Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-11-09
HAD A WAY TO A

was the guest last week OF the
Twenty Century club, the chief din.
ing and debating organization OF
Boston, and before the meeting was
over he had stirred up somewhat of
a commotion by his comments ON
various topics.
DR.. Benjamin F. Truebood, secre-
tary of the American Peace society,
and Mr.. and Mrs. Edwin d. Mead,
all fresh from the recent great peace
meetings in Europe, were the adver-
tised speakers, but Samuel B. Pear
man, a member of the club, took Mr..
Clemens along with him as his guest
and Of course the celebrated humor-
list was called on for a speech.
Mrs. Mead in her address criti-
cized the secret treaty between
England and Japan, by which those
two nations sought to settle the
whole eastern nations without con-
sulting others, although the whole
world had an interest in the matter.
For the same reason she criticised
the new Interpretation by President
Roosevelt of the Monroe doctrine to
settle alone with an offending and
delinquent nation in the western
hemisphere.
DR.. Truebood said that the peace
conference OF this year had taken up
the idea of world federation, and
that many others, with Andrew Car
negie, that a combination of FIVE
great powers alone -Americu, Rus
STA, France, Germany and England
would be sufficient to maintain
universal peace. simply by the
ostracism of any nation guilty of
infraction.
Then MI. Clemens was called on.
When he ose he was greeted with
loud applause. When quiet had
been restored, Mr.. Clemens said:
81 am different from those other
who have been speaking.
This problem of universal peace
used to be one of the uppermost
in my MUD. / used to
study over it-no, | will not say
that l really studied, / thought
about it; how to get universal peace.
bothered me, but | kept growing
nearer and nearer to a solution, and
at last | came to it.
"But the very day /. thought |
had solved it | was summoned to the
presence Of an emperor. The first
thing he asked me was what ] was
nowadays. / told him | had
been working out a problem-the
problem of universal peace-and
hat | had solved it. / had found
The only way--there was no other.
ssThen he wanted to know how !
was going to bring it about, and
told him: i am going to get a
chemist, a real genius-and get him
10 abstract all the oxygen from the
air for eight minutes. Then we will
have universal peace, and it will be
permanent
These young people who have
been talking before | begun, still
have an interest in the human race.
But in my case the clock may strike
my years any minute. l an so near
il that / don't feel hat kind Of
interest. Let's see about this inter.
est in the human race Everyone
who has it wants to know how any
thing done will. effect me- The
human race exists in his own person.
He is wise and while no others are
wise, therefore are Of no use in this
globe.
"But ! have got where ! al look
on the human race from . dispass-
tomato attitude. / am so ear out
Of it that there is no use in my try
ing to solve it's problems.
"Nothing al be accomplished
except through statesmanship. Great
and noble profession! A mass Of
foolishness! The statesmanship of
now is to build ships-ships for each