The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1910-06-10

ly a war for a principle, a war waged
by each side for an ideal, ana while faults
and shortcomings were plentllul among
the comhatants, there was comparatively
little sordidness Of motive or conduct. In
such a giant struggle, where across the
warp of SO many interests Is shot the
wool Of SO many purposes. dark strands
and bright, strands somber and brilliant,
are always intertwincd; 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-
gardcd. and were wholly unintluenced b..
p~ecuniary 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 accumulating great
wealth. Caesar was again and again on
the verge Of bankruptcy; he spent an
enormous fortune; and he recouped him
self by the money which he made out Of
his political-military career. Augustus es-
tablished imperial Rome on firm founda-
lions by the use he made Of the huge
fortune he had acquired by plumber. What
a contrast is offered by the careers Of
Washington and Lincoln! There were a
few exceptions in ancient days; but the
immense majority Of the Greeks and the
Romans. as their civilizations eliminated.
accepted m~oney-making on a large scale
as one Of the incidents of a successful
public career. Now all of this is in sharp
contrast to what has happened within
the last two or three centuries. During
hts ftr,@ <IN~~@ l%@- l~~- ---.A
away from the theory that mOney-makin2
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, and
which did not seriously hurt a public ca
reer even a century ago. are now utterly
impossible. Wealthy men still exercise a
large, and sometimes an improper, inhu.
ence In politics, but it 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 az
an Incident OF their public careers will
bar them from public life. Speaking
generally. wealth may very greatly influ-
ence modern political life, but it is not &C.
qulred in political life.
Optimistic for the Future.
Mr.. Roosevelt called attention t.
the fact that hitherto every civiliza.
ton that has arisen has been able to
develop only a few activities, it's field
of endeavor being limited in kind aa
well as in locality, and each of these
civilizations has fallen. What is the
lesson to us of today? he asked. Will
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 ou1
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, tho
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 af.
FORD to develop any one set Of qualities.
any one set Of activities, at the cost Of
seeing others, equally necessary, afro.
phled. Neither the military efficiency OF
the MOngOl. the extraordinary business
ability Of the Phoenician, nor the subtle
and polished intellect of the Greek availed
to avert destruction.
We, the men of today and Of the fl.
ture, need many qualities if we are to do
our work we'll. We need. first Of all and
most important of all. the qualities which
stand at the base Of individual, Of family
NE, the fundamental and essential quail.
les-the homely, everyday, all-important
virtues. If the average man will NOT
work. If he has not in him the will and
the power to be a good husband and fla.
ther; II the average woman is not a good
houseWlle. a good mother of many
healthy children. then the state will TOP.
pie, will go down. no matter what NAV
be its b~rll..anCe of artistic development
or material achievement, But these nome.
~ qualities arc not enough. There must,
IN addition, be that power of organization.
that power of working in common for a
common end. which the German people
nave shown in such signal fashion during
me last half-century. Moreover, the
things of the spirit are ever more impor-
tant than the things OF the body. We can
we'll do without the hare Intolerance ar,l
ara intellectual barrenness of what WIS
worst IN the theological systems of the
past. but there has never been a rreata,
need of a high and fine religious sptr!:
than at the present time. So, while we
can laugh good-humoredly at some O.
the pretensions of modern philosophy i,
its various branches, it would be worse
than folly on our part to ignore our need
OF intellectual leadership.
Must Steer Middle Cc.:rse.
Never has philanthropy. humanitarian,
ism, seen such development as now: and
though we must all beware of the folly
and the vi|ciousness no worse than folly.
which marks the believer in the perfe.,.
tlblllty OF man when his heart runs avav
with his head. or when vanity usurps the
place Of conscience, Yet we must remem.
Der also that it is only by working alona
the lines laid down by the philanthropists.
by the lovers of mankind. that we IAN
De sure of lifting our civilization to a
higher and more permanent plane of WELL