The Detroit times., 1910-05-12
WORLDS PROGRESS DEPENDS
ON DEEDS OF vAL0R


WV :,
country In which the world movement
OF today In all It's aspects is plainly
visible.
The best use OF field and forest
will leave them decade by decade, cen.
fury by century, more fruitful; and We
have hardly begun TO use the indie
structible power that comes from har-
messed water
The advances In the realm of pure
intellect have been OF equal note. Old
men among Us have seen In their own
generation the rise OF the first ration
al science OF the evolution OF life. The
advances OF the past century or two
have been over more ground than was
covered during the entire history ut
the human race. The play OF new
forces is as evident In the moral AMI
spiritual world as In the world OF the
mind and the body.
I'm this movement there are the
signs OF much that BODIES Ill. The ma
chinery Is so highly geared, the ten
sion and strain are so great, that there
Is cause TO dread the ruin that wouli
come from a great accident. break.
down, and also from the mere wearing
out OF the machine itself Compared
with the Greco-Roman civilization, our
only possible standard OF comparison.
many OF the forces and tendencies
which were at work then are at work
now. These forces and tendencies pre-
coded the downfall OF the older civil
ization.
Yet the differences between the
present and older civilization are
many. and some OF them are quite rs
striking as the similarities. The sin
gle fact that the old civilization was
based on slavery shows the chasm
that separates the two. There Dis q
further and very significant difference.
Washington and Lincoln Compared 10
Caesar.
Another striking contrast between
the modern and classic civilization Is
found In the relations OF wealth and
politics. In classic times politics be-
came recognized means OF accumu-
lating great wealth. Caesar spent an
enormous fortune and recouped him.
self by the money he made out of hts
politicalmilitary career. Augustus ac-
'quired a huge fortune by plumber.
What a contrast Is offered by the
careers OF Washington and Lincoln!
The immense majority OF the Greeks
and the Romans accepted money max
ing on large scale as one Of the
incidents of successful public Gu
reer. In this respect the standard has
been constantly elevated, and things
which statesmen had no hesitation la
doing three or TWO centuries ago. and
which did not seriously hurt pub
lie career even century ago, are
now utterably impossible.
Wealthy men still exercise a large
and sometimes IN improper influence
In politics, but II Is apt 10 be an
Indirect Influence; and In the adj
vanced states the mere suspicion that
the wealth OF public men Is obtained
or added to as an incident of their
public careers will bar them from
public life. Speaking generally, wealth
may very greatly influence modern
political life. but II is not acquired in
political life.
On the Whole We are Growing Better.
Personally do not believe that
our civilization will fall I think that
on the whole we have grown better
and not worse. | think that on the
whole the future holds more for US
than the great past has ever held. We
cannot afford TO develop any one set
OF qualities, any one set Of activities.
at the cost Of seeing others, equally
necessary. atrophied.
I'VE. the men of today and OF the
future, need many qualities II 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 life, the funda-
mental and essential quality-the
homely. everyday, all-important vir-
tues. II the average man will not
work, II he has not in him the will
and power to be good husband and
father; IL the average woman Is not
good housewife, Eood mother OF
healthy children, then the state Will
topple, will go down, no matter what
may be its brilliance Of artistic devel-
opment or material achievement.
Woe to Nation That is Not Ready 70
Fight.
Unjust war Is tC be abhorred: but
woe TO the nation that does not make
ready to hold its own in time of need
against all who would harm Il: and
woe thrice over to the nation In which
the. average man loses the lighting
edge.
Finally. this world movement OF
civilization should bind the nations OF
the world together while leaving un-
impaired that love OF country In the III
dividual citizen which in the present
stage OF the worlds progress Is essen
tial to the worlds Well-being. Each
people can do justice to itself only II
1t has done justice to others; but
each people can do it's part In the
world movement for all only II It first
does its duty within its own house
hold. The good citizen must be good
citizen Of his own country fret before
he can with advantage be a citizen
OF the world at large.