The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1910-06-11

| council chamber.
In the little republic of Holland. as in
the srea, empire of Rome. It was not
| death which came. but transforma ton.
Both Holland and italy teach us that
races that fall may rise again.
Danger Of Race suicide.
| There are questions which We of the
great civilized nations are ever tempted to
| ask of the future. II our time of growth
drawing to an end? Are we a. nations
soon to come under the rule Of that great
law Of death. which Is itself but part Of the
great law of life? None can tell Forces
that we ca see and other forces that arc
hidden or that but dimly be appre-
| hended are at work all around us, both
for good and for evil Tho growth in lux
ury in love OF ease. in taste for vapid
| and frivolous excitement. 10 both evident
and unhealthy. The most ominous sign
Is the diminution in the birth-rate, in the
rate OF natural increase. now to = larger
| or lesser degree shared by most of the
civilized nations OF central and western
| Europe. OF America and Australia: n dim
mutton so great that II II continues for tho
next century at tho rate which has OBJ
tained for the last 25 years. all the more
| highly civilized people will be stationary
| or else have begun to go backward in
| population. while many Of them will have
| already gone very far backward.
There is much that should give us con-
cern for the future But there In much
also which should give US hope. No man
| Is more apt TO De imam tl4e
| prophet of evil. I believe with all my
| heart that a great future remains for US;
but whether IT does or does not. our
| duty is not altered. However the bat
tie may go. the soldier worthy Of the
| name will with utmost viEor do his al
| loted task and bear himself AZ valiant
| ly in defeat in victory. Como what
| will, we belong to peoples who have not
yielded to the craven fear OF being great.
In the ages that have gone by. the
| pafiona that have
| panded and that have played mighty
part in the world. have In the end
grown old and weakened and vanished;
but have the nations whose only
thought was to avoid all danger. all ef-
| fort. who would risk nothing. and who
therefore gained nothing In the end the
same fate may overwhelm all alike: but
the memory of the one type perishes with
II while the other leaS its mark deep
on the history OF all the future OF man
kind.
nation that seemingly dies may be
born again: and even though in the
| physical sense II die utterly. II 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 II has
| done. Best OF all is It to do our part well,
| and at the same time to see our blood live
| Young and vital In men and women fit TO
| take up the task as We lay IL down for
| shall our seed inherit the earth. But
| II this which is best is denied US, then
at least II Is ours to remember that II we
| choose we can be torch-bearers. as our
| fathers were before 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 Is 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 II was worth doing at all. was
of no less matter than how they worked.
whether In the realm of the mind or the
realm of the body. II their work was
| good. II what they achieved was of sub
stance. then high success was really
| theirs.
| In the first part Of this lecture drew
certain anaoEfes between what had<oc-
| CURED to forms of animal life through
| the procession OF the ages on this planet.
| and what has occurred and is occurring
to the great artificial civilizations which
have gradually spread over the worlds
surface during the thousands OF years
| that have elapsed since cities of temples
| and palaces first rose beside the Nile and
| the Euphrates. and the harbors of
| Minoan Crete bristled with the masts of
| the Aegean craft. But OF course the
Is true OnIy IN IHe TOlGneSt
| and most general way. Moreover. even
| between the civilizations of today and
| the civilizations Of ancient times there
are differences so profound that must
| 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
todhy. 1T is yet mere perversity to refuse
to realize the incredible advance that
has been made in ethical standards. I do
| hpieNa q . g fp feSt ne
| essary connection between any weaken
| ing Of vrile force and this advance in
| the moral standard. this growth OF the
sense of obligation to ones neighbor and
| of reluctance to do that neighbor wrong.
We need have scant patience with that
silly cynicism which insists that kindli-
ness of character only accompanies
| weakness of character. On the contrary.
just in private life many of the men
| of strongest character are the very men
| of loftiest and most exalted morality so
] believe that In national life the ages
go by we shall md that the permanent
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 ag-
| gresson by others. will go hand in hand
| with lofty scorn OF doing wrong to 9TH
ers This Is the type Of Timoleon of
| Hamrden. of Washington and Lincoln.
| These were as good men. as disinterested
| and unselfish men. as ever served .
| state; and they were also strong men
| as ever founded or saved a state. Surely
such examples prove that there is moth
| ing Utopian In our effort to combine
justice and strength In the same nation.
| The really high civilizations must them
| 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 tuxtaposition of poverty and
riches. but especially from the self-con-
| sciousness OF both poverty and riches.
| Each nation must deal with these mat
ters in its own fashion, and yet the spirit