The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-31

they chose.-as aristocrats ever do
their best men for public service. The
WlSeSt, the strongest, the most learned
were ever to the front-they We're the
natural leaders of brave and gen
erous people who followed their lead
erShip with pride and pleasure. With
| the close of the war the democracy
arose and each man became a factor
in the government of his country.
Leadership was not SO able or cultur-.
| ed More blunders were committed
and more unWiSe views prOpagated
and believed in. Aristocracy was al
was trained. Democracy. ii il is 20
| he effective. must likewise be trained.
Universal education is, therefore, the
| imperative and only remedy for our
loss of power in the nation. But how
shall we be trained? Are we to for
get the memories of the past; to break
away from our traditions; to join
with those who are clamoring for the
adoption of the convictions which we
have combatted for many years.
| think not. No people can ever be-
come a great people by changing it's
own individuality, but only by devel-
oping and encouraging it. We must
i build on our own foundation of char
| acter, temperament and inherited
| traits. We must not repudiate but
| develop. We must seek out and APP
| our own traditions, our deep rooted
| tendencies and read our destiny in
! their Interpretation. We must . put
away vain glory and Boosting and take
an impartial inventory of all the
! things that we have and are; and
these things can only come to us
through the training Of all our citizen
| ship. We have in the South today our
Hills, our Lamars our Becks, our
Vests, our Vances and our Hamptons,
! GALL Of them products of the period
| before the war;, but no man can go
| throughout the country and lay his
| hand on the head of any single child
and say that here is a Lamar here is
| Vance. or a Best or a Hill. or
ness of the schools to find for us
. jlendid children and develop
o these great leaders.
believed in universal education
other reason, this would be 20
sufficient one. But there are
@.... reasons. We must educate
dy in our respective neighbour
n order that we may have the
of competition and of appre-
You may educate your son
/ nti, = lighter to the fullest extent pos
sble, giving to them the learning Of
all the world and put them after their
| education in a community where there
1
| they will fail to develop and grow as
they would if they lived in a COM
| munity where there was general Gull
| ture. The man who stands easily head
| and shoulders above his neighbors
will never be very tall. If he is TO sur
pass his neighbors and be really great,
he must have neignbors who are al
most great themselves. He cannot
work out for himself the best there is
in him until he is forced to do so by
the competition of others almost or
! quite as strong as he. When the
| trainers Of horses sought to reduce the
time in which IL took to trot a mile,
they did not go and pick out par
| ticular colt and train him for the
track. but the trainers all \over the
world were developing colts. Ten
! thousand of them We're trained until
year by year the record was lowered,
and when at last lovers of horses
wanted TO reduce the record below
two minutes after training thousands
| of horses for the purpose they found
one which they thought could accom-
plish the task. They did not put her
on the track alone, but with two run
ming horses ridden by boys, who, with
whip and spur pressed them on the
| heels of the trotter drove her to her
utmost speed; aroused her spirit OF
victory; maddened her with the fear
of defeat until in one last burst
she broke the worlds record to
| 1888 1-2
Men must win their victories after
| the same fashion. In the race of life
| if they are to win a victory worth
winning, they must run against thor
oughbroods. If we pass under the
wire ahead of a scrub there is no hon
or in it.
I'VE want the schools to find all of
the strongest hest and tfn,l Wa
want to put these strongest and best
| in competition one with the other I'M
til the fullest powers of each shall be
developed. In doing this we shall get
the largest contribution to society,"
When We have filled each man full
according to this capacity, whether
that be much or little he will over
flow and the surplus belongs to us.