The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-30
Former President Delivers
Address to Alumni ASS0-
citation at University
STUDENTS ARE URGED TO
Be TRUE AMERICANS
and the High Estee., In Which the
Country and People Are Held
BY Foreign Nations

Cambridge, Mass, June 2a.-Guest and
host in one. Theodore Roosevelt brought
energy and animation to commencement
day at Harvard university today. The
cheers that marked his passage to and fro
among the buildings of the ancient yard
indicated his position as chief guest of
the day, while his presence at the head
OF the table at the commencement lunch
con in memorial hall was the token that
he was host by virtue Of his office as
president of the Harvard Alumni assocla-
tion. He wore a black frock coat and silk
hat.
1t was Roosevelt of the class of lSS0'
today and he had busy time shaking
hands with old college friends. other dis
tinguished guests also were within the
university walls and when the great au-
dience in Sanders theatre saw Gov.
Charles E. Hughes of New York stand up
to receive an honorary degree. it burst
into great cheers and applause. ]. Pier
pont Morgan, the New York financier. and
Gen. Horace Porter, former ambassador
TO France. also were awarded honorary.
degrees
Nearly thousand young men received
their diplomas today. Colonel Roosevelt
tonight went to Nahant to spend the
night as the guest of United States SEN
ator Henry Cabot Lodge.
In opening the alumni meeting Colonel
Roosevelt said In part. after expressing
his thanks for the honor conferred In
making him president of the associations:
I'm the first place, l come home with an
Increased assurance of friendship and
f1,ox. ia hoxra vie
tied many different nations, and the more
] see of decent people of other nationah-
ties, the more | realize the truth of Abra-
ham Lincolns statement that there is
deal of human nature in mankind gooe
man is good man ariywhsts, 10 "a
scoundrel ought to be made to pay the
penalty of his scoundrelism, whatever
his birthplace or nationality.
II have been given honorary degrees in
certain foreign universities on the con-
tinent of Europe and in England. / am
deeply grateful therefor; ] appreciate the
honor. 1t was the keenest pleasure to me
to visit those universities. l admire them
with all my heart. And now. having
said that, you will not misunderstood me
when / say that come back feeling more
truly than ever that the place for man
to be educated Is in his own home. Let
him be sent to the school and the uni
versity in the United States. II he has
cndnr6
elsewhere according as his tastes and
needs dictate, good; but let him have the
foundations laid here, where his citizen
ship must be exercised.
Let me also point out the fact that
you cannot be useful abroad unless you
have abroad The respect that only comes
If your usefulness has been proved at
home. No man ought to receive or VIII
receive respect unless as an American he
has won his spurs In American life at
home
1T is important that this university
should turn out men able to do. to the
fullest extent, what is required OF them
by the complex needs of American cit
izenship and remember always that your
power to show respect to Others Will
largely depend upon your own self
respect. In the days when America mis-
trusted itself America felt bound, rather
loudly, to assert itself in the face Of for
eign nations. The greater American con-
fidence grows in itself, the more Amer
lea becomes strong and able to hold her
own In the face of any nation Of the earth
the more ready America will become to
treat each and every other nation In
spirit of the fullest cordiality and friend
ship, and the lass apparent she, Will be
to take offense, not merely needlessly. but
to take offense when there Is some small
need, but not enough to warrant losing
ones temper Iue dOIHlSslou oI' .luieFl-
ority in. the face Of another power is
often rendered as evident by over-ouick-
ness to resent a fancied slight, as 1t Is
by a tendency to bow down to the other
power, and America has reached the po-
sition when she need show neither form
OF admission or inferiority.
"One more word and then am
through was struck by two things
everywhere that / travelled abroad. One
was that the name America stood as
golden symbol of hope for all who felt
that they were downtrodden, that through
no fault of their own they had failed
to receive the justice to which, they were
entitled in life The name America
stood as a symbol Of aspiration, OF the
possibility Of realizing ideals according
10 which each man, rich or poor. should
be treated on his worth as a man and
should be given an opportunity to show
that worth and to be judged as he sue
ceeded In Showing it. That on one side.
On the other side / found everywhere
certain disheartened sense that we had
not come up to our ideals as there were
ground for believing that we ought to
have GOMEZ that we had not achieved
them as we ought to have achieved them;
and every instance of corruption, Of dem
agogy, of the unjust abuse of wealth.
the unjust use of wealth to the detriment
OF the public. or the improper acceptance
blythe public that mere wealth In ana OF
itself constituted claim to regard In
the community, every instance OF brutal
materialism on oiV part. every time that
1t was made evident that the attitude Of
this country was such as ought not to be
the attitude of democracy founded on
the plain upon which ours was founded
every such Instance served to dim The
IDEAL that the name America conjured on
the minds Of those Of foreign lands: every
4 such instance -s~ryed as an excuse for
those who with = sneer btdfmankind halt
! where II Is. because the IDEALS that they
have aet bef6ss is ars the ideals Of
'dreamers only NJ
Now. you Harvard men here you men
Of America, II you won't see that your
house Is not put in order for your own
sake. / suppose 1t will be useless to ask
you to put II In order for. the sake Of
other men. cannot imagine more stir
ring appeal, being made to any people
than this well-nish voiceless appeal from
those who inS other lands have not had
ene treatment 10 which they are in Jus
tice entitled who appeal to us to man