The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-08
PRESIDENT PRAISES ROOT.
PART OF THE THEME OF SPEECH
TO THE EDUCATORS.
.yot a Man In Ny Cabinet" Mr.. Roosevelt
saws, 40 Whom II Is Not Financial
DIsadyantage to Stay There"-Miss
Make Tells or Her Mothers Prophecy.

Dsndyantage to stay IneTe "'Ss
make Tells or Her Mothers Prophecy.
AssrsY PARK, July More than 10000
rer,ons in and around the big Ocean Grove
auditorium warmly greeted President
ROOSEVELT to-day when he got up to talk
10 the educators. 1t was several minutes
horore he was able to begin his speech.
he said;
y am glad to have thu, chance OF greet greet
In, the National Educational ASSOCIATION,
fos in all this democratic land there Is
~ more genuinely democratic association
han his 1t is truly democratic, because
here ga Oh member meets every other mem
hor az his peer without regard to whether
heis the president OF one OF me Srea. ufh h;
a',,os ar the newest recruit to that mgh
a,d honorable profession which has In It's
aharge the INFRINGING and training OF
thnse bovs and girls who in few short
oars viii themselves be settling the des-
;;nies of th- nation. IL Is not 700 fhucn
.', .ay,hot tho most chara cteristic work OF
,ba rsrib.o i that done by the educators.
snr wbatever our shortcomings as nation
,ra,. he We have at least firmly grasped
ia fact that We cannot do our part IN
,ho Spcut and all important work OF
s'nIs.gnyernment, that we cannot rule and
navsrn ourselves, unless we approach the
AK with developed minds and trained
Won teachers make the whole world
your debtor. If you did not do your
work well this republic would not en-
d,ro beyond the span of the genera
u ur Moreover, as an incident to your
gvowed work. you render some wellnigh
Unbelievable services to the country.
For instance, YOU render to the republic
b.,nri,ue. the vital service of anna lgamating
into one Homogeneous body the chlldren
like of those who are born here and OF
those who come here from so many different
,ards abroad You furnish a common
raining and common ideals for the children
~ aIl the mixed peoples who are here being
fused into one nationality. 1t is in no
small degree due to you and your EFFORTS
that wn are one people instead OF group
of iarring peoples.
prominence is given to the mere possess
son Of wealth, the country Is under heavy
obligations to such ; L1dy y. as tins, %hicn
money tho infinitely loftier, non material
;.tir ideal of devotion to work worth doing
simnly for that works sake. / do not in the
least underestimate the need OF having ma
terial prosperity as the basis of our civlliZa-
ZION: Tut | most earnestly insist that If our
cyi,ization 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 necessary
thing. as much for the nation as for the
individual; and there are few movements
in which I more thoroughly believe than
in the movement to secure better remun-
Grafton for our teachers. But, after all,
the service YOU render is incalcula bic. be-
cause of the verv fact that by your lives you
show that YOU believe ideals to he worth
sacrifice and that you are splenlsdldly eager
TO do commemorative work II this work
is of good to your fellow men.
TO furnish in your lives such real
lied high ideal is to do a great service 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 springing from their actions. but
the fact that their success sets up false
standard. and so serves as a bad example
for the rest of us. II we did not ourselves
attach an exaggerated importance to the
rich man who is distinguished only by his
riches this rich man would have most in
significant influence over us. 1t is generally
orr own fault if he does damage to us, for
he damages US chiefly by arousins our envy
or by rendering us sour and dlscontented'
In his actual business relations ne n much
more ant to benefit than harm the rest
OF us. and though it is eminently
right to take whatever steps are neces-
sary in order to prevent the eXcep-
tiona memters Of his class from doing
harm, it IS wicked folly TO let ON selves lie
wealth merely as such. Moreover, such
nm attack is in itself an exceptionally
crooked and ugly tribute - wealth, and
therefore he proof of an exceptionally ugly
and crooked state o! mrd L. the man MAX
In the attack
other :arn, rt thu spir! which IN ono OF Its
mantle sta tion- ia kes the shape OF cringlng
servitv 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, whether it be hatred. ser
vility or arrogance, is in reality closely akin
to tie other two, for each Of them springs
from a Enthusiastically twisted and eXaR-
gerated idea Of the importance OF wealth
as compared to other things. The clamor
Of the demagogue against wealth, .ne
snobterv Of the social columns of the news
papers which deal with the doings of the
wealthy nd the misconduct of those men
of wealth who act with brutal disregard
Of 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 fixture to have
proper ideals.
This failure must be remedied in large
rart by the actions Of you and your fellow
teachers your fellow educators throughout
this land BY your lives, no less than by
your teachings, you show that while You
regard wealth as GOOD thing you regard
other things as still better 1t Is abso-
lltey necessary to earn certain amount
OF money; it is mans first duty to those
dependent upon him to earn enough for
their support; but after a certain point
has been reached money making can never
stand on the same plane with other ana
nohler forms of effort.
"lhe roll of American WORTHLESS numbers
nan lie Washington and Lincoln, Grant
and Farra gut Hawthorne and Poe, Fulton
and Morse. Saint Gardens and Mac m onni"S;
!, numbers statesmen and soldiers, men OF
iet'ers, artists, s,ulptors, men of science