The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-08
Tribute to Andrew Carnegie, Who
Gave $35O,OOO for Construction of
the Building at Washington.
LIBRARIES GREAT EDUCATORS
PRESIDENT LAVISH IN HIS COMMEN-
DATION OF THEIR VALUE.
MIR. Carnegie's Views Outlined by
for Branch Libraries.

sons or note assembled THIS AFTERNOON 10
attend the ceremonies incident to the dedi-
cation of the Washington Public Library.
The exercises took place in the auditorium
! of the new library, handsome white mar
bic structure located on Mount Vernon
square. The participants in the exercises
INCLUDED the President of the United States.
Mr.. Andrew Carnegie, the donor of the
building. and the presidents of the building
commission and the board of library trus-
teees. Among those who attended the
ceremonies were members of the Cabinet,
of the Senate and House Of Representa-
tives and people prominent in civil and pub
lie 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 its construction Mr.. Car
negie donated $35O.0O0, and as an architec-
tural ornament to the national capital it
Is quite equal to the government buildings
| of the city
The dedication exercises lasted scarcely
an hour. After the bishop of Washington,
| the Right Rev. DR.. Satterlee, had pro-
nounced prayer President Roosevelt was in
troduced and spoke as follows:
81 count myself fortunate in being able to
come here to-day. not only for my own
private individual sake, but as in some
sort representing the people Of all the
country. to express my profound appre-
citation of what is emphatically gift of
| wisdom, gift to do the utmost possible
benefit to all of the people of this country
| from you, Mr.. Carnegie. lApplause.l 1t
seems to me that the man has a right to
| call himself thrice blessed who combines
| the power and the purpose to use his
| wealth for the benefit of our people at
| large in way that shall do them real
| benefit; and in no way can more benefit
be done than through the gift of libraries
| such as this-a free library where each
man. each woman, has chance to get for
him or herself the training that he or she
| has the desire to.
LIBRARIES ARE EDUCATORS.
"Of course, our common school system
| lies at the foundation or our educational
system, but ii is the foundation only. OF
those who are to stand pre-eminent as the
representatives of the culture of the COM
munity the great majority must educate
themselves. [Applause.l The work done by
this library is helpful because it repre-
sents one side of the way in which all
healthy work in this community must be
| done Mr.. Carnegie, neither you nor any
one else can make man wise or cultivated
All you can do is to give him chance to
his own wisdom or TO his own cultivation
| lApplause.1 That is all you DO in any
kind of philanthropc work. Applause. !
in the long is the work that helps
man to help himself. [Applausel That is
true socially, sociologically and in every
to be carried isn't worth carrying laugh
teri. and If you make the effort it helps
neither him nor YOU. But every man of us
needs help-needs more and more to be
self the stuff that is in him; and
this kind of free library is doing in the
world of cultivation, the world of scholar
ship, what 1t should be our aim to do in the
great world of political and social develop
ment-that Is, as far as may be equalizing
men themselves to show how they are able
10 take advantage of them. Applause In
other words, this is the kind of gift that
steers the happy middle course between
the Charybdis of failure to show public
spirit on the one hand and on the other the
Scylla Of showing that public spirit in a
way that will demoralize and pauperize
those who take advantage of it. To quote
an expression that / fond of, this is
equally far from the two prime vices of
our Observation-Disclosures of heart and soft
ness of head.
IT am not here to make speech L I'M
fortunately have to leave at once, as the
President has several duties 10 perform
[Laughter.] 1 have come because L feel
that the movement for securing better ia
cilities for self-training, better facilities
for education in its widest and broadest
and deepest sense, is one of such prime i'm
portance that the President of the United
States could nowhere more appropriately
come than to this building, Mr.. Carnegie
at this time, to thank you for the gift you
have made to the people of the national
capital" [Long and continued applause.I
When the applause had subsidized Pres
ident Roosevelt left the auditorium, the au-
dience rising as he passed out and the
Marine Band playing america In a
brief address Mr.. H. b. MacFarland one
of the commissioners of the District of
Columbia, turned the building over to the
board of library trustees President Noyes
responding on behalf of the board
MR.. CARNEGIE'S ADDRESS.
Mr.. Carnegie next was introduced. He
was given an ovation by the great audience
He said in part:
1.-THE free library, maintained by all the
people for all the people, knows neither
rank nor birth within its walls Even he
who honors to-day by his august pres
ence, the honor of the highest position
upon earth. the elected of the majority of
the English speaking race. a position COM
pared with which all inherited positions
sink into insignifcance, within these walls
has no privileges which is not the right
of his poorest and humbest felow-citizen
Free libraries maintained by the people
are cradles of democracy, and their spread
can never fail to extend and strengthen the
democratic idea, equality of the citizen the
royalty of man. They are emphat ically
fruits of the true American ideal But
while even the President thus stands on
the common level as President we cannot
fail TO remember that in the free library
the man has place denied to the official as a
prince in the republic of letters, for in the
ranks of those who constitute the chief
glory of the Nation, its authors this was
won long since by Theodore Roosevelt the
author. Before he President he had
Caesar-like, not only caused his fellows
, to mark him and write his speeches in their
books, but had made books himself
doubt not that of the books Ia ken from this
library his will rank high in the list we
, hail him to-day. therefore, i'm the dual ca
pacity of President and author, positions
unsurpassed in their several spheres rare
| and wonderful in combination.
, Mr. Carnegie said that he had giver
, chiefly within the past two years, 100 H.
) brary buildings. During the month OF JULY
last, 276 applications for libraries were re.
| ceived by him from all parts of the Eng.
lish speaking world When he arrived In
! found awaiting him applications for. go ad
, ditional buildings. To-day he has on hanc
. 3s5 new applications. making in all under
consideration now more than 500. The greal
I majority OF which, he said will no doubt
: be given
I Referring to the concentration of hi.
, mind upon the library business" Mr. Car
I | negie said he had been a concentration al
| his life. 81 have seldom or never known
: he continued, "a great success made by I
lack of all trades-the board member IN
| twenty companies, the controller OF none
| on, in the library manufacturing ht,sip oS,