Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-05-11

have grown at all poor in the ideals,
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 for
gotten what America believed in, you,
at any rate. imported in your own
hearts renewal OF the belief.
That is the reason that I. for one,
make you welcome. If | have in any
degree forgotten what America was in
tended for. will thank God if you
will remind me. l was born in Amer
lea. You dreamed dreams of what
America was to be. and l hope you
have brought the dreams with YOU. No
man who does not see visions will ever
realize any high hope or undertake any
high enterprise. and just because you
brought the dreams with you. America
is more likely to realize the dreams
such as YOU brought. You are enrich
ing us If you come expecting US to be
better than we are. But see, my
friends. what that means. 1t means
that America must have a conscious
ness different from the consciousness
of any other nation of the world.
L am saying this with not even. the
nations. You know how it is with a
family. a family gets centered on it.
self and If ii is not careful it gets less
interested in the neighbors than it is
in its own members. So a nation that
is not constantly renewed out of new
sources is apt to have the narrowness
and prejudice of a family. Whereas
America must have this consciousness
that or all sides it touches elbows and
touches hearts with all the nations of
mankind.
Special Example
The example of America must be a
special example.
The example of America must be
an example not of peace because it
will not fight, but of peace because
peace is the healing and elevating in
huence of the world and strife is not.
There is a such a thing as a man
being too proud TO fight. There is such
thing as a nation being so right that
it does not need to convince others by
force that it is right
so. if you come into this great ma
ton, YOU will have to come voluntar-
ily, seeking 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
anywhere in the world. ! sometimes
think he Is fortunate If he has to work
only with his hands and not with his
head. 1t 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 exempt you from
strife, the heart-breaking burden of
the struggle of the day that has come
unto mankind everywhere. We can
not exempt you from the loads that
you must carry; we can only make
them light by the spirit in which they
are carried, because that is the spirit
of hope. it is the spirit of liberty, ii is
the spirit of justice
When 1 was asked. therefore. by
the Mayor and committee that accom-
panied him to come up from Washing
ton to meet this great company of
newly admitted citizens. could not
decline the invitation. / ought not 20
be away from Washington. and yet ]
feel that IL has renewed my spirit as
an American.
''In Washington men tell you so
many things every day that are not
so.
Il like to come and stand in the
presence of great body of my fellow
citizens, whether they have been my
fellow citizens a long time or short
time, and drink. as it were out of the
common fountain with them, and 60
back and feel what you have so gem
erously given me. the sense of YOUR
support, and of the living vitality of
your hearts. of those great Ideals
which made America the hope of the
world"