Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1905-07-07
DEMOCRATIC
ASSOCIATION
President Roosevelt So Styles
the National Educational
Organization.
THE WORLD ITS DEBTOR
No Self Government Attainabe With.
out Developed Minds and Trained
Characters. An Impressive
Speech

=. Asbury Park. July President
Roosevelt arrived at Asbury Park at
2 p m. The President was greeted at
the station by large crowd When
he arrived at the auditorium in which
the convention of the National Educa-
tional Association was being held, the
audience arose and greeted him with
the Chautauqua salute. President
Roosevelt at once began the delivery
of his address. He said:
am glad to have the chance of
greeting the National Educational AS
ISOLATION; for in all this democratic
land there is no more genuinely demo
cratic association than this. It is truly
| democratic, because here each mem.
ber 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 its 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 repub-
| lie is that done by the educators, for
whatever our shortcomings as a ma
ton may be, we have at least firmly
grasped the fact that we cannot do our
part in the difficult and a1l-important
work of selfgovernment, 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
we'll this republic 'would not endure
beyond the span of the generation.
Moreover, as an incident to your
avowed work, you render some Well
nigh unbelievable services to the
country. For instance, you render to
the republic the prime, the vital ser
vice of amalgamating into one homo.
gerous body the children alike of
those who are born here and Of those
who come here from so many differ
ent lands abroad. You furnish
common training and common ideals
for the children of all the mixed peo-
pies who are here being fused into one
nationality. 1t is no small degree due
to you and your efforts that we are
one people instead Of group of jarr-
ing peoples.
Moreover, where altogether too
much prominence is given to the mere
possession of wealth, the country is
under heavy obligations to such
body as this, which substitutes for the
Ideal of accumulating money the IN
fnitely loftier, nonmaterialisttc Ideal
of devotion to work worth doing simp-
ly for that works sake. | do not In
the least underestimate the need OF
having material prosperity as the bas-
is of our civilization, but l most earn
estly IN sist that if our civilization does
not build ii lofty superstructure on
this basis, we can never rank among
the really great peoples. A certain
amount of money is of course neces-
sary thing, as much for the nation as
for the individual; and there are few
movements in which | more thorough
" believe than in the movement to
secure better remuneration for our
teachers. But, after all, the service
YOU render is incalculable, because or
the very fact that by your lives you
show that you believe ideals to be
worth sacrifice, and that you are splen'
didly eager to do commemorative
work If this work is of good to your
fellow-men.
To furnish in your lives such real
lied 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 the harm that the
demagogue is apt to depict as spring
ing from their actions, but the fact
that their success sets up a false
standard, and so serves as bad ex-
ample 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 insignin-
cant influence over us. 1t is generally
our own fault if he does damage TO
us. for he damages us chiefly by arous-
ing our envy or by rendering us sour
and discontented. In his actual busi-
ness relations he is much more apt to
benefit than harm the rest of us; and
though it is eminently right to take
whatever steps are necessary in order
to prevents the exceptional members OF
his class from doing harm, 1t is wicked
folly to let ourselves be drawn into
any attack upon the man of wealth
merely as such. Moreover. such an at
tack is in itself an exceptionally crook
ed and ugly tribute to wealth. and
therefore the proof of an exceptionally