The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-04-23
COX Roosevelt Gives First
FOuf Addresses III Europe

hard natef1allsm OF an lnuusIElallsh
even more intense and absorbing thar
that Of the older nations; although
these themselves have likewise al
ready entered on the age Of ciyiliza
and predominantly industrial ciyiliza
tion.
AS the country grows, its people
who have won success in many lines
turn back to try to recover the pos
session Of the mind and the spirit
which perforee their fathers threw
aside in order better to wage the first
rough battles for the continent their
children inherit. The leaders Of
thought and of action grope their way
forward to a new life, realizing, some.
times dlmly, sometimes clearsighted.
ly, that the life of material gain
whether for a nation or an Individual
is of value only as a foundation, only
as there Is added to it the uplift that
comes from devotion to loftier ideals.
The new life thus sought can in part
be developed afresh from what is
round about in the New World; but IT
can be developed in full only by freely
drawing upon the treasure houses Of
the Old World, puon the treasures
stored in the ancient abodes Of wis
dom and learning, such as this where
i speak today. 1t is a mistake for any
nation.merely to copy another; but it
is an even greater mistake it is a
proof Of weakness in any nation, not
to be anxious to learn from another,
and willing and able to adapt that
learning to the new national condi-
tions and make 1t fruitful and .produc-
tive therein. 1t is for us Of the New
World to sit at the feet of the Cana
llel Of the Old; then, If we have the
right stuff in US, we can show that
.Paullin his turn can become teacher
as wslRas a scholar.
Today ! shall speak to you on the
subject OF Individual citizenship, the
one subject Of vital Importance to you,
my hearers, and to me my country
men, because we are citizens Of great
Democratic republics. A democratic
republic such as each of ours-an eff
fort to realize in its full sense. govern.
meht by, Of and for the people-repre'
sents the'most gigantic OF all possible
social experiments, the one fraught
with greatest possibilities alike for
good and for evil. The success of re.
publlcs like yours and like ours means
the glory, and our failure the despair,
Of mankind; and for you and for us
the question of the quality of the in
diyidual citizenship is supreme. Under
other forms of government, under the
rule Of one man or of a very few men,
the quality Of the rulers is all-import-
ant II, under such governments, the
qpalitysoi the ruler is high enough,
then the nation may for generations
lead a brilliant career, and add sub
stantIally to the sum Of world achieve.
ment no matter how low the quality
OF the average citizen; because the
average citizen is an almost negligible
quantity in working out the final re.
suits Of thta type Of national great
ness,
But with you and with us the case
is different. with you mere, and with
us in, my own home, in the long run,
success or failure will be conditioned
upon the way in which the average
man, the average woman, does his or
her duty, first in the ordinary, every.
day affairs of life, and next in those
great occasional crises which call for
the heroic virtues. The average citi-
zen must be a good citizen il our re.
publlcs are to succeed. The stream
will not permanently rise higher than
the main source; and the main source
Continued on PAGE E!ght)