Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-05-11

some belief, by some vision of new
kind of justice. by some expectation
of a better kind Of life. No doubt you
have been disappointed in some of US
Some of us are very disappointing.
No doubt you have found that justice
in the United States goes only with a
pure heart and right purpose as 1t
does everywhere else in the world.
No doubt what you found here did not
seem touched, for you after all, with
the complete beauty of the ideals
which YOU had conceived beforehand,
But remember this, if we had grown
at all poor in the ideal. you brought
some Of it with you. A man does not
go out TO seek the thing that is not
in him. A man does not hope for the
thing that he does not believe in, and
if some of US have forgotten wha.
America believed in, you at any rate.
imported in your own hearts a renew
ay of the belief. That is the reason
that |. for one make you welcome.
If have in any degree forgotten
what America was intended for l will
thank God if you will remind me. l
was born in America. GU dreamed
dreams of what America was to be
and l hope YOU brought the dreams
with YOU. No man that does not see
visions will ever realize any high
hopes or undertake any high enter
prise. Just because you brought
dreams with you. America Is more
likely to realize the dreams such as
Won brought. You are enriching US if
YOU came expecting us to be better
than we are.
See. my friends what that means:
Ii means that Americans must have
a consciousness different from the
consciousness of every other nation
in the world. | am not saving this
with even the slightest thought of
criticism of other nations. You know
how il is with a family. A family
gets c@ntered on itself if it is not care
full and is less interested in the neigh
borS than II is in its own members
So a nation that is not constantly re-
rcWed out of new sources is ant to
have the narroWness and prejudice CT
a family, whereas America must have
this consciousness that on all sides ii
with all the nations of mankind. The
example of America must be the ex-
ample not merely of peace, because
it will not fight, but of peace because
peace is the healing and elevatirg in
fluence of the world and strife il rot.
There is such a thing as a man being
to proud TO fight. There is such Il
thing as a nation being so right that
il does not need to convince others by
force that il is right
so if YOU come into this great ma
ton as YOU have come. voluntarily
see king something that we have to
give, all that we have to give is this:
We cannot exempt you from work.
No man is exempt from work any
! where in the world. | sometimes
think he fortunate If he has work
only with his hands and not with
his head. Ii is very easy to do. what
other people give you to do, but it is
very difficult to give other people
things TO do. We cannot exempt YOU
! from work: We Cannot cye.npt yo,
from the strife and the heart breaking
burden Of the struggle Of the day
that is common to mankin devery-
4 Nlltit, we cannot exempt You from
the loads that YOU must carry: we
can only make them light by the spir-
II IN Which they are carried That
Is the spirit of hope. it is the spirit
or liberty, it is the spirit Of Justice
I when ! wss ASKED therefore. by
! the mayor and the committee that
accompanied him to come up from
/ WASHINGTON to meet this great com
I p2nE OF newly admitted citizens. |
| could not decline tho invitation.
/ ought not to he away from Washing
ton and yet l feel that ii has renew
ed my spirit as an American. In
I washington men tell You so many
Things every day that are not so, and
l like 20 come and stand in tie pres
cnce Of .rcat body Of my fellow
c!uzens whether they have been m;
fellow citizens for a short tine or a
/ long time and drink as it were out
! CT the common fountains with hem
and go back feeling that you have so
generously given me the sense Of Your
support and OF the living vitality in
Your hearts. of its great ideals which
! made America the hope of the world. -