The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-09-16
The Scream of
the Spread Eagle

modern tools-which n race must possess
IN some measure II &c aspires TO a high
place among civilized states. Any one
attempting such a list would DO forced
to set down physical courage first OF all.
since this is most obviously indispensable
10 independent national existence. Next
might come three allied qualities, also
essential 10 prolonged national
lfe-patriotism (which must include
loyalty and the faculty of CO.
operation); sef-sacrifce. and justice
(which must include the respect for law)
After these there might be set down an
other group OF three, not so closely allied
and on the whole perhaps not quite so
important-honcsty, energy annd intelli-
gcnce. And to mako up the ten three
more would have 10 be added--thorough-
ness. tenacity and sympathy. This list
pretends to no scientific precision and
the qualities included may not have each
OF them the nttest name. Determination,
for example, might be a better word than
teuacity, and tolerstion might be substt-
tuted for sympathy.
II may we'll be that these are not really
the ten essential qualities OF great peo-
pie and that n more satisfactory list
could be drawn up without difficulty
by some one elso better fitted for the
task. But it will serve as a suggestion.
which is It's sole purpose. And then the
further suggestio may be advanced that
the chief peoples OF our Western civiliza-
ton are the Austro- -Hungarianss the
British, the French. the Germans, the
Italians, the Russians, the Scandtnavians.
the Spaniards, the Swiss and the IN
hahItants OF these United States.
The arrangement is alphabetical and
the list itself is only tentative. 1t is
open to obvious objection, and yet II
may possibly be as servicable as any
other. 1t gives us ten peoples or races
or States, as the case may be, and we
have already a list OF ten qualities or
characteristics highly important to any
nation Let us then go one step further
and suggest a marking system under
which ten is the maximum number or
points to be assigned TO any one quality.
Now, II we could find a dislnterested
and we'll equipped citizen OF each OF these
ten States, IL we could get him to ac-
cept this list of ten qualities needed by
every race, and then X we could per-
suade him to assign TO every State. In
Guiding his own, the exact mark which
he thought this State was entitled to re-
ceive for it's share of every one OF these
qualties-ii We could do this the result
ing table would be curious, to say the
least. And 1t would be very Instructive
also. containing not a few surprises Tor
most Of US, With ten observers and ten
qualities and with ten as the maximum
for any single quality, the total number
Of points attainable by each Of the ten
peoples would be 1000. But we may
guess that no total would exceed perhaps
700 and that none would fall below 600.
In other words. there would be no very
great divergence between the nation
which received the most points and that
which received the fewest.
And one reason for this is plain. How
might
be and however disinterested, no one OF
them could be expected to overcome his
native bias absolutely. Every one of
them would tend TO overmark his own
State, and even to overmark also the
States which had similar characteristics
10 his own We may be pretty certain
that the Latins would each of them more
or less over-reward their fellow Latins.
and the Teutons would in like manner as
sign points little too literally to their
fellow Teutons. But the Latins would
probably undermark the most OF the
northern peoples and the Teutons would
undermark the most Of the southern
races. Thus there would be approx
mate Justice one personal equation tend
ing TO correct the other. And however
dissatisfied We might be with the total
number OF marks assigned TO us, and
with our position compared With each OF
the other States, there would be profit
In our discovering Whal "Sil SluipPSN
and disinterested observers chosen from
nine other peoples had decided TO be our
virtues and our vices.
Just as we should probably be sur
prised TO see how little the totals would
vary (however differently each OF them
might be made up). so we should GER
tainly be astonished to find an almost
absolute equality between the States as
regards one Of the qualities, and that
the very quality upon the possession OF
which every people plumes itself most
particularly THIS quality is physical
courage, and it is pride in this which
led the American bard TO ask Where
breathes the foe but falls before us?"
which made the British historian boast
about the thin red line" and which has
tempted the French 70 quote frequently
The italian phrase OF "la furia fran
cese." The instructive feeling that this
one quality is absolutely essential 10
national existence and that a race with
out physical courage Is doomed TO lose
its independence and almost It's indivi-
duality. has led every people TO set this
Ia the forefront of its national virtues.
Yet the possession OF physical courage
by nation is like the possession OF two
legs and two arms by man; II is TO be
taken for granted; IL is nothing TO brag
about. Every people must have II or
they cease to be a nation. without It.
they sink swiftly to the sad condition OF
The lowly dwelers in the valley of the
Nile. downtrodden tillers of the scanty
soil for scores OF centuries, ever ruled
by aggressive aliens of more stalwart
stocks.
Whenever physical courage begins TO
he uncommon Then the career OF the
nation Is nearing its end. Tacitus re-
corded saying OF his time, that only
those Roman troops were really good
who were not Roman. and this might
have made II clear to him that the DAYS
~ the Empire were already numbered
The barberians were even then making
ready 10 break in and 10 capture the
capital. And IL is we'll also TO remem-
Der that civilization has no monopoly
If mere bravery. Indeed, the disregard
Of death is often characteristic OF the
lower races. The bard of the British
Empire recognized this amply when he
wrote; Here's TO you. Fuzzy WuzzS,
you're n hrst-rate fighting man"
And just as every people must have
physical courage In a high degree as q