The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-04-24

/ portant still are commonplace. every
/ day qualities and virtues.
Such ordinary. everyday qualities
/ include the viii and the p.wer to
| work. to fight at need, and to have
/ plenty OF healthy children. There
/ are few people In every country
50 born that they can lead lives OF
/ leisure. ThcsD iii a useful function
/ If they maxi it evident that leisure
| does not moan idlencss But the ay-
eragc man must earn his own liycli.
hood He should be trained TO do
50, and he should be- trained To feel
sition If he does not do so, that
h. Is not an object OF envy II he
Is id.e. at whichever end of the so
cial scale he stands. but an object
o; contempt an object of derision.
In the next place. the good man
should be b Oh strong and brave
man; that is. he should be able to
fight. he should be able to serve
his country as soldier IL the need
arises. There are wcll-meaning phil
us1phers who doclaim against the
unrightcOusucss Of war They are
right only 30 they lay all their om.
phasIs upsn the unrighteousnose war
is al readful thing. an unjust war
Is a crime against humanity. But It
is such a crime because il Is un-
just not because IL 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. Il the right to prevail? Are the
great laws of Righteousness once
more to be- fulfilled? And the an
swcr from a strong and virile people
must be. Yes whatever the cost.
Finally. even more important than
ability to work. even more import.
ant than ability to fight at need.
is to remember that the chief bless
ings OF any nation Is that IL shall
leave its seed to inherit the land
Il was the crown of blessings in
l}lbllcan times. and II is the crown
of blessings now The greatest of
all curses is the curse OF sterility.
and the sevcrest ~ all condemna-
tions should be that visited upon
wilful stcrilty. The first essential in
any civilization is that the man
and the woman shall be father and
mother OF healthy children. so tina.
the race shall increase and not de.
crease. If this is not 40. If through
no fault of the society there is
failure TO increase. II is great
misfortune. II the failure Is due to
deliberate aud wilful fault. then 1t
Is not merely n misfortune. IL is
one OF those crimes of ease and self
indulgence, of shrinking from pain
and effort and risk. which in the long
run Nature Furnishes more heavily
than any other. II We OF the great
republics, If we, the free people who
claim 10 have cmancipated ourselves
from the thraldom of wrong and
error, bring down on our heads the
curse that comes upon the wilfully
barren, then 1t will be an idle waste
of breath TO prattlc Of our achieve.
mcnts, TO boast of all that we have
done. No refinement Cf life. no del
icaCy Of taste, no material progress,
no sordid heaping up of riches. no
sonsuous development Of art and lit.
eraturr. can in any way compensate
fer the loss OF the great fundament.
al virtues; and OF these great funda.
mental virtues, the greatest Is the
races power to perpetuate the race.
I'm short, the good citizen in a
republic must realize that he ougI.
to possess two sets OF qualities. and
that neither avalls without the other.
He must have these qualities which
make for efficiency; and he must
also have those qualities which di.
rect the efficiency into channels for
the public good. He is useless ii he
is inefficient There is nothing to
be done with that type of citizen
Of whom all that can be said Is
that hn is harmless Virtue which
Is dependent upon a sluggish circu.
.atiun is not impressive. There i
little place in ACTIVE life for the tim.
ID good man. IT,, man who is saved
by weakness from robust wickedness
Is likewise rendered immune from
the rohustor virtues. The good cit.
iz'n m republic must first of all
be able 70 hold his own lie is no
good citizen unless he has the abil.
ity which will make him work hard
and which at need will make him
fight hard The good citizen is not
a cd citizen unless he is an Ell