Newark post., 1914-12-30
THE NEED OF AMERICA
A Plea For A National Ideal

In an article written for the
"Public Ledger" by John Ough-
ton, it is claimed that America s
greatest need is recognized ma
tional ideal Mr.. Oughton says:
"The crying need of the time is
recognized national ideal, ma
tional mission upon which the at
tention Of every child Of American
birth and every citizen Of foreign
birth shall be concentrated. We
have been aimless as nation. Ma
tional prosperity, nay, individual
prosperity has occupied our atten-
ton to the exclusion Of almost
every other thought. The occa-
sions when unity Of action seemed
necessary have been few. Now the
time has come for the welding of
these loosely bound millions into
nation. We have been fond of
considering our country as place
of refuge, but the time has come
when those who seek that refuge
must be American in spirit; must
view foreign matters with Ameri-
can eyes.
"This will never be so long as
foreign societies cultivate foreign
sentiment and threaten openly to
make themselves a factor in Ameri-
can politics for the purpose of af-
fecting American sentiment favor
ably toward the governments they
have forsworn. This is foreign
ism, not Americanism, and must be
so frowned upon that foreigners
seeking these shores will find their
safety and happiness in becoming
Americans in spirit as well as in
name. If they dislike the language
because it is the language Of
country they have hated in th,4a
Old World, they must leadirn that
it was the language o6f 6;ff those whose
paooo ana ,.,rrttasure paid the price
VI ,Hannelican institutions that they
come here to enjoy.
"America is the great moral
force of the world and the arbiter
of the destiny of mankind through
that force. This should be the ideal,
and in this thought descendants Of
all the warning nations could unite
in the conviction that they were
moving toward the goal Of great
est happiness for their kin in the
Old World and their descendants
in the New one.
1--WE have never set our patriot
ism high enough to make it superior
to the Old World sort, consequent
ly foreigners have remained for
eign and our country, with it's hun
dred millions, is not nation.
"Freedom from entagling al
liances does not absolve us from
our obligation toward mankind.
Sometimes we appear to construe
Washington s injunction as the
warrant for Indifference to the
fate of other nations. We seem to
feel no obligation as nation III the
family of nations. But, as we are
free from entagling alliances and
by geographical location have the
greater prospect Of peaceful de-
velopment, the obligation rests
heavily upon us to lead the nations
into thepath of abiding peace
through the force Of great exam
pie.
EVERY child must have the
great idea instilled into his mind
and heart until it becomes part
of his being-the idea Of helping
in the development Of great, wise,
Just nation that shall become the
arbiter of the destinies Of mankind
through moral force.
Nothing in this thought inter.
feres with the proper physical and
disciplinary training OF American
youth. The moral force of ma
ton of weaklings is small, but the
moral force of the physically
strong is great in proportion to
the strength and restraint. -