The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-06-18

but IL is not. There are ten thousand
people along the line who have brought
the fountain pen to its present state
of perfection, and we owe debt to
all these. This is true OF the sewing
machine, the harvester, the automo-
bile, the modern plough, and thous-
and other devices that render life
more agreeable. We shall never be
able to pay our debt to Thomas A. |
Edison, who has done so much for us
in the realm of science. Nor to Luth-
er A. Burbank, the wizard of Botany. |
Nor to Marconi who has wrought so eff
fectively in the conservation of hui
man life. A college president once
told me that he was reading Para
disc Lost" for the twenty-second time.
Some people have not read it even
once, but John Milton wrote it for
them quite as much as for this college
president, and their obligation to Mil
ton is the same as his. The only
trouble is that they have not been
made conscious of their debt We are
greatly indebted to Moses for giving
us the Pentateuch, and others for CIV
ing us the Psalms, the Book of Job,
and those other noble books of the
Bible. Life would be poor if we did
not have Ruth, Esther, and Antigone,
Evangeline, Portia, and Miranda. We
are greatly indebted to Dickens for
Little Nell, Little Dorrit, Paul DOM
bey, and Tiny Tim with his God bless
us every one." Our debt to musicians
can be realized when we ask ourselves
what consideration would induce us
to agree never to SIT in the presence
of music again throughout life. Every
advancement in science, every inspir-
ing book, every great poem, every
great masterpiece Of music, and paint
ing places us all under obligations
to those who have wrought out these
advances. And happy the people whom
the schools have made conscious of
these great debts.
fA5dill, Iu0 bCuOOlS nave AClpcu "
shift the emphasis from rights to
privileges, and this shifting consti-
tutes a liberal education. Ignorance
always insists upon its rights; intel
ligence for evermore esteems its
privileges, and the line Of demarca-
tion between these two is visible to
every thoughtful person. One father
claims that he has right to the SER
vices of his child, and cites the fact
that he has supported that child for
many years. Another father esteems
it great privilege to give his child
the benefit of the school. If he owned
gold mine or farm, he would seek
to develop these to the utmost, and
he regards his child as Of far more
value than gold mines and farms. And
so makes sacrifices, if necessary, to
develop his child to the utmost. Nor
does he do this grudgingly, but smiles
as he sees his boy or girl trip away
to school with their books under their
arms. That is a mark of intelligence,
and no one ever mistakes it. The
men on the Titanic had right to
step into those boats and save their
own lives, but they preferred to exer-
else their privileges and so stepped
aside in the interests of women and
children. Going down to their death
in this way, they became heroic, and
placed halo upon the brow of man
hood. Ignorance and an insisting up
on rights might have had us embroiled
in a war with Mexico before this, but
intelligence rises above that plane,
and esteems it high privilege to
avert war and maintain the blessings
of peace and prosperity. The young
ladies of this class have a full right
to sit silent in the church service, but
they deem it a privilege to use the
voices with which they are endowed
in helping on the service, and giving
pleasure to others. Every citizen OF
this city has rights, but If all people
stopped with their mere rights with
out regard to their privileges, this
would be a sorry community in which
to live. The men and the women who
are exercising their privileges are the
ones who are doing the most for the
upbuilding of civilization and refine
ment.
: And, finally, the schools have beer
influential with these young people II
helping to raise the level of apprecia
ton. If I could paint one of these
roses as it is, fragrance and all,
could sell it for thousand dollars
, but only to a purchaser who appreci
, ates roses. A man introduced mu
/, steal organization to a large audience
/ saying that this organization present
5 ed nothing but high-grade selections
and then added Ladies and Gentle
+ men, if you are inclined to CRITICS
n v,,,,cio ic ahOvQ vOn