The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1910-05-13

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iv- war for a principle. q wal waged
b,xyach side for an ideal. and while faults
and shortcomings were plentiful among
the combatants, there was comparatively
little sordidness Of motive or conduct. In
such a i giant struggle. where across the
warp Of SO many interests Is shot the
woof Of so many purposes. dark strands
and bright. strands somber and brilliant
are always i~ntertwined: inevitably there
was corruption here and there in the Civil
war; but. all the leaders on both sides.
and the great majority OF the enormous
masses Of fighting men. wholly disre-
garded, and were wholly uninfluenced BY.
pecuniary considerations.
Wealth and Politics.
Another striking contrast in the course
OF modern civilization as compared with
the later stages of the Graeco-Roman or
classic civilization Is to be found In the
relations of wealth and politics. In clas-
sic times, as the civilization advanced to-
ward its zenith, politics became a recog-
nized means Of accommodating great
wealth. Caesar was again and again on
the verge of bankruptcy: he spent an
enormous f%ortune: and he recouped him.
self by the money which he made out OK
his political-military career. Augustus es-
tabIished imperial Rome on firm founda-
| tons by the use he made Of the huge
fortune he had acquired by Splunder. What
a contrast is offered by the careers OK
Washington and Lincoln! There were q
| few exceptions in ancient days: but the
immense majority of the Greeks and the
| Romans. as their civilizations culminateo.
| accepted money-making or a largesscale
| as one OF the Incidents Of a successful
public career. Now all Of this Is in sharp
~aat7as. to what has happened within
the last two or three centuries. During
| this time there has been a steady growth
away from the theory that y making
Is permissible in an honorable public ca
reer.
In this respect the standard has been
| constantly elevated, and things which
| statesmen had no hesitation In doing
three centuries or two centuries ago, ana
which did not seriously hurt a pubic ca
| reer even a century ago, are now utterly
impossible. Wealthy men still exercise Q
large, and sometimes ar improper, infu-
ence in politics, but 1t is apt to be An In
direct Influence: and in the advanced
states the mere suspicion that the wealth
of public men is obtained or added. to as
an incident OF their public careers VIII
bar them from public life. Speaking
generally, wealth may very 1nfu-
ence modern political life. but it's not &C
quired in political life.
l. Optimistic for the Future.
I Mr.. Roosevelt called attention to
the fact that hitherto every civillza'
ton that has arisen has been able to
develop only a few activities, les field
of endeavor being limited in kind as
well as in locality, and each OF these
civilizations has fallen. What is the
lesson to us of today? he asked. VIII
the crash come, and be all the more
terrible because of the immense In
crease in activities and area? To this
he replied:
Personally, I do not believe that ouI
civilization will fall. I think that on the
whole we have grown better and not
worse. I think that on the whole the fu-
ture holds more for us than even the
great past has held. But, assuredly, thu
dreams of golden glory in the future will
not come true unless, high of heart and
strong Of hand, by our own mighty deeds
we make them come true. We cannot at
ford to develop any one set OF qualities
any one set Of activities, at the cost OF
seeing others. equally necessary. afro
phied. Neither the military efficiency OF
the Mongol, the extraordinary business
ability of the Phoenician. nor the subtle
and polished intellect Of the Greek awaited
to avert destruction.
We. the men Of today and Of the fu'
ture, need nan qualities il we are to dt
our work well. We need, first of all ant
most important of all, the qualities which
stand at the base Of individual. OF family
life. the fundamental and essential quail
ties-the homely. everyday. iall-importan'
virtues. If the average man will no
work, If he has not in him the will and
the power to be q good husband and IA
ther: If the average woman Is not a gooc
housewife. a good mother OF many
healthy children, then the state will top
So, - -rho rnnx
be its brilliance of artistic development
or material achievement. But these home
ly qualities are not enough. There must
in addition, be that power of organization
that power Of working in common for I
common end. which the German people
have shown In such signal fashion during
the last half-century. Moreover. tn
things of the spirit are even more impor
tant than the things of the body. We cal
we'll do without the hard Intolerance ant
arid intellectual ~barrenness OF what wa
worst in the theological systems OF tn
past, but there has never been a create
need Of a high and fine religious spiri
than at the present time. So. while W
can laugh good-humoredly at some o
the pretensicns of modern philosophy II
its various branches, It would be wors
than folly on our part to ignore our nee
of Intellectual leadership.
Must Steer Middle Course.
Never has philanthropy, Humanitarian
ism, seen such development as now; an
though we mi all beware OF the foil.
and the viciousness no worse than folly
which marks the believer in the perfec
tibility Of man when his heart runs ava
with his head, or when vanity usurps tn
place of conscience, yet we must remem
Der also that it Is only by working aion
the lines laid down by the philanthropists
by the lovers of mankind, that we ca
b., sure of lifting our civilization to
higher and more permanent plane OF well
being tha was ever attained by any pre-
ceding civilization. Unjust war Is to b
abhorred: but woe to the nation that doe
not make ready to hold It's own In tim
OF need against all who would harm II
and woe thrice over to the nation 4
which the average man loses the fghtini
edge, loses the power to serve as a sol
der If the day of need should arise.
1t is no impossible dream to build up
civilization In which morality. ethical de
velopment, and a true feeling OF brother
hood shall alike be divorced from falls
sentimentality, and from the rancorou
and evil passions which. curiously enough
so often accompany professions OF senti