The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-20
"OUR DEBT TO THE EAST'
IS GRIFFITHSS THEME

9Ohh -. OllllltnS, OF TINS CITY, SPOKE Oii
Our Debt to the East" His speech was
a mastery effort, in part as follows:
The friendship with China which Arson
w. Burlingame brought about fifty years
ago Will be cemented and made more en-
curing by the visit Of Prince Pu Lun. IL is
with great pleasure that have opportunity
TO speak to you tonight of our debt TO the
orient The prince after his busy day
would probably enjoy being in one of his
native baZaars tonight. In many ways
we cannot understand why he should prefer
the change TO peaceful quiet. If we were
TO study the life and the ways of Oriental
workmen we would learn invaluable les
son. III we could profit by this lesson We
would improve the character of American
workmen and American workmanship ten
Told The average American workman is
TOO much or machine. The very nature Of
his work. its monotony. saddens his life and
denies him the right of individual express
sion. The Oriental workman is not bur-
dened with such monotony; he takes pleas
ure in his individual handicaft. BY this in
dlvidual relation he is made self-respecting
and>dignified.
Let reflect on the great work China
has done. An American is apt TO point to
his great nation a nation TO which the
whole world is debtor. He points with sat-
isfaction and pride to his accumulated
stores OF gold and silver. Indeed, he has a
right to have such feeling All praise to
our Western civilization, embodying it
does the most perfect form of government
ever devised. / do not seek To tear down
one civilization and build up another in it's
stead, but only TO suggest how the Western
world has been and may continue to be en-
riched by contributions from the East. No
European, IL is said ever grasped or appre-
hended the Oriental mind We stare at each
other hopelessly across great CULTS of mis-
apprehension. When. we come to know
each other we shall find that our quest has
been one-the quest of life. liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. This. gulf is being
brfdged by sucn men as Edwin Arnold. Kip
ling and Edward Fitzgerald. We will gain
far more in the East in every way through
knowledge than conquest. The East and
West have been brought closer together by
improved methods of transportation but
this has not helped in bringing the races to-
gether intellectually. People tarry in those
lands but a short time. The average resi-
dence of an English officer in India is but
five years.
''One-half of the population of the world
dwells tonight not 2.5oa miles from London
>or New York, but from Kong. The
reason that We have never been able to
realize the immense Importance of China is
because we have considered her Importance
from her commercial standing. We should
consider ii in a religious light. The East
has preserved for us the lost art of leisure.
The rich man alone in this country can
command his time. The Oriental has a ge-
MUS for tomorrow, the American only
for to-day. Things with him must be done
instantly There is a distinct charm and a
valuable philosophy in the Eastern mode
of life not hurried but contemplative. 1t
is not surprising that the Oriental feels he
Is getting much out of life our active
business man.
mo other nation has the same belief In
the efficacy of knowledge, the same ven
Grafton for ancestors, and the same regard
for the sanctity of the family as in China.
When we consider some of public serv-
ants we may not speak so despairing of
the Chinese custom of filling positions by
men who have passed the most rigid com,
petitive examination.
''All the enduring religions have some out
of the East. To the Orient we owe our
most priceless possession-Christianity The
followers of Christ, and Confucius, of
Buddha and Mahomet are all indebted to
the East for their morals and religion. We
should be anxious not toimitate but to APP
propriate the inspiration of that Eastern
world which created mankind, laws, relig-
ion art and whose history is the record
not merely of the body, but of the soul of
mankind.
I've pledge Prince Pu Lun tonight that
America will endeavor to repay her debt
i'm part TO the East by seeking to bring the
continents still more closely together In
thought and sympathy until, as farm
merges into farm, and all of our States
blend to form one imperial republic, so we
trust even racial barriers may be broken
down and all the peoples of the earth be
hound the one to the other by the ties OF
everlasting peace and friendship.