Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1910-05-19

| pIundoro0. 0fadually THIS mas MI cn9n31o
until now practically every army 10 |
citiEen army, and the nieTcenary has al
most disappeared, while tlte army exist
on . vastsr scale than ever before In hiS
tory. This ID 30 among the military mon
arches Of Europe.
In our own Civil war Of the Unitet
States the same thing occurred. peaceful
people a. we are. At that time more thar
| two generations had passed since thu
War OF Independence. During the wholl
Of that period the people had been en-
Gagged in no Lfe-and- death struggle; and
yet, when the Civil war broke OUT and
after some costly and bitter lessons 81
the beginning, the fighting spirit Of thu
people was shown TO better advantage
than ever before. The war was peculiar
ly war for q principle, q war waged
by each side for an ideal. and while faults
and shortcomings were plentiful among
the combatants there was comparatively
little sordIdness Of motive or conduct. In
such q giant struggle, where across the
warp of so many interests 10 shot the
wool Of so many purposes, dark strands
and bright, strands somber and brilliant.
are always intertwined; inevitably there
was corruption here and there in the Civil
war; but all the leaders on both sides,
masses Of fighting men, wholly disre-
garded. and were wholly uninhuenced BY.
pecuniary 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 Ii to be found In tho
relations Of wealth and politics. In clas-
sic times, az the civilization advanced to-
ward Its zenith, politics became recog-
nized means Of accommodating 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 politlcal-milltary career. Augustus eB-
tablished imperial Rome on hr1i toundae
tons by the use he made OF the hugo
fortune he had acquired by plumber What
q contrast In 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
as their civilizations eliminated.
accepted money-making on a large scale
~ one Of the incidents of successful
public career. Now all Of this Is in sharp
contrast to what has happened within
the last two or three centuries. During
this time there has been steady growth
away from the theory that money-making
ID 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
.hree centuries or two centuries ago, and |
which did not seriously hurt a public ca
'eer even a century ago, are now utterly
impossible. Wealthy men still exercise a |
arge, and sometimes an improper, influ- |
,nce in politics, but II IL apt to be an in ,
Iirect influence; and in the advanced |
tates the mere suspicion that the wealth |
Il public men IL obtained or added to as |
in incident Of their public careers will |
,ar them from public life. Speaking |
wealth may very greatly infu- |
nee modern political life, but 1t is not ac-
Iuired in political life.
Optimistic for the Future.
Mr.. Roosevelt called attention to
he fact that hitherto every civiliza'
ion that has arisen has been able to
evelop only few activities, its field
4 endeavor being limited in kind as
Yell as in locality, and each of these
valuations has fallen. What Is the
esson to us Of today? he asked. viii
he crash come, and be all the more
Orrible because Of the immense in
rease in activities and area? To this
Q replied:
Personally, DO not believe that our
utilization will fall. I think that on the
hole we have grown better and not
'ofse. think that on the whole the fu-
ire holds more for US than even the
reat past has held But, assuredly, the
reams Of golden glory in the future will
ot come true unless, high OF heart and
rong of hand, by our own mighty deeds
Q make them come true. We cannot af-
,rd to develop any one set OF qualities,
ny one set Of activities. at the cost of
icing others, equally necessary, afro
NED Neither the military efficiency Of
e Mongol. the extraordinary business
,ility of the Phoenician, nor the subtle
I'd polished intellect Of the Greek awaited
avert destruction.
We. the men of today and Of the fu-
re, need many qualities II we are to do
IT work we'll We need first OF all and a
ost important OF all, the qualities which
and at the base Of Individual, of family .
o, the fundamental and essential quail {
"
rtues. II the average man will not
ork, II he has not In him the will and 9
e power to be good husband and ia 8
er; II the average woman IL not a good a
a good mother Of many !,
althy children, then the state will top y
2, Will go down, no matter what may
its brilliance Of artistic development
material achievement. But these home
qualities are not enough. There must
addition, be that power of organization, :
at power Of working In common for a
mmon end, which the German people
We shown In such signal fashion during
3 last half-century. Moreover, the
lngs of the spirit are even more imDOr.
nj than the things OF the body. We can
u do without the hard intolerance and
ID intellectual barrepness OF what was n
'rst in the theological systems Of the
st. but there has never been a greater y
ed Of high and fine religious spirit II
IN at the present time. So, while we h
n laugh spontaneously at some Of a
pretensions Of modern philosophy in :.
various branches, II would be worse .
m folly on our part to ignore our need b
intellectual leadership.
Must steer Middle Course.
fever has philanthropy. humanitarian y
4, seen such development as now: and
'ugh we must all beware of the folly e
4 the viciousness no worse than folly, 4
ich marksf the believer In the perfec- n
llity Of man when his heart runs away y
h HIS head, or when vanity usurps the
ce Of col Science, yet we must remem-
: also that It ia only by working along
lines laid down by the philanthropists.
the lovers OF mankind, that we can ol
sure OF lifting our civilization to a sc
her and more permanent plane Of we'll M
nc than was ever attained by any pre- ~,