The San Francisco call., 1910-06-15
lawyer thinks
THE RECALL IS
GRAVE MENACE
Promotion of Public Opinion Is
of Serious National ImpOr=
tance, He Says
Nations Salvation Depends on
Leadership of the Educated,
Attorney Declares
Continued From Page 1


sense that our minds are, as it
were. brought back to the original
and first bases OF thought, to di-
rect communion with all that is
primitive and permanent and be-
yond analysis and conjecture.
PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITIES
It is, therefore. with real pleasure
that I ind myself here today after the
lapse Of so many eventful years And
mingled with that pleasure is a sense
Of responsibility and genuine concern
as to what I should say on this occa-
sion that might be of value to you.
Upon reflection ii has seemed to me
that ] could not better employ this
opportunity than to bring home to you,
with such emphasis as ] can, the truth
OF a conviction that has more and more
gained upon me as the years have gone
bg. That conviction, briefly put,
amounts 10 this: That upon the edu-
Gated men and women of this coun-
Try, and more especially upon the grad
uates Of cur colleges and universities,
there deVOlVe public duties and civic
responsibilities which they may not,
without proving recreant TO their trust,
either ignore or eVade. Just what some
the purpose OF this address to indi-
cate, but at the outset let me declare
my wish to avoid, in what 1 have to
say. any narrow. controversial spirit,
and 10 keep as closely as possible upon
ground that is not debatable. At the
same time I shall follow my convictions,
though they may seem to run counter
10 certain ideas advanced in the name
Of reform.
Never IN the history of our country
has there been greater need for intelli-
Loo
it is my firm opinion that the college
or university that makes no attempt
to equip its students for such leader
ship. even though ii may turn out
competent engineers, expert chemists
and skilled lawyers, has failed signaily
10 achieve one Of the important ends
matter what his special course" may
be. whether il be civil or mechanical
engineering. or biology. or the human
ities-eVery student should receive in
structiOn in what, for want of better
term. i shall call the philosophy of
our political institutions. / would not
be. understood as implying that our
colleges and universities do nothing
toward this end. That would not be
true. What I am pleading for is that
this instruction shall not be limited, as
il is at present, TO q comparatively few
students in institutional history, but
that il should be made more general.
j emphasize this point because l have
seen so many otherwise Intelligent men
and women who, when it came to a
question Of grave public policy, were at
the mercy of every political charlatan
that appeared. Educated and estimable
citizens who could not be deceived for
a moment by a quack who would offer
them some patent nostrum as cure
for all the ills that flesh is heir TO,
viii yet accept without question any
political cure all" that may be Of
fered them. Nowadays most educated
people are rightly skeptical concerning
short cuts TO health, or short cuts to
them snort
to- political perfection and they become
credulous almost to the point of sn
perstiuOn.
CHANGES MARKED BY TIME
Now we cannot reasonably expect
the great mass of the people to exer-
else critical judgment in matters in
which they have not been trained. but
surely the state has q right TO expect
that its educated men and women shall
give il the benefit of their more ma
tNre judgment when matters Of grave
public import are being considered An
active and Intelligent interest in pub
lie affairs is therefore a duty that one
who has profted by a collegiate edu-
cation can not escape. Nor could any
field more interesting or more impor-
-tant challenge his attention. Glance
for a moment at some of the interest
ing aspects presented by this subject
Thirty years ago commerce between
the states moved almost entirely with
out regulation, so far as the national
government was concerned. Now we
nave an elaborate cOOe OF laws enacted
by the congress Of the United States.
designed 10 regulate our Interstate
commerce and the corporations and in
dividuals engaged therein. Similar
laws have been and are being enact
ed by the different states to govern
their local concerns.
The government of our cities and
municipalities has given rise TO many
VeXed questions, which are still unset
tied; the laws governing the elective
franchise have undergone and have
Tr... rss4A.. 80
changes. Upon all these subjects. and
many others closely affecting the indi-
Vidual citizen, our laws may be said
to be in a formative period, and the
questions raised are vital and far
reaching. and have necessarily pro-
Voked and are provoking much pub
lie discussion We may sum up ali
this agitation and discussion as an ef-
fort 10 better our government and to
remove the evils which have arisen
under the laws heretofore existing. No
good citizen can fail to be interested
IN these questions, and I think no one
will take issue with me when I saw
that one Of the highest duties resting
upon the citizen is TO take an active
interest in the politics of his country,
10 DO his utmost 70 secure the best
government possible, and especially to
oppose any innovations or tendencies
which may be inconsistent with the
principles Of representative govern
Hnent, and upon which its stability and
permanency must ultimately depend.
Tn its last analysis our government
is essentially a government based upon
and controlled by public opinion. It
follows, therefore. that:
IN proportion as public opinion
is wise and enlightened. the gov
eTnment will be enlightened and
wise. In other words, the people
viii always have as good a govern
ment as their Intelligence and pa
triotism deserve. and no better. In
the long run, government can be
made better only by the improve
ment of the public opinion upon
which it rests.
CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE
Ir has American Commonwealth Mr.
Bryce devotes much space to the con-
sideratiOn Of public opinion, its nature,
its growth and its influence in the evo-
luton Of government. In speaking OF
the national characteristics of our peo-
PIE, he says
The Americans are at bottom a
conservative people, in virtue both
Of the deep instinct of their race
and Of that practical shrewdness
which recognizes the value of per-
manence and solidity in institu-
ti0ns. They are conservative in
their fundamental beliefs, in the
structure Of their government in
their social and domestic usages.
They are like a tree whose pendu-
lous shoots culver and rustic with
the slightest breeze. while its roots
enfold the rock with a grasp which
"a n 1raf 1f,c