The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-06-07
THE COLLEGE GRADUATE
AND DENOiRACE.

AND DEN0i EAGE.
The college Graduate and Democ-
racy may appear inappropriate as
4 subject for an occasion Of thls
kind However, my reference 70
democracy DO not apply alone
to that principle of governmen:
which is ours but will include the
great democratic institutions existing
under It and as a part of it: AS the
State, the church. the school, As =
rule, when we speak of democracy.
many Of us think of it only as prin
ciple of government. when % MAJ
ter Of fact democracy is a HEo l>ct o[
education and religion. In other words,
if you increase the standard of intel
Egence AID raise the standard Of Nor
ality Of the masses, democracy e.<-
p2nds and tha lights Of mankind are
enlarged; on Irr othe1 Land if yo!
lowe the ,tanc,,~ of ir telIige1ce
and I,.c-1 = dc Tacy contracts
and rae rights of mtn are swallowed
uD il political $c"f1o~l a1d religious
bondaga. no"' edge and goodness,
therefore, must always be the grad
uatins scales Of tue democracy.
In order to see the proper relation
between the college graduate and de-
mocracy It may not be amiss 10 review
in limited way the history and
growth Of the latter. In doing this
I wish it were possible first for Is to
Re lifted uD to some distant planet
where we might look down on this
earth and witness its history move
forward as mighty moving picture:
so that we might in a few moments
view it from its beginning to our own
day. If this were possible We should
first see the early civilized peoples
with their primitive institutions ru!
ing the plains Of Iran: we should sec
the fertile valley Of the Nile settled
and built I'd and the mysterious F.yra-
nlids, SphinXus and temples rise Ike
magic at the edge Of the most arid
of deserts: we should see the grand
eur that was Greece and the glory
that was Rome; we should see the
building up Of the great empire Of
Charlemagne. and watch it fall to
pieces: We should observe the moving
masses Of people from the north and
east going to the south and west. AMI
also the dark stream of Arab migra-
tion flowing along the south shore
OF he Mediterranean and across tic
narrow straits into Spain; aad then
we should see the modern nations OF
europe take their beginning.
Looking more closely at the picture
we would recognize how every age
had its own conceptions of obligation
and its own ideals Of civic virtue;
how for centuries obedience to the
crudest Of tyrants was inculcated on
the ground of the supposed Divine
right" Of kings: how all civic virtues
were supposed to grow out of a mar
row and selfish love for ones own
country-a desire for it's physical ag-
grandizement and for the strengthen
ing of its institutions at the expense
OF the rest of the world. AS result
Of this excessive and selfish love OF
native land we find war to have been
g norma state Of mankind. for we
are told that for one thousand years
the braZen gates of the temple Of
Janus were closed but for three times
and then only for a few months, it
being the custom to close the gates in
time Of peace and open them in time
Of Wa- Every nation was warning
host hostile TO the rest Of the world,
all others being regarded as barbar-
iaDs-their power to be humbled and
their glory dragged in the dust; we
see cities. magnificent for their cuI-'
ture and wealth. laid in ruin by the
1nsparing armies Of ruthless invad-
ers; splendid products of the arts Of
peace. the work of centuries of untir- :
ng labor. were rashly destroyed in
/ day of furious pillage; long horded
treasures were despoiled. domestic
altars desecrated and the most sacred
lights of the people unfeelingly vio- .
ated; conquered rulers in shackles
md shame walked in the grand tri-