The Washington herald., 1916-08-20
The Man that Counts.
BY ORIsON SWEET rfARDEN.

By ORIsON SWEET HARDEN,
His songs OF love were heard above. by shining
To all the little children gone while yet their lives
And he who sang his deathle.s strains for us to
Has gone to Join the children who are waiting in
the skies.
call him blest-
This singer God has given us and taken home to
rest"
If space permitted l should like to quote the
whole Of William F. Kinks touching tribute to
our Hooser poet-beloved not alone by little
children, who worshiped him. but beloved by
all
mans character, what he stands for and
what he accomplishes in life, will depend upon
whether he follows that part of himself which
is divine or that which is ignoble. If he gives
his devotion to the highest thing in him instead
of to the lowest, he will make man of himself
whether he succeeds in accomplishing the par
ticular thing he undertakes or not.
James Whitcomb Riley succeeded in both.
He was not alone poet, but he was man.
And to be a man is to be greater than any
genius for manhood character, overtops all
other greatness.
Said President Wilson in recent speech:
"The only thing that saves the world, gentle
men, is the handful of disinterested men in it.
| lucIC HcNtl was d time IN the HlstOly Oh tHc
world when character just sheer character all
by itself, told more than it does now"
The nation wide mourning for the gentle,
unassuming poet, is proof enough of the truth
of the Presidents words
Less than a year ago, on the occasion of
Rileys birthday, there was a remarkable demon
stration of the esteem in which the country held
him. All classes We'd in doing him honor. Thou
sands OF letters and kilograms from every sec
tion of the country poured in upon him. Presi-
dent Wilson, Henry Watterson, William Dean
Howells, Henry NJ Alden and many others sent
congratulations, while cablegrams from
Ambassador Page, Brand Whitlock and Henry
Van Dyke. At the dinner given in his honor,
Charles w. Fairbanks presided and George Ado,
DR.. John H. Finley and Col. George Harvey
were among the speakers.
While people did not wait until he was dead
to show their appreciation of this mans eharac-
ter, his death called forth such a tribute of af-
lection and esteem from the nation as few men
have received James Whitcomb Riley, living,
shrank from publicity and outward show of
honor, but James Whitcomb Riley, dead, was
carried to the Indiana Capitol and lay there "in
state" while mourning thousands passed in
demonstration of sorrow and respect.
The best contribution to the worlds advance
ment is character. The best legacy TO leave our
children is not what most men try hardest to
eave-a money 1egacy-but a character legacy,
an example Of magnificent endeavor to make
good, legacy of noble deeds, of unselfsh, help
full life. A son will be prouder of his fathers
name if he has lived a worth while life than
he would be OF fortune left to him with no
| real behind it.
1t is the survival value of man, it is what is
left of him apart from his money, that lives and
Ill
1t is what people measure him by
l have known many millionaire to so COM
petely drop out of the memory of those who
knew him we'll during life that his name was
scarcely mentioned after he was gone, except
perhaps, in an uncomplimentary way People
would say he a skinflint, he was mean with
his employees, unpopular in his own home, that
he had very few friends. Nobody missed him.
His death left blank in the family or the
social circle.
Success failure is merely a question of what
ones life means to others. 1t is what will live
in the memory Of fellows that will count
for or against
There is no survival value in selfish greedy,
grasping life.
Who the people who live most vividy in
our own memories? Some of my dearest friends,
those l remember the most affectionately were
exceedingly poor. Some of them had not car
pet on the floors of their humble home or a
picture on the walls. The necessities of life were
all they could afford. But love dwelt there and
helpfulness kindness, cordality. good cheer radi-
ated from them. They lived to do good, and
their memories, sweet and dear, arc cnshrined
in the hearts of all who know them, simply be-
cause of the beautiful qualities of their character
No matter how humble your situation or how
limited your environment, no power in the world
outside of yourself can keep you from being a
real success. You may not have money, you
may not have influence, you may not have family
connections or friends, but there is nothing can
keep you from making yourself a man. And it
is the man only that counts
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Higher Books