is practcing on a large scale-making
every effort to sell his goods at as high
prices as possible, and not being over
scrupulous as to the means by which this
IL brought about-hiS words count for
nothing. No matter how many thousands
of men there may be in this position,
their a aggregate work is not likely to
reach farther than the passage of GER
tain amount of class Legislation. 1t
cannot be too often repeated that those
opinions which a man is prepared to
maintain at another's cost, but not at
his own, count for little in forming the
general sentiment of the community.
Some moralists would deny the posi-
ion Independent of selfshness. But they
have the facts of history against them.
The social and political instinct in man
kind is so strong that people are led I'M
der its operation to do things which are
against their own personal convenience,
and even against their own interest, in or
der to subserve the needs of the commu-
nifty. Public sentiment is the name given
to the feeling which gives effect to these
virtues of patriotism and public devotion.
1t is because it exists that we. have re-.
NAMED thus far a free people. 1t must
and will develop as our problems develop.
The man who says that it cannot be
done is inviting political suicide.
OF the power Of such sentiment, when
once aroused, there can be no question.
The recent hazing Investigations at West
Point show how much stronger is an I'M
written code of honor in a social body
than are all the laws passed by Congress.
But can it be thus aroused to do any
large portion of the work which We now
demand of government? 1t may be frank
ly admitted that it will not do all those
things for which numbers of people now
desire legislation. This, however, is a
merit rather than fault; for if we once
recognized that public opinion was the
source of authority, we should cease to
try to impose prohibition in cases where
It does not prohibit. or to pass, CORPORA lion
laws which do not regulate-demanding
everything and enforcing nothing Even
in times gone by the efficiency Of a rail-
road law has depended far more upon the
public undertaking of the situation than
upon the actual letter of the duties i'm
posed. If this has been the case in the
past when the development of public
opinion has been treated as mere ac-
cident, much more may we expect it to
prove true If our citizens are brought to
see that the force behind the law Is more
important than the law itself. If our peo-
pie can accept cheerfully the burdens inn
posed in the duties of private life, there
is no inherent reason why they should
fail to accept the trusts of public life.
That they are now inclined to make light
of their obligations to others is not due
to any incapacity for taking such obi
cations seriously; it is due to the fact
that they have been taught to regard
business and politics as games, with no
obligations profounder than the rules and
no authority higher than the umpire.