The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-12-18
Ardmore. Tuesday. December Is, 1911
THE NEW AMERICA.

One does not expect eloquence I'm the
annual report OF the secretary of the
interior. one does not expect much but
statistics. Therefore the nation has a
surprise in the report OF Secretary
Franklin X. Lane published a few days
ago. For no document turned out by
President Wilson, recognized even by
his opponents as a master OF the writ
ten word, no speec hof the older orators,
neither Of Clay nor OF Webster. or Of
Lincoln himself contains more Of sound
and beautiful English, more OF direct
and powerful spiritual force. No docu.
ment or speech contains more of real
Americanism. II should be read by
every American in its entirety. Failing
that. here are three paragraphs. Read
them now. and read them again to the
whole family:
Men are already thinking of the
greater America that they believe to be
coming when the war Is done. We are
in this war as the trustees of social and
political ideals. most of them Uniformed,
even embryonic, and these we hope to
realize through the strength of the ma
tion. Our nationalism. Intense. virile,
and of the fighting kline. is part Of
the machinery through which we are
working to make all mep our debtors.
our national purpose is- 10 transmute
days of dreary work into happier lives
for ourselves first and for all others
in their time. This is the large view,
the idealistic view IL you please, Of
Americas mission. 1t is the subcon-
scious philosophy of all our history
our wars. our public school system, our
conservation schemes, our enterprise.
This greater America is not to be
the filmy product Of a nations fancy
the day dream Of a monumental ma
tional ego II is to be as substantial
as hard thought and hard work can
make IT, thing of good roads. ships,
and railroads. well fertilized farms and
well organized industry. regulated rivers
put to use and schools and schools and
schools, and laboratories and more lab
oratories War has taught England
and France much-one thing perhaps
above all others, how all important i'm
this way is the man who has the new
kind of savoir faire II we are to meet
the full rivalry of the world, we must
rest chance for success upon our abil-
ity to produce men who. in character, in
trained capacities. and in radioactive
imagination will outmatch those whom
they are to meet.
''This new America. as the old. will
contribute to the world raw products
with most generous hand. But the ulti-
mate resource of the nation is not that
which lies within the ground but that
which vibrates in mans brain. There
fore, out of the struggle and torture
that we shall pass through, and the
reverses and triumphs that we shall
meet there should evolve the concep-
ton of America as the center of the
worlds thought. an America that will
give that leadership and direction to
the scientific, literary and social
thought of the world that we pride our
selves we have recently given to its
political thought Our status in this
war gives us a place of moral ascend
ency from which If we are great enough
to be humble we can become real mas
ters of men, conquerors of the invis-
ible kingdom of mans mind"