Durango semi-weekly herald. (Durango, Colo.) 1899-1907, 1905-07-10

ADDRESSES
EDUCATORS

ASBURY PARK. n. j., July Sin
his remarks TO the teachers attend
ing the National Educational associa.
| ton. President Roosevelt said:
Il am glad to have the chance OF
| greeting the National Educational as.
sociation; for in all this democratic
land there is no more genuinely dem.
| ocratic association than this. II is
truly democratic. because acre each
! member meets every other member
as his peer without regard to whether
he is the president of one of the great
universities or the newest recruit to
that high and honorable profession
which has in its charge the upbring
ing and training OF those boys and
girls who in a few short years will
themselves be settling the destinies of
this nation II Is not too much to
say That the most characteristic work
of the republic is that done by the
educators. for whatever our short
comings as nation may be, we have
at least firmly grasped the fact that
we can not do our part in the diff
cult and all-important work of self
government. that we can not rule and
govern ourselves, unless we approach
the task with developed minds and
trained characters. You teachers
make the whole world your debtor
If you did not do your work well this
republic would not endure beyond the
span of the generation Moreover,
"a n
you render some well-nign unbeliev.
able services to the country. For in
stance, you render to the republic the
prime, the vital service of amalga
mating into one homogeneous body the |
children alike of those who are born |
here and of those who come mere
from so many different lands abroad. |
You furnish a common training and
common ideals for the children of all
the mixed people who are mere being
fused into one nationality. 1t is in
no small degree due to you and your
efforts that we are one people instead
OF group of jarring peoples.
Moreover, where altogether too
mucn prominence is given TO the
mere possession of wealth, the coun
try is under heavy obligations to such |
body as this, which substitutes for
the ideal of accommodating money the |
infinitely loftier nonmaterialistic |
ideal of devotion TO work worth doing |
simply for that works sake. | do |
not in the least underestimate the |
need OF having material prosperity as |
the basis of our civilization. but ! |
most earnestly insist that If our civ |
ilization does not build a lofty super |
structure 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 as for the individual; !
and there are few movements In which |
more thoroughly believe than in |
the movement to secure better re-
munel alton for our teachers But, |
after all, the service you render Is In !
calculable, 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 commemorative work If this |
work is of good to your fellowmen
To furnish in your lives such real
lied high ideal is to do a great serv
ice to the country The chief harm
done by the men of swollen fortune
to the community IS not the harm that
the demagogue is apt to depict as
springlng from their actions. but the
fact that their success sets up false
standard and so serves as a bad ex
ample for the rest of us If we did
not ourselves attach an exaggerated
importance to the rich man who Is
distinguished only by mis- riches, this
rich man would have most insgnih
cant influence over us. It is general
ly our own fault If he does damage
to us, for he damages us chiefly by
arousing our envy or by rendering MS
sour and discontinued. In his actual
business relations he is much more
apt TO benefit than narm the rest oil
us, and though II is eminently right
to take whatever steps are necessary
in order to prevent the exceptional
members of his class from doing
harm, it is wicked folly to let our
| selves be drawn into any attack upon
the man OF wealth merely as such.
| Moreover, sucn an attack is in Itself
an exceptionally crooked and ugly
| tribute to wealth and therefore the
| proof of an exceptionally ugly and
crooked state of mind in the man
making the attack. Venemous envy
of wealth is simply another form of
the spirit, which in one Of Its mani
estations takes the shape Of cringng
J servlllty toward wealth. and In an
other the shape OF brutal arrogance
on the part Of certain men Of wealth
Each one of these states of mind
whether it be hatred. servility. or ar
rogance. is In reality closely akin to
the other two; for eacn OF them
springs from Enthusiastically twisted
and exaggerated idea Of the import