The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-06-10
Taking Up the Business of Life
is DWeIt upon by Vice Pres
ident Marshal.
AS S U M IN G LEADERSHIP.
Young Men Must Create Public
Opinion and Develop Moral
Sentiment, He Says.
tDr AssoetATEO PRIss1


l20 members at the commencement
exercises Of the University OF Maine
today an din turn received the honor
airy degree of Doctor Of Laws at the
hands OF President Robert j. Alley.
The same degree was conferred upon
Henry c. Morrison, superintendent Of
public instruction of New Hampshire.
The vice presidents topic was ''Ing
tellectual Bravery"
The vice president said in part:
Slight knowledge Will not enable
the young man to assume the man
agement Of life's affairs. In the ir-
repressible conflict between labor
and capial. he cannot assume thar
either property or labor is every
thing without tending to establish a
peon class in America or an oligarchy
of wealth. Complete knowledge may
convince him that it will be better
for the republic to be controlled by
neither of these classes.
Our Present Discomfort.
I'm 1850, we had republic where
labor was satisfied, where respect for
religion and reverence for law and
order and sincere attachment to.
the constitution were strong. In.
that year the proportion of the an
nual wealth created in the country
by the joint efforts of labor and cap
ital was one-fourth to labor and
three-fourths to capital. Sixty years
later. the proportion had changed to
less than one-flfth to labor and more
than four-fifths to capital. This dis
proportion, to my mind, has much to
do with our present discomfort.
"Usurious interest is no more but
usurious profit has taken Its place.
When our statutes regulating the
rates of interest were enacted, the
laboring man, generally speaking
was a skilled laborer. He could
produce a completed article. The
advent of machinery took from him
his tools and put them in the hands
of capital. Money no longer Is bor-
rowed by laborers to enable them.
to carry on their trades, but money
Is crafty, and instead of loaning it
self to the 1aboting man, it is now
buying the 'fab0ring MANS fQacnin.
cry. constantly, enhancing its own
profit, thereby and constantly de-
creastng the laboring mans share OF
our produced wealth. The young
man in assuming leadership must
create public opinion and develop
a, moral sentiment against usurious
profit as against usurious interest.
Evidence of disposition on the part
of corporate wealth to accept this
view is not lacking. dare the pre-
dtction that the railroads of the
country would welcome permanent
five per cent or six per cent accu-
mulative profit in exchange for
their greater profit and the doubt,
FISK and abuse which come with it.
Common Interest Rights.
The doctrine of states rights is
now seldom heralded save in oppo-
sition to needed reforms. must
subscribe to the doctrine but l real
ize that subjects which formerly
were purely OF state cognizance have
become OF common interest between
the states and that the doctrine of
states rights must be supplemented
by the doctrine. OF states duties.
To control our corporations, 1t
becomes states duty to place in
Office vigorous and honest official
who will hail offenders into court
and vindicate the honor of their
state laws instead of elevating into
office men who will quietly sit by
and wait for the general government
to devise some plan to prevent the
evil and to punish the wrong-doer.
To conserve our natural resources; 1t
becomes states duty to adopt d
system for the wise and economic
use Of the resources and the preven-
ton OF private control by greedy
spectators.
IF states rights are to be pre-
served, the young men OF tomorrow
must take up this cry OF states
duties; otherwise, our pleasing Wis
ion Of Uncle Sam as pariarcha1
gentleman with beneficent smile
on his face toward American man
hood striving for success, viii
change to that OF quack doctor
placarded, When others fail, con-
suit me-
1--WE Americans are not dishonest,
neither at heart nor intellectually,
but am fearful that many OF as
are Intellectual towards. When
getting on involves us with our
conscience and with the laws OF the
land, we do not fight the battle OF
the law and demand absolution from
sin and protection from punishment.
The law, Of course. has defined
neither fraud nor dishonesty with
that degree of certainty which
places our proposed conduct within
Its terms.
"The old order Of education has
changed. 1t furnished philoso-
ply and taught men that happiness
was not in his material surround-
ings, in position or power, but in his
own purposes and conduct. The
humanities have been forgotten In
the rush for for the successes. Our
institutions Of higher learning may
not be expected to furnish philoso-
phic view Of life but they can be ex-
pected to instill into the minds Of
young men intellectual courage. !
am visionary enough to believe that
courage combined with
honesty will solve whatever social
and economic problem may arise
May this institution send no man
into the world to be leader IL
thought who is too cowardly to fight
error and too timid to embrace