The Ordway new era., 1910-06-10

and unhealthy. The most omlnoue sien
is tho diminution In the birth-rato. IN the
rate of natural Increase, now to . larger
or lesser degree shared BY most OF tho
civilized nations Of central ana westoIh
Europe. of America and Australia; oiM-
mutton so great that II It continues Tor tho
next century at the rate which mas oo-
tained for the last 26 years. all the more
highly civilized people will be statonary
or else have begun to 70 backward IN
population. while many Of them VIII nave
already gone very far backward.
There is much that should give us con-
Germ for the future. But there 70 much
also which should give us hope. NO man
IL more apt to be mistaken than the
prophet OF evil believe with al my
heart that . great future remains tor W;
hut whether It does or does not. our
duty 10 not altered. However the bat
tie may 60, the soldier worthy OF tns
name will with utmost vigor do his a.
loted task. and bear himself a. valiant
ly In defeat a. in victory. Come what
Will. we belong to peoples who have not
yielded to tho craven fear OF being great.
In the ages that have gone BY. tho
great nations. the nations that have OK
panded and that have played mighty
grown old and weakened and vanished:
but 30 have the nations whose only
thought was to avoid all danger. all ef-
FORT who would risk nothing. and VINO
therefore gained nothing. In the end the
same fate may overwhelm all alike: but
the memory Of tho one type perishes with
1t while tho other leaves Its mark deep
on the history OF all the future OF man
kind.
4 nation that seemingly dies may be
born again: and even though In the
physical sense It die utterly. It may yet
hand down a history of heroic achieve
ment, and for all time to come may pro-
foundly influence the nations that arise In
its place by the impress OF what It mas
done. Best of all Is 1t to do our part well.
and at the same time to see our blood live
young and vital in men and women Mt to
take UP the task as we lay It down: for
SO shall our seed inherit the earth. But
II this. which Is best. Is denied us. then
at least 1t Is ours to remember that II we
choose we can be torch-bearers. as our
fathers were before us. The torch has
been handed on from nation to nation.
from civilization to civilization through
out all recorded time from the dim years
before history dawned. down to the bla-
zing splendor OF this teeming century OF
ours. 1t IL dropped from the hand Of the
coward and the sluggard. OF the man
wrapped In luxury or love Of ease. the
man whose soul was eaten away by self
Indulgence: It has been kept alight only
by those who were mighty OF heart and
cunning Of hand. What they worked at.
providing 1t was worth doing at all. was
OF no less matter than how they worked.
realm Of the body. II their work was
good. II what they achieved was Of SUBJ
stance. then high success was really
theirs.
Strength With Morality.
In the nrst part Of this lecture drew
certain analogtes between what had oc-
CURED to forms of animal life through
the procession OF the ages on this planet.
and what has occurred and 10 occurring
LOT 4l,,tl lIxo ta,hl l~I,
have gradually spread over the worlds
surface during the thousands Of years
that have elapsed since cities Of temples
and palaces first rose beside tho Nile and
the Euphrates. and tho harbor. Of
the Aegean craft. But Of course the
parallel Is true only in tho toughest
and most general way. Moreover. even
between the civilizations Of today and
the civilizations OF ancient times there
be cautious In drawing any conclusions
for the present based on what has hap
pened in the past. While freely admit
ting all OF our follies and weaknesses OF
to realize the incredible advance that
has been made in ethical standards. do
not believe that there 10 the slightest nee
essary connection between any weaken
ing OF virile force and this advance in
the moral standard. this growth OF tho
sense OF obligation to ones nelghbor and
Of reluctance to do that neighbor wrong.
We need have scant patience with that
silly cynicism which insists that klndli-
ness of character only accompanies
Just A. in private life many Of the mon
Of strongest character are the very men
Of loftiest and most exalted morality. 20
believe that in national life As the ages
national types will more and more tend
towards those In which. while the intel
lect stands high. character stands higher:
In which rugged strength and courage.
rugged capacity to resist wrongful az
gression by others. will 70 hand In hand
with lofty scorn Of doing wrong to 9TH
ers. This 10 the type OF Timoleon. OF
Hampden. Of Warrington and Lincoln.
These were a. good men. a. disnterested
and unselnsh mon. A. ever served .
state; and they were also as strong men
as ever founded or saved . state. Surely
such examples prove that there 10 moth
ing Utopian In our effort to combine
Justice and strength in the same nation.
selves supply the antidote to the self-in-
dulgence and love Of ease which they
tend to produce.
Problems Of Modern Nations.
Every modern civilized nation has many
and terrible problems to solve within Its
own borders. problems that arise not
merely from Juxtaposition OF poverty and
rlCne0, Dut especially from tne beH-COn-
sciousness Of both poverty and riches.
Each nation must deal with these mat
ters in its own fashion. and yet the spirit
in which the problem IL approached must
ever be fundamentally the same. 1t
must be q spirit OF broad humanity: OF
brotherly kindness: OF acceptance of re-
sponsibility. one for each and each for
all: and at the same time spirit as re-
mote as the poles from every form of
weakness and sentimentality. As In war
to pardon the coward Is to do cruel
wrong to the brave man whose life his
cowardice jeopardizes. SO in civil affairs
II Is revolving to every principle of
Justice to give to tho lazy. the vicious. or
even the feeble and dull-witted. q reward
which Is really the robbery OF what
braver, wiser. ADLER men have earned.
The only effective way to help any man
10 to help him to help himself: and the
worst lesson to teach him is that he can