Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1910-05-11

f.aaress OF ex-ffeoi9Sus n0eSsvsss - ~
sonue. Paris, France, % SATURDAY.. April
~
s...nge and impressive associations riss
:, the mind Of man nom The new world
~ .pesks before this august body in
.rc;ent Institution Of learning. Be-
-. -. his eyes pass the shadows Of mighty
-. and wsrlike mobiles, Of great masters
.,,sv and theology Through the shin
dast Of the dead centuries hs sses
,.ovded figures that tell Of ths power and
,-srrinv and splendes Of time gone BY,
- ~ sees also the innumsrabls host Of
..u,hlc students TO whom clsrkship msant
....ncipstion, to whom Il was well nigh
i. on,v outlet from the dark thraldom Of
IL middle ages.
To-day / shall speak 70 you on ths sub
-, Of individual citissnship, ths one
..h,ect of vital Importance to 700, my
I..rrs. and to me and my oountrymsn,
s.,.u.e YOU and ~ are citissns Of great
a.mocrstic republics. A democratic re-
o.blic such - each Of oars : an sfoet to
,,.li,e in its fall sense govsfnmsnt By, Of
.rd for the people : rspfsssnts tbs most
,;rautic Of all possible social experiments,
she one fraught with greatest Possibilities
alike for good and for evil.
The success OF republics like yours and
iiks ours means the glory, and our failure
,be despair, Of mankind, and for you and
sor us the question OF ths quality Of the
Individual citixsn II supreme.
TO SUCCEED, N GOOD.
with you here and with % In my own
home, in the long run, SUCCESS or failure
viii be conditioned upon the way In
which the average man, the average
vomsn, does his o. her duty. nrst in the
ordinary, everyday aiIairs Of life and nsxt
In those great occasional crises which call
for the heroic virtues. The average citi-
rem must be . good citizen II our re-
publics are to succeed.
Let the man Of learning, the man OF
lettered leisure, beware OF that queer and
cheap temptation to pose 70 himself and
to others as the cynic, - the man who has
ousgrown emotions and beliefs, the man
to whom good and evil are - one. The
poores, way to face lilo IL TO lace 1t with q
sneer.
There is no more unhealthy being, no
man less worthy OF respect, than he who
either really holds or feigns to hold an
attitude of sneering disbelief toward sll
that is great and lofty, whether in achieve
men, or in that noble effort which, even II
!, fail, comes second TO achievement.
shame on the man OF cultivated taste
who permits refinement to develop into .
fastidousness that units him for doing
the rough work Of workAday world.
Among the free peoples who govern them
selves there is but small field OF useful
ness open for the men OF clustered life
who shrink from contact with their fell
lows.
80 ROOM FOR sLIaHrERs.
Still less room is there for those who
deride or slight what Is done by those
who actually bear the brunt OF the day,
nor yet for those others who always pro-
fess that they would like to take action IL
only the conditions OF life were not what
they actually are. The man who does
nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the
pages OF history, whether he be cynic or
Top or voluptuary.
il is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard
fighting, he OF the many errors and the
valiant end, over whose memory We love
to linger, not over the memory of the
young lord who shut for the vile guns
would have been q soldier.n
The good man should DO both q strong
and brave man-that IL, he should be
able to fight, he should be able to serve
his country as soldier IL the need arises.
There are we'll meaning philosophers who
declaim against the unrighteousness OF
war. They are right only IL they lay all
their emphasis upon the unrighteousness.
War is dreadful thing, and unjust war is
crime against humanity. But it is such
crime because it is unjust, not because it
is war
The choice must ever be in favor OF
righteousness, and this whether the alter
native be peace or whether the alternative
De war. The question must not be merely,
is there TO be peace or war? The question
must be, is the right to prevails
Are the great laws OF righteousness once
more to ba fulfilled? And the answer
from strong and virile people must be
"yes", whatever the cost.
Every honorsb BILE effort should always be
made to avoid war, just As every honorable
effort should always be made by the in
dividual in private life to keep out OF q
brawl, to keep out OF trouble, but no self
respecting individual. no self-respecting
nation, can or ought to submit to wrong.
FINALLY, even more important than
ability to work, even more important than
ability to fight at need, 10 it to remember
that the chief of blessings for any nation
Is that it shall leave its seed to inherit the
land. The greatest OF all curses is the
curse OF sterility, and the severest Of all
concentrations should be that visited
upon willful sterility.
The first essential in any civilization is
mat the man and the woman shall be
father and mother of healthy children, SO