Lower coast gazette., 1910-04-30


| stricken at R~OnCesvalles.
Need Of Individual Character.
Let those who have, keep, let thos
who have not, strive to attain a higl
standard of cultivation and scholar
ship. Yet let us remember that thes'
stand second to certain other things
There is need of a sound body, ant
even ore need OF a sound mind. Blu
above mind and above body stand:
character, the sum of those qualitie!
which we mean when we speak of ;
mans force and courage, of his goo(
faith and sense of honor. | believe II
exercise of the body, always provided
that we keep in mind that physica
development is a means and not ar
end. ! believe, Of course, in giving tt
all the people a good education. But
the education must contain much be
sides b00k-learning in order to be
really good. We must ever remember
that no keenness. and subtleness OF
intellect, no polish, no c%leverness in
any way make up for the lack of great
solid qualities-self-restraint, self-mas
terry, common sense, the power Of &C
cepting individual responsibility and
yet, of acting in conjunction with
others. Courage and resolution; these
are the qualities which mark a mas
terful people. Without them no peo-
pie a control itself Or save itself
from being controlled from the out.
side. I speak to a brilliant assemblage:
l speak in a great university which
represents the flower Of the highest
intellectual Development; l pay all
homage to intellect, and to elaborate
and specialized training of the intel.
lect; and yet ! know ] shall have the
assent Of all you present when l add
that more important still are the COM
monplace, everyday qualities and vlr-
tues.
The Evils of Steriiity.
In the next place the good mar
should be both a strong and a brave
man; that is, he should be able to
fight, he should be able to serve his
country as a soldier if the need arises.
There are well-meaning philosophers
who declaim against the unrighteOus.
Tess of war. They are right, only
The! lay all their emphasis upon the
righteousness. War Is a dreadful
thing, and unjust; "a IS a crime
against humanity. But it is such a
crime because it is unjust, not because
it is war. The choice must ever be In
favor of righteousness. and this
whether the alternative be peace or
whether the alternative be war. The
question must not be merely, is there
to be peace or war? The question
must be, is the right to prevail? Are
the great laws OF righteousness once
more to be fulfilled? And the answer
a strong and virile. people must
be, Yes whatever the cost. Every
honorable effort should always be
made by the individual in private life
keep out of a brawl, to keep out
Of trouble; but no self-respecting indi-
no se~lf-respecting nation, can
Or ought to submit to wrong.
Finally, even nor important than
to work, ven more important
than ability to fight at need, is it to
that the chief of blessings
Tor any nation is that it shall leave its
seed to inherit the land. 1t was the
crown of blessings in Biblical times,
and it is the crown Of blessings now.
The greatest of all curses is the curse
If sterility. and the severest Of all
COMBINATIONS should be that visited
upon wilful sterility. The first es-
in any civilization is that the
nan and the woman shall be father
Ind mother Of healthy children, so
hat the race shall increase and not
decrease. If this is not so, If through
10 fault of society there is failure to
Increase, it is a great misfortune. If
he failure is due to deliberate and
vilful fault, then it is not merely a
Misfortune, it is one Of those crimes
# ease and self-indulgence, of shrink.
ng from pain and effort and risk,
which in the long run nature Furnishes
more heavily than any other.
Idle Achievements.
If we Of the great republics, II we,
he free people who claim to have
mancipated ourselves from the thral.
ON of wrong and error. bring down
n our heads the curse that comes
pom the wilfully barren. then it will
e an idle waste of breath to prattle
+ our achievements, to boast Of all
hat we have done. No refinement of
fe, no delicacy of taste, no material
rogress, no sordid heaping up of
no sensuous development Of art
nd literature, can in any way CON-
ersate for the loss Of the great
fundamental virtues; and of the great
fundamental virtues, the greatest Is
ne races power to perpetuate the
ace.
But If a mans efficiency is not gil
ed and regulated by a moral senhe,
the more efficient he Is the worse
e is, the more dangerous to the body
olitic. Courage, intellect, all the mas
,rful qualities, serve but to make a
ian more evil If they are used merely
n that mans own advancement,
it'll brutal indifference to the rights
I others. 1t speaks i'll for the com.
unity If the community worships
,ese qualities and treats their pos
,ssors as heroes regardless of wheth-
; the qualities are used rightly or
rongly. 1t makes no difference as to
precise way in which this SIMS