The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-04-28

Paris. April 23.-Theodore Roose-
velt's address to the faculty and stud
ents at the Sorbonne was as follows
Strange and impressive associations
rise in the mind of a man of the world
in this ancient institution of learning:
Before his eyes pass the shadows OF
mighty kings. and warlike. mobiles. or
great masters of law, and theology;
through the shining dust of the dead
centuries he sees crowded figures that
tell of the power and learning and
sees also the innumerable host of hum
BILE students to whom clerkship meant
emancipation, to whom it was wen
nigh the only outlet in the dark thral-
dom of the middle ages.
This was the most amous university
of medieval Europe at a time when
world to discover. Its services to the
cause of human, knowledge already
past at the time when my forefathers,
three centuries ago, were, among the
sparse bands of traders. ,plowmen,
wood choppers, and fisher folk, who, in
hard struggle with the iron unfriend-
illness of the "ndian-haunted land,
were laying the foundations of what
has now become the giant Republic of
the West. To conquer a continent. TO
tame the shaggy roughness of wild ma
erations engaged in it cannot keep. still
less add to, the stores of garnered wis
dom which were theirs. and which are
still in the hands of their brethren who
i dwelt in the old land. To conquer the
} wilderness means TO wrest victory from
the same hostile forces with which
infancy of our race. The primeval con-
ditions must be met by primeval quail
ties which are Incompatible with the
retention of much that has been pain
fully acquired by humanity as through
the ages 1t has striven, upward toward
civilization. In condition so primitive
there can be but a primitive culture.
At first only the rudest schools can be
established. for no others would meet
the needs of the hard driven, SineWy
folk who thrust forward the frontier
on the teeth of the savage and savage
nature. and many years elapsed before
seats Of higher learning and broader
culture.
The Growth of the Nation.
AS the country grows, its people
who have won success in so many
lines. turn back to try to recover the
possessions of the mind and the spirit,
which perforce their fathers threw
aside in order better to wage the first
rough battles for the continent their
thought and Of action grope their way
forward to a new life, realizing, some
times dimly. sometimes clear sightedlv
that the life of material gain, whether
for a nation or an individual, is of
value only as a foundation, only as
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, upon the treasures
stored in the ancient abodes of wis
dom and learning, such as this where
of I speak today. 1t is a mistake for
but it is an even greater mistake, it
is a proof OF weakness in any nation,
not to be anxious to learn from an
other. and willing and able to adapt
hat learning to the new national con-
,ditions and make IT fruitful and pro
kductive therein. 1t is for US of the
new world TO sit at the feet of the
Gamaliel of the old; then if we have
the right stuff in us, we can show that
Paul in his turn became a teacher as
well as a scholar.
Today, ! shall speak to you on the
one subject of vital Importance to you,
my hearers and me and my country
men, because you and we are citizens
of great democratic republics. A dem
ocratic republic such as each of ours
an effort to realize in its full sense
government by, of and for the people
possible social experiments, the one
fraught with the greatest possibilities
alike for good and for evil. The sue
ours means the glory, and our failure
the despicacy, of mankind; and for you
and for us the gpes stt Of the quality
France "a Great Teacher.
France has taught many lessons to
important is the lesson her whole his
tory teaches. that a high artistic and
literary development is compatible with
notable leadership in arms and state
craft. The brilliant gallantry of the
French soldier, has for many centuries
been proverbial; and during these same
centuries at every court in Europe the
Free Masons of Fashion" have treated
the French tongue as their common
speech, while every artist and man of
letters, and every man Of science able
TO appreciate that marvellous instru-
ment of precision, French prose, has
turned tow ards France for aid and in
spiration. How long the leadership in
arms and letters has lasted is curious
n ly illustrated by the fact that the earl
lest masterpiece in modern tongue is
the splendid French epic which tells of
Rolands' Doom and the vengeance of
Charlemagne. when the Lords or the
Frankish Host were stricken at Ron
cesvelies.
Let these who have, keep. let those
who have not. strive to attain a high
standard Of cultivation and scholarship.
Yet let us remember that these stand
second to certain other things. There
is need of a SOUND body, and even more
need of a sound mind. But above mind
and above body stands character. the
s wbsn OF we the spea dEa Of ! e m wnieh force we m sa5
courage. Of his good faith and sense
of honor. l believe in exercise of the
body, always provided that we keep in
mind that physical development is a
means and not an end. believe, Of
course, in giving to all the people a
good education, but the education must
contain much besides book lea rning in
order to be really good. We must ever
remember that no keenneSS, and sub
tleness Of intellect, no polish, no clev-
erness in any way make up the lack of
the great solid qualities. Self restraint,
self mastery, common sense, the pow
er of accepting individual responsible
ty and yet, Of acting in conjunction
with others. courage and resolution-
these are the qualities which mark a
masterful people. Without them no
people can control itself or save itself
from being controlled from the out
side. I speak to a brilliant assemblage,
speak in a great university which
represents the flower of the highest in
teilectual development; / pay all hom-
age TO intellect, and to elaborate and
specialize training of the intellect: and
vet | know I shall have the assent of
all YOU present when / add that more
Women Given Chance to Vote.