Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-08
OPENS LIBRARY
Says Carnegie Is Twice Blessed in Giving
and Being Able to Give,
PHIrANTHRoPsT CALLS ROOSEVELT GREAT
Declares that Americas Ruler
Has Higher Honor Than Crowned
Heads and Ranks DoubIy
High a. AuthOr.

welt and Andrew Carnegie we're the central
figures at the formal opening today of the
new library the latter has given to Wash
ington. .4~iC
Among those who attended the cere-
monies were members Of the cabinet, Of
the senate and house Of representatives ard
people prominent in civil life throughout
the United States.
The library building is a beautiful white
marble structure, occupying the center of
Mount Vernon square, in the very heart Of
Washington. For it's construction Mr.. Car
negie donated $3.50 600. Today's ceremonies
were merely Incidental to the transfer Of
the building from the building committee
TO the board Of library trustees, Of which
Theodore w. Noyes, associate editor Of the
Washington star Is president.
Prior to, the formal exercises the orches-
ira of the Marine band rendered a special
musical program q
Carnegie Twice Blessed.
The dedication, exercises lasted scarcely
an hour. After the bishop of Washington,
the Rt. Rey,, Or, satterlee. had pronounced
prayer President Roosevelt was Introduced
and spoke as follows.
/ count myself fortunate in being able to
come here today, not only for my private
Individual sake but as in some sort rep
"a .AAt N1NRAN VAHNAA Al0 bhAAA = ~
express my, profound appreciation of what
Is ~emphatically a,eift of wisdom, a gift TO
people of this country from you, Mr..
1t seems to me that the man has a right
TO can himself thrice blessed who combines
the power and the purpose to use his wealth
for. the benefit q, our people at large in a
no way can mSreE benefit be done than in
the gift OF nbrapies such as this. a free IL
brary, where each man., each woman, has a
ing that he or n has the desire to.
OF course, ourOcommon school system lies
tenn. but It is tie foundation only. OF those
who are to stand pre-eminent as the rep
r~esentatves or culture In the community,
selves.
The work done by this library is helpful,
because It represents one side of the way
nifty must be done. Mr.. Carnegie, neither
you nor anyone else can make a man wise
him a chance to ada to. his own wisdom,
or to his own culture. That is all you can
do in any kind of phllanthropic work. The
only phiianthropic work that counts in the
long run is the work that helps. a man. to
help himself, That is true socially, sociol-
will submit or demand to be carried Is not
worth carrying. and II you make the effort
1t helps neither him nor you, but every man
OF us needs help, needs more and more to
be given the chance to show for himself
the stun that is in, him;
In other words, this is the kind of gift
that steers the happy, middle course be
tween the chafybis, of failure to show pub
i sSo sph51t f fba ,thS Sn f1S n spipiit ana iS a shS ws syiis that at
will demoralize and pauperize those who
take advantage Of i on the other. IT,
Is equally fags.ttgem, the two prime vices of
ness of head.
Lam not here to. make, a, speech; I un-
fortunately have to leave at once, as the
president has seSerab duties to perform; l
| haNga nvnn hnnnfrGn I faal that the n1nNyn-
ment for securing facilities for self-training,
better facilities for self-trainlng in its Wild
OF such prime stmpoTtance. that the. presi-
dent of the knits4t d stat fss So ~ me noT S1,eSe
mere fn II pP fhis time W 0 t1snk sH you 80 Mn driS c SIlne-
gle, for the gift, khatsyou heve made TO the
people of the national capital.
When the applause had subsidized. the
president left the auditorium, the audience
rising as he passed out and the Marine
band playing America" M
In a brief address, p. r. r. Mcfarland,
one OF the commissioners of the District Of
Columbia, turned the building over TO the
board Of library trustees, Mr.. Noyes re-
spending on behalf of the. board.
Mr.. Noyes' speech was an eloquent tribute
to the liberality Of Mr.. Carnegie, whom he
dubbed, "'santa Carnegie. the patron saint
of. house Libraries, who transformed by
word or touch of the pen a crawped,
crowded make-shtft of c library building
into the marble palace in which they were
assembled today" .
Roosevelt Greatest of Men.
Mr.. Carnegie was next introduced and
given an ovation by the great audience.
He said in part:
The free library, maintained b. all the
people, for all the people, knows neither
1 who honors US today by his august pres
ence, the honor OF the highest position on
earth, the elected of the majority of the
English-speaklng race, a position compared
with which all Inherited positions sink into
inslgniicance. within these walls has no
/ privileges which, Is not the right of mis-
poorest and humblest fellow citizen.
Free libraries. maintained by the people
are cradles of democracy and their spread
can, never fall to extend and strengthen the
democratic idea, equality of the citizen, the
royalty OF man: They are emPaatealIy
common level as the president. we cannot
he has a place denied to the o%ficiai, as a
prince in the republic OF letters, a rank
won Ions since by Theodore Roosevelt. the
author. Before he was president he had.
Caesar-like, not only caused his fellows to
mark him and write he, speeches In their
books, but had made books for himself,
doubt not that OF the books taken from
this library his will rank high IN the list;
we hail him today, therefore, in the dual
capacity OF president and author, positions
unsurpassed In their several spheres, won
| derful In combination
haze given, chiefly within the past two
years 100 library buildings. During the
month Of July last. 216 applications for
library buildings were received by me from
all parts OF the civilized world. When l ar
rived at New York last month from Europe
1 found waiting applications for 500 addIs
tional buildings. Today l have on hand 3S
new applications, making In all under cou-
sideration now more. than 800, the great
ma iority OF which will, no doubt, be given.
Il / have seldom or never known a great
success made by a ack-of-all-trades the
board member In twenty companies, The
4 controller of none. ! am I'm the library
II manufacturing business and beg 10 be az,
lowed TO concentrate my time upon II until
it Is filled. 1t Is. not charity, this Is not
philanthropy; IL Is the people helping them
selves by taxing themselves.
Though charity springs from good mo-
tiVes. most of Ia Is a mere pruning OF the
branches OF the upas tree. We must get 70
1.-The roots of the poverty, the misery and
the crimes which still darken human So
ciety, but which, let us gratefully. remem-
Der, become less and less under the great
law OF evolution.
Upon the conclusion Of the dedication
ceremonies the library was thrown open to
the public and thousands of people passed
through il during the afternoon and even
ing.
Carnegie Double GIFT.
Mr.. Carnegie. after the dedication, said
that he was so well pleased wi h the new
library and the use made of his gift that