Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-06-17
THE CALL OF AMERICA

Atlanta, once the nome OF the
eloquent Grady. was eloquently rep
resented at the International Asso-
citation of Rotary Clubs assembled at
Edinburgh, Thursday. The Atlanta
. club presented a banner to the Glas-
gov club and NJ. Ashby Jones made
the presentation speech, a very felici-
tous one
Describing those who sit around
the Rotary table he said:
He is there not for himself alone.
but represents the entire phase Of
the industrial or professional life to
which he belongs. This is fundamen-
tai to any clear understanding Of the
Rotary spirit. A Rotarian is more
than an individual He is a represen-
tative revealing in his personality the
rights, ambitions, and purposes Of
others. This is a Rotarian essential
because it is an essential element in
the growth of the character of any
man. One expands only by widening
the circumference of his sympathies
others. There is nothing which so
dignifies personality and challenges
the dormant powers, as the conscf-
BUSINESS of being responsible for the
highest interests Of others. For a
man lives where he thinks. His life
is determined by his convictions and
bounded by the radius of his inter-
ests His community, his nation, in
deed his world, lies within these lin
itations and can be no larger than
his own personality. Rotary faces
the truth, that to build big town, or
a big nation you must first build a
big manhood"
Those who sit about the table
should represent the community. To
the speakers mind this, representa-
ton, is the genius of democracy
THE idea expressed in Rotary is
that while each man demands repre-
sentation for his own rights, he him
self is bound in turn to be the repre-
sentative of the rights of others.
This Is the fundamental law of liber-
ty. for liberty cannot live without
law. If liberty is the unhampered
expression of a mans life, he must.
IN some way, learn to harmonic his
interests with those of others else
these conflicting interests will limit
and obstruct the free expression of
his powers. So only as one comes
INTO the consciousness that his high
est interests are indeed the interests
OF others, and that in serving their
interests. he serves his own, does he
come into that largest liberty. 1t is
this which makes democracy social
So long as the growth is simply an
individual force for freedom, it can
only contribute to friction of inter-
ests. But when if represents not
simply a personal privilege, but ex-
presses personal responsibility, de-
mocracy at once becomes the leaven-
ing principle of civilization"
But it was when describing the
meaning of America that the speak
er was most eloquent. The question
asked at the beginning of the war
was:
country's need shall come. shall we
find a national spirit which shall
make us one, and a binding national
passion which shall furnish a COM
mon purpose That question" he
said, received a startling and over
Whelming answer, when from the
dense populations of our cities and
the limitless horizons of our plains.
from the rock -ribbed hills of New
England and the pillared porticoes
beneath the blending blue of southern
skies, boys of every creed and Gus
tom, heard the call of America and
poured ceaseless current of khaki
across the Atlantic, to make st. Mi
hiel and the ATgonne forever sacred
in the story of the fight for the free
dom Of the world.
| repeat they heard the voice of
America. But what was it's compelI>
ing challenge? 1t was not the call of
common past nor the sympathetic
utterance of common language.
America is not lineage, nor lam
guage. nor land. America is a
lofty ideal of human freedom which
challenges the nobility of mems spir-
Its in every land and in every Ian
guage to great human service.
And l am convinced that the day we
lose the vision of that ideal we shall
lose our nationality. We shall de-
stroy the subtle, spiritual tie which
binds. and become chaos of con-
f1icting interests and an easy prey to