The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-06-28
Individualism Discussed by
Former Secretary Leslie M. Shaw

The Mt. Vernon Hawkeye published
the following excerpt from the speech
on Individualism Of former secretary
secretary of the treasury, Leslie M.
Shaw, delivered at the commencement
exercises Of Cornell college:
If a stranger, able to speak the Eng
lish language but entirely unfamiliar
with actual conditions, was to listen
to present-day political speeches,
Chautauqua lectures, any considerable
number of sermons, read our maya
zines, enter the class rooms of political
economy and sociology in many of our
colleges and universities, listen to the
conversation at corner groceries, he
would reach the conclusion that chris
tian civilization exemplifled in the
United States is a failure. At the
present time more people have pur-
chased hammers than carry flags. II
Is true that the material rewards OF
life are not distributed per capita,
and they never were so distributed in
civilized country. Savages only
live on planes of absolute equality
But drop a spelling book and a New
Testament among them and some will
increase their wearing apparel, some
will improve their dwellings, some
will cook their food, and their plane
of living will diverge, and the farther
they advance in civilization the more
marked will be this divergence.
The rewards of life now and always
are, have been and will be generally
measured by service. Bishop Fowler
used to say, Mature keeps a one
price store; whoever lays down the
price, gets the goods" This doctrine
is no truer in material than in intel
lectual matters. A great many people
have tried to write poetry. Some
think the world has produced as many
as ten poets, and others do not put
the number that high, yet heard of a
man who said that he could write as
good poetry as Shakespeare If he had
mind to. His friends agreed that he
had discovered the correct handicap.
In the big war million men enlist
ed in the union army and at the end of
four and half years there had been
developed twenty, perhaps fifty or a
hundred multi millionaires in military
achievements and reputation, and yet
a larger number of men whose wealth
of reputation would not have been ex-
changed for millions. There were ten
thousand in unmarked graves. They
were equal in patriotism, equal in
bravery, perhaps not equally FORUM
ate in assignment, nor did they pos
sess equal aptitude for war
No one complains that the rewards
of military campaigns, or the rewards
of literature, of science, or OF art are
not distributed pro rata or per capita.
It is only when ninety million people
join in a great campaign for the
acquisition of wealth that complaint
IS made that aptitude plays such an
important part.
The trend of the times is toward So
cialism. We are all tinctured with 1t.
I plead guilty to this indictment my
self I chafe under conditions which
makes possible the accumulation of
enormous fortunes and which renders
it well nigh impossible for people OF
mediocre ability. with no special apti-
tude for anything, not even work, to
rise above their environments. re-
1cognize. however, that the conditions
of which we complain the loudest are
Objectionable only because they exist
in close proximity with conditions Of
transcendent affiuence.
/ know how to prevent the accumu-
lation OF fortunes. And there seems