Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-07
TALKED TO TEACHERS
Presidents Address Before
Educational Society
AT ASBURY PARK TODAY
CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF RE-
PUBLIC DONE BY EDUCATORS.
Graceful and Forceful Tribute to the
Pedagogues of Country - Strong
Plea for Lofty Ideals.

ASBURY PARK. N. J.. July President
Roosevelt. accompanied by Secretary Loeb,
left Oyster Bay at IL o'clock today for
Ocean Grove. to deliver an address there
this afternoon before the National Educa-
tionaL Association. The President was
scheduled to leave Ocean Grove on the re-
turn trip at 3:45 pm. The journey was
made on special train from Oyster Bay to
Long Island City. by boat from there to
Jersey City. and by special Pennsylvania
railroad train from Jersey City to Ocean
Grove. The President expects to reach
Oyster Bay on his return at 6:45 pm.
President Roosevelt arrived at Jersey City
on board tug. and proceeded Immediately
by special train to Asbury Park. At the
train he was met by United States Senators
John f. Dryden and John Kean of New
Jersey
The President arrived here about pm.
The President proceeded to the conven-
ton of the National Educational Associa-
ton. at Ocean Grove, where he made the
following address:
The Presidents Address.
/ am glad to have the chance of greet
ing the National Educational Association,
for in all this democratic land there is no
more genuinely democratic association than
this. 1t is truly democratic, because here
each member meets every other member
as his peer without regard to whether he
is the president of one of the great uni
versities or the newest recruit to that high
and honorable profession which has In it's
charge the upbringing and training of those
boys and girls who in a few short years
will themselves be settling the destinies of
this nation.
1t Is not too much to say that the most
characteristic work of the republic Is that
done by the educators, for whatever our
shortcomings nation may be, we have
at least firmly grasped the fact that We
cannot do our part in the difficult and all
important work of self government-that
less we approach the task with developed
minds and trained characters. You teach
ers make the whole world your debtor. If
you did not do your work well this re-
public would not endure beyond the span
of the generation.
Moreover. incident to your avowed
work. you render some well-nigh unbelev-
able services to the country. For instance.
you render to the republic the prime, the
vital service of amalgamating into one
homogeneous body the children alike of
those who are born here and of those who
come here from so many different lands
abroad. You furnish common training
and common ideals for the children of all
the mixed peoples who are here being fused
into one nationality. 1t is in no small de-
gree due to you and your efforts that we
are one people instead of a group of
Earring peoples.
Lofty Ideals Essential.
Moreover, where altogether too much
prominence is given to the mere possession
of wealth. the country is under heavy OBJ
legations to such a body as this. which sub
stitutes for the ideal of accommodating
money the infinitely loft,er. non-ma terialis-
tic ideal of devotion to work worth doing
simply for that works sake. l do not IN
the least underestimate the need of having
material prosperity the basis of our
civilization, but l most earnestly insist that
if our civilization does not build a lofty
Superstructure on this basis, We can never
rank among the really great peoples
A certain amount of money is, of course.
a necessary thing, as much for the nation
for the individual; and there are few
movements in which i more thoroughly be-
lieve than in the movement to secure bet
ter remuneration for our teachers. But,
after all, the service you render is meal
culable. because of the very fact that by
your lives you show that you believe ideals
to be worth sacrifice, and that you are
splendidly eager to do non-remunerative
work If this work Is of good to your fell
lowmen.
To. furnish in your lives such realized
high Ideal is to do great service to the
country. The chief harm done by the men
of swollen fortune to the community is not
pict as springing from their actions, but
the fact that their success sets UP a false
standard. and so serves as a bad example
for the rest of US. If we did not ourselves
attach an exaggerated Importance to the
rich man who is distinguished only by his
riches. this rich man would have a most
insignificant influence over US. 1t is gen.
orally our own fault if he does damage to
u.s. he damages us chiefly by arousing
our envy or by rendering US sour and dis
contented.
In his actual business relations he Is much
more apt to benefit than harm the rest OF
US; and though 1t Is eminently right to take
whatever steps are necessary in order to
prevent the exceptional members of his
class from doing HARM IL is wicked folly
TO let ourselves be drawn into any attack
upon the man or wealth merely such
Ugly Tribute to Wealth.
Moreover. such attack Is in itself an
exceptionally crooked and ugly tribute to
wealth, and therefore the proof of an ex-
ceptionally ugly and crooked state of mind
in the man making the attack venomous
envy of wealth is simply another form of
the spirit which In one of it's manifesto
tons takes the shape of cringing servility
toward wealth. and in another the shape of
brutal arrogance on the part of certain men
of wealth.
Each one of these states of mind. wheth-
er IL be hatred. servility or arrogance is
in reality closely akin to the other two:
for each of them springs from a fantasia
cally twisted and exaggerated idea of the
Importance of wealth compared to other
| things The clamor OF the demagogue
against wealth. the snobbery of the social
columns OF the newspapers which deal with
the doings of the wealthy and the miscon-
duct OF those men of wealth who act with
brutal disregard to the rights of others
seem specifically to have no fundamental
relation: yet in reality they spring from
shortcomings which are fundamentally the
same. and one OF these SHORTCOMINGS is the
failure to have proper ideals
This failure must be remedied in large
part by the actions of you and your fellow
teachers your ellow-educators throughout
this land. BY your lives. no less than by
your teachings. you show that while YOU
regard wealth as a good thing, you regard
other things as still better 1t is absolutely
necessary TO earn certain amount OF
| money: 1t Is a mans first duty to those
dependent upon him to earn enough for
their support; but after certain point
has been reached money making can never
stand on the same plane with other and
nobler forms of effort.
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