The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-05-13
WILSON DEFENDS
AMER|CANS AS
HUMAN|TAR|ANS
SAYS NATION NOT OBSESSED TO
GETTING ONLY MATERIAL
THINGS OF IJFE.
SCORES GERMAN POLITICS

TeutOn Trained College Professors
Dsagrccs with the Divine Right of
State 10 Rule Without individual In.
fluencc.
Paris. Saturday. May lO.-Presdent
Wilson. In his address today to the
French academy of Moral and Pollti
cal Sciences. entered "A strong disclaimer
of the idea that the American people
were largely matcrialists or dollar
worshippers. 81 have had in recent
months one very deep sense of privi'
lege," the president said. II have been
keenly aware that there have been
times when the peoples of Europe have
not understood the people of the United
states. We have been too often sup
posed to have been devoted chiefly il
not entirely to material enterprises. We
have been supposed, i'm the phrase, to
worship the almighty dollar.
eve have accumulated wealth. sir,
we have devoted ourselves to material
enterprises with extraordinary success.
but there has undcrain all of that all
the time, common sense of humanity
and "A common sympathy with the high
principles of justice which has never
grown dim in the field even of enter
prise, and It has been my very great
ioy in these recent months to inter
pret the people OF the United states
to the people of the worlds.
81 have not done more, sir | have
not uttered in my public capacity my
own private thoughts. | have uttered
what | have known to be the thoughts
of the great people whom | represent
have uttered the things that have been
stored up in their hearts and purpose
from the time of our birth as a nation.
Spirit of America.
II was at this point that the president
made his declaration that the American
neople who came into the world CON
secrated to liberty, were ready TO cast
in their lot in common with the lot OF
those whose liberty is threatened when
ever the cause Of liberty was seen TO
I be imperilled.
"'rhis is the spirit of the people OIL
the United states" he continued, anu
they have been privileged to send =
600 600 men over here to tell you So
| II has been the great privilege not
merely to tell you 50 in words put .o
tell YOU 50 in men and materlai-the
mourning out of their wealth and the
offering of their blood President
Wilson alluded to his studies IN the
field of political science ana or the
attempts he had made ITO put the
words of learning the thought OF
nation; the attitude of a people TO-
ward public affairs He continued:
"A great many of my colleagues In
American university life got theif
training, even in political science, as
so many men in civil circles did In
German universities. | have been OBJ
liged at various times to read great
deal, of bad Geman difficult German
awkward German, and | have been
aware that the thought was awkward
as the phrase, that the thought was
rooted in "a fundamental misconception
Of the state and of the political NE,
of peoples And it has been portion
of my effort to disengage the thought
of American university teachers from
the misguided instruction which they
had received on this side of the sea.
| Their American spirit anticipated most
of them as a matter of course, put
the form of thought sometimes mis-
led them. They speak too often OF
state as a thing which would ignore
the individual. as u thing was privileged
to dominate the fortune of men by
sort of inherent and sacred authority.
State Must Hear Individual
Now as an utter democrat, l have
never been able to accept that view
of the states. My view of the state
is that it must stop and listen to what
| have to say, no matter how humble
| am, and that each man has the right
to have his voice heard and his coun-
sci needed, insofar as it is worthy of
him.
II have always been among those
who believe that the greatest freedom
of speech was the greatest safety, be-
cause if man is a fool the best
thing to do is to encourage him 10
advertise tile fact by speaking. 1t
cannot be so easily discovered if you
allow him to remain silent and look
wise, but if you let him speak, the
secret is out and the world knows that
he is a fool.
$50 it is by exposure of folly that
it is defeated; not by the seclusion of
folly, and in this free exercise of free
speech of men get into that sort of
communication with one another which
constitutes the basis of all common
achievement. France through many
vicisstudes and through many bitter
experiences found the way to that sort
of freedom. and now she stands as the
front of the world. as the representa-
tive of constitutional liberty
Exfepd priviIpges