Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-05-27
Unitarian Club Holds Fl
nal Meeting Thursday,
President Roberts Of Colby De.
|ivers Interesting Address.
Officers Elected for Year...0ther
Business Transacted.

/
meeting Thursday evening in the ban
quet hall of the Augusta House and
the closing session of this society was.
without doubt, the most enjoyable of
| the season.
President Arthur j. Roberts of Colby
College and one of the leading educa-
tors in Maine at the present, time, was
the guest of honor and his address on
What Makes Great Men Great" was
a virile and interesting exposition of a
most obtuse question. Those present
at the meeting were: President Ar
thur j. Roberts of Colby, Associate
Justice w. p. Whtehouse, Associate
! Justice Leslie C. Cornish, Judge G. #.
Stevens, Judge B. F. Maher, Gen. Sell
don Conner, Rev. H. S. Burrage, Dr.
S. ]. Beach, 3. F. Purinton, c. T. Pen
ney, C. Z. Davis E. P. Morton, Frank
A. Partridge and Norman L. Bassett
Supper was served at $50 o'clock and
a business meeting followed. The Sec
| retary's report was read and showed
that 16 new members have been added
| to the clubs roster in the past year,
| bringing the total membership up to
| Al. The following officers were elect
! ed to serve during the ensuing year:
President, Dr. S. j. Beach; vice presi-
| dent, Samuel TitcOmb; treasurer, DIR.
| O. w. Turner: secretary, Norman l..
Rassett. E. NJ. Slocombe was elected
a member of the executive committee
to serve in conjunction with the newly
elected officers.
President Roberts spoke as follows:
| Briefly, and in rather sketchy and
| superficial fashion, we are to review
some Of the elements and conditions of
human genius as we try to answer the
question, What makes great men
| great?"
"Of course the lines of Shakespeare
at once occur to all of US: Some are
born great, some achieve greatness, and
some have greatness thrust upon them.
| But after all there are only two kinds,
| for all great men are born great that
| is, have capacity for greatness. or
| those born great. some achieve great
| ness and some have greatness thrust
| upon them. By those who achieve
| greatness the poet seems to mean
| those, who in hand to hand conflict
| master fate; by those who have great
ness thrust upon them, he seems to
mean those on whom fortune is care
| lul W UeStOW neT DOuHIloS.
President Roberts sited the case of
! Booker T. Washington as one of the
most prominent examples of a man
who has achieved greatness. Born in
a slave cabin the man, who today, is
looked upon as an intellectual giant
| by persistent effort attained his pres
| ent position after a life of unremitting
toll and study He has done more for
! the settlement of the race question
chan any other man since the Civil War
and his name is sure to adorn the hall
| OF fame IN centuries 10 come.
President Roberts salG that as an ex-
ample of those who both achieve great
ness and also have greatness thrust
| UPON them, the name of Theodore
| Roosevelt was most prominent. Mr.
Roosevelt" said Mr.. Roberts, "was
born with the capacity o. greatness but
was handicapped by wealth. To make
a great man, someone has said, two
| things are necessary: Parts and pow
city. Roosevelt had the ambition but
not tie poverty. He did finally reach
| the gOvernorship of New York and
| then he had some greatness thrust up
| or him. In 1900 he was nominated for
| the Vice Presidency against his will.
| The hand of an assassin soon did it's
work and he became the Chief Execu-
tive of this great country. 1t is a
fact that a young man with a pocket
| full of money has no ambition other
than to spend it. 1t is doubly hard for
a rich man 10 enter heaven, but think
| he has better chance than his son.
But Roosevelt worked for his ambition
and his administration Will be remem-
be red 100 years from now as the era in
which public sentiment was awakened
| against grafters in both politics and
| business"
| Continuing, the speaker said "The
| first requisite of greatness is oppor-
F! tlnity. If the English Parliament had
l., ""esed the stamp act, George
, Washington would, in all probability,
/ Il ueen heard Of If it had not
been for the Civil War, the military
genius of General Grant would never
| have been known. For some kinds Of
| genius the requisite opportunity is
more readily provided than for others
| Compare for example TIE genius Of
Robert Burns. the poet, to the military
| genius. A printing press could make
| Burns genius known to the world in
a day. while to prove the military gen.
Jus OF Grant it required the cost of
over a million young lives
| President Roberts spoke at some
length on the advisability of teachers
studying the traits of their pupils in
such a manner that they might be
thoroughly competent to advise them
as to what each of them was best
fitted for in life.
| "All around u.s." said Mr.. Roberts,
'is undeveloped talent and IL some men
would take more interest in develop
ing the talent abilities or their chill
dren, there would be many more
gen;uses in the world
In summing up the various kinds of
genius President Roberts, said: Il have
divided the different kinds of genius
| in what seems to me to be the order
of rank. Lowest in rank is military
genius, second comes scientific and in
ventive genius, then political genius
and highest of all religious genius The
world places high value on political
genius because without some form of
| government there could De no civiliza-
| ton. The scientist finds out the secrets
of nature and the inventor turns these
secrets to mans use. The artist knows
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