Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-14
Citizenship and Sacrifices"

| President Sharpless of Haverford College
! In Pennsylvania was a candidate for the
| legislature at the recent election and was
defeated. Speaking to one of the college
societies the other night on the subject of
| political conditions in that state he said:
81 believe that there is a great place for
young men of high morals in public life. l
suppose 1 should not have accepted the
nomination which recently did except that
| knew that if I declined l could never ask
a young man from Haverford to sacrifice
something for honest politics. If anything
can be brought to bear upon the young col
lege men of this generation to take up poll
iticS because they are fitted to work out
the problems which belong to political soci-
ETY.. then the cause of patriotism in this
country will not be lost. A very large pro-
portion of Haverfordians constitute the
leaders of the reform movement in Philadel-
phia and the adjacent vicinity and trust
that the fight for pure politics will not
slacken in the future through any failure
on the part of the Haverfordians here to-
night to do their share"
What does a young man, college-bred or
otherwise, sacrifice" by taking an active
part in politics? He gains by it, both for
himself and for others. In fact he misses
a great deal in the way of profit, instruction,
and entertainment if he does not exert him.
self as citizen in behalf of honest policies,
city, state, and national, and the election to
office of honest and capable men to carry
them out He in that much fails Of his
duty, and indirectly aids the cause. Of
machine politics and party bosses.
In addressing young men on this subject,
especially such as are just on the thres sold
of their citizenship, 1t might be we'll to
dwell on the entertainment feature of pol
tiles. 1t is far from being either a dull, or
tireSome, or commonplace game. On the
contrary, it is full of excitement, and re-
quires all the alertneSS of which man is
capable. He is not required to be either
heavy philosopher, stuffed with theories and
statistics, or a light and airy faker, full of
tricks and unscrupulousness. But he must
know men and their methods, and how
now to expose and explain, and now to
withhold and mask, his own purposes. In
other words he must strike when the iron
is hot, and know for sure the condition Of
the metal.
Nor is it necessary to run for office to do
good service for clean government Office Of
course calls for a temporary abandonment
of private business. A man cannot serve
two masters, himself and the public. If he
attempts that feat, one or the other will
suffer. But the men who cannot afford
office can afford to help the proper men who
seek office to get it, and they serve them
selves and everybody else when they do so.
At bottom this whole matter is simple.
If boys were trained more in love for
debate and in the knowledge of what lies
before them when they take their places
in the world of action, we might have
lower scores on the polo field, the foot ball
field, the base ball field, but certainly
higher ones in the field of the public
business, which, at last, is the greatest
field of all