The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-03-20

ly the hope of achievement rests.
Twas master mind that first realiz-
ed the worth of these holy principles;
! twas master spirit which joined
them together so today principles and
spirit awakens an enthusiastic re-
Spouse in other minds, making pos
sible this great fraternity of Rotary.
For herein lies the promise Of future
greatness for Rotary. If these funda-
mentals and this spirit which is Pc
culiar to our great fraternity becomes
the basis of ethics and the ruling pas
sion in each life then the brightest
vision of the most earnest disciple of
Rotary will fall far short in represent
ing the future glory which will radiate
from this organization. If this can
not be accomplished then there is no
future for Rotary.
Every creed is reflected in the lives
of its devotees. Turkey today reflects
the spirit Of Mohammedanism; China
that of Confucianism; India that Of
Buddhism, while the greater repre-
sentatives of the Allies present to the
world the spirit and power of Christ
ianity. The Master-Man realized that
however good were the principles of
His ethics or however true the funda.
mentals of His Kingdom there was
no hope that these should outlast the
centuries, save as His own Spirit
should become incarnate in the lives of
His disciples. Our principle beauti-
fully differentiates Christianity from
all other religions, namely the prin-
ciples taught were perfectly exempli-
fled in the life of the Teacher Here,
then, is the task of Rotary-to present
to the world the harmony Of principle
and practice Only so, can we fulfill
our obligation as Rotarians and
clothe this organization with dignity
and glory which increases with the
years. The spirit of Rotary is our
give it to the world, we have enriched
the ages can measure.
The birth of a new spirit in the
world is of mighty Importance. The
Man of Galilee was the early Prophet
of Democracy. Long centuries passed
after He had given the world this new
spirit, but the world was nearly UNI
conscious of the gift. Suddenly from
the fires Of bigotry, forged with the
hammers of persecution upon the an
wills Of hatred was forged the Mind of
the Puritan, with the Spirit Of Democ-
racy. The unfolding of Americas
history has shown that mind and spir-
it at work The victories Of this
last great war are tied by living
chains to that early time when the
new spirit Of Democracy was born in
the world. Into the great industrial
life of today has come new spirit.
What the Spirit of Democracy was to
the political life Of the world this
new spirit will be to the economic life
With the birth of this new spirit the
redemption of industry is at hand.
We speak of the terrible conflict
between Capital and Labor. The i'm
pending struggle would lose all it's
! terror could new spirit be brought
into Capital and new spirit come to
Labor. The spirit characterizes the
struggle There is no problem in the
economic world today but would easily
be solved if fair spirit could be
brought into it's realm. Put the Spir-
| it of Rotary into this age-long dis
pute and there comes harmony, health
and prosperity on the economic life of
our country.
There comes then the supreme task
to every Rotarian to possess the Spir-
it of Rotary and reflect it in his char
acter and work. This is a mighty
challenge; every success in our lives
adds to the success of Rotary; every
failure in our lives decreases the glory
and efficiency of Rotary. The Rotary
Club needs US in some measure but
we have a far greater need Of the Ro-
tary Club to hely us realize it's ideal
ism and life and service.
And what does the Spirit of Rotary
demand Of US? A clean life with the
highest ideals of honor; add to this a
spirit of chivalry, as when knight
hood was in flower. In the realm Of
character, "Rotarian" is synonymous
with the very highest ideals Of man.
hood. It's principles combine all that
is best in other lodges and orders. It
4 demands the spirit of service which is
SO fundamental with the church. In
business it requires spirit Of opti-
1 nism.
This Spirit Of Rotary will regener-
ate all life; it will add dignity to la