Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1910-05-20
COL. ROOSEVELT
HEARD IN BERLIN
Ex-President Lectures on "The
World Movement"
UNIVERSITY AULA THRoNGED
Modern Civilization Is Compared With
That Of Former Ages-speaker is
Hopeful for the Future Of
Mankind.

berln.-BeIOre an audience OF
learned men and officials of high
mark, Theodore Roosevelt lectured
Thursday in the University of Berlin.
Every seat in the aula was occupied,
and many hundreds of requests for
admission had to be denied. The dis
tinguished American was introduced
to his hearers by the rector of the
university. His subject was ".The
World Movement" and he spoke in
English instead Of in German as he
at one time intended.
Beginning with an eloquent eulogy
OF the German race and its achieve
ments, the lecturer soon reached the
main theme of his discourse, and re-
viewed the civilization and culture, 80
far as we know them, of the earliest
peoples and their contributions to the
modern world. He then continued:
Modern Movement Begins.
At last. little over 400 years
ago. the movement towards a world clvili-
zation took up Its interrupted march. The
beginning of the modern movement may
roughly be taken as synchronlzing with
the discovery Of printing, and with that
series of bold sea ventures which culmi-
after these two epochal feats had begun
to produce their full effects in material
and intellectual life, II became inevitable
that civilization should thereafter differ
not only in degree but even in kind from
all that had gone before. Immediately
after the voyage of Columbus and Vasco
da Cana there began tremendous
ligSous ferment: the awakening of INTEL
iect went hand in hand with the moral
uprising; the great names of Copernicus,
~
mind of man was breaking the fetters
that had cramped It.; and for the first
time experimentation was used n check
upon observation and theorization. Since
then, century by century the changes
have increased in rapidity and complex
tty. and have attained their maximum In
both respects during the century just
past.
Instead of being directed by one or two
dominant peoples. was the case with
all similar movements of the past, the
new movement was shared by many diff
ferent nations From every standpoint It
has been Of infinitely greater moment
than anything hitherto seen. Not I'm one
but in many different peoples there has
been extraordinary growth in wealth. in
population, in power of organization. and
In mastery over mechanical activity and
natural resources. All of this has been
accompanied and signalized by an i'm
mense outburst of energy and restless
initiative. The result is varied as IL Is
striking.
Conquest of the World.
In the first place. representatives of this
civilization, by their conquest of space.
were enabled to spread into all the prac-
tically vacant continents, while at the
same time. by their triumphs in organiza-
ton and mechanical invention, they ac-
quired an unheard-of military superiority
as compared with their former rivals. To
these two facts is primarily due the
further fact that for the first time there
Is really something that approaches
world civilization, a world movement. The
spread of the European peoples since the
days of Ferdinand the Catholic and Ivan
the Terrible has been across every sea
and over every continent. In places the
conquests have been ethnic; that Is, there
has been a new wandering of the peoples.
and new commonwealths have sprung up
In which the people are entirely or main
ty OF European blood. This is what hap
pened in the temperate and sub-tropical
regions of the Western Hemisphere in
Australia, in portions of northern Asia
and southern Africa. In other places the
conquest has been purely political, the
Europeans representing for the most part
merely small caste of soldiers and ad-
illustrators, as in most of tropical Asia
and Africa and in much of tropical Amer
tea. Finally. here and there instances
cur where there has been no conquest at
ty and radically changed by the mere i'm
pact of western civilization.
There are of course many grades be-
tween these different types of influence
but the net outcome of what has occurred
during the last four centuries is that civil
tization of the European type now exer-
clses more or less profound effect over
practically the entire world. There are
nooks and corners to which 1t has not yet
penetrated; but there is at present no
large space Of territory in which the gem
eral movement of civilized activity does
not make itself more or less felt This
represents something wholly different
from what has ever hitherto been SEEN
In the greatest days of Roman dominion
the influence of Rome was felt over only
a relatively small portion of the world s
surface. Over much the larger part of the
world the process of change and develop
nent was absolutely unaffected by any
thing that occurred in the Roman empire;
and those communities the play of whose
Influence was felt in action and reaction,
and in inter-action, among themselves,
were grouped Immediately around the
Mediterranean. Now. however. the whole
world is bound together as never before;
the bonds are sometimes those of hatred
gather than love. but they are bonds
nevertheless.
All the Nations Linked.
Frowning or hopeful, every man of lead
must now look beyond the limits of his
own country. The student of sociology
may live In Berlin or st. Petersburg,
Rome or London. or he may live in Mel
bourne or San Francisco or Buenos Aires
but in whatever city he lives, he must pay
heed to the studies OF men who live In
each of the other cities. When In Amer
tea we study labor problems and attempt
to deal with subjects such as life insur-
ance for wage-workers, we turn to see
N.... Il 49,. L..
also turn to see what the far-off com
monwealth OF New Zealand is doing
When a great German scientist is warrinR
against the most dreaded enemies of man.
kind. creatures of infinitesimal size which
the microscope reveals In his blood. he
may spend his holidays OF study In cen.
trail Africa or in eastern Asia; and he
must know what Is accomplished in the
laboratories OF Tokyo. Just as he mus
know the details of that practical applica
- hos oba 81,