Decorah-posten og ved arnen., 1921-10-28

Wisconsin, intensive republican and
high pro%tectionist. Strpmme, in course
of the debate, quoted Professor Lar
sen as sponsor for one of his argu-
ments. YES" said the manufacturer,
but what does the word of a mar
like Larsen count in a matter of this
kind? / doubt whether he has ST, 000
to his name" The attitude and state
of mind here illustrated is by no
means an uncommon manifestation,
and | felt that it was not intended
merely as humor, when. on my first
visit to Norway and the Valley OF
Valders, where my forefathers hailed
from, a venerable old mar with whom
| had entered into conversation said,
l"Oh yes, you Americans have accom-
plished wonders, but there is one
criticism l have to make. Your in
t~erests are too limited. There are
only three things that most of you
seem to care for; - the first is money,
the second is money, and the third,
- well, that is money too"
4No", ~ tiCiC DG ll Jul lllSlOIy vi
national bearing that which seems to
justify the impressions thus voiced,
so much more urgent than the need
for developing and strengthening the
institutions which, like Luther College
and its library, shall emphasize the
other side, the intellectual strength
of the American people, shall foster
and preserve the spiritual values
which / fervently believe are destined
to prove the greatest and most bene-
fetal of all values, and which neither
time, rust, nor decay can undermine
or destroy. The world has just passed
through seven years of wal and
turmoil, to which no other period OF
history can show a parallel. A peace
was concluded at Versailles. You re-
call the aftermath. To read the daily,
and even some of the weekly, papers,
one would think that the existence OF
the world and its inhabitants de-
pended almost solely on money and
material wealth. Dollars, pounds,
marks, and francs, not in thousands
or millions, but in billions, seem to
form the basic note in editorials,
dispatches, and journalistic utterances.
Preparations to be paid by the van
pushed were given variously at So
20 billion dollars in gold, gold
than has been produced in America
since its discovery by Columbus.
Commercial, financial, and economic
considerations alone seemed to have
any weight. On n side, writer's,
statesmen and journalists insisted that
the separations must be paid in full,
or civilization would be endangered
On the other side a similar chorus
arose that if the payment of repara-
tions in full were insisted on, civili-
cation surely would perish. Stability
of life and the future welfare and
happiness of humanity were made out
to be almost wholly dependent on
money, political and economic con-
siderations. In other words, what we
have recently heard and read has
dealt almost exclusively with material
wealth, precious little attention has
been paid to intellectual values.
Strange this, when we consider how
the war has shown clearly that
material values are the ones to perish.
Fire, water, and numerous other ele-
ments, see to that. Not so the spiritual
values. These survive from generation
to generation, from father to son. Ii
is to them that we owe a Shakespeare,
a Milton, 4 Homer, a Virgil, a Dante,
a Petrach, a Goethe, a Schiller, an
Ibsen and a BjSrnsen, a Bach,
Handel. Beethoven, Wagner, Mozart,
Hayden, and a host of others whose
genius and art have given to millions
upon millions, in all countries and all
nations, something of the richest and
finest which has come into their lives,
moments of spiritual enjoyment and
elevation which are never forgotten.
A simple melody, a little nursery
rhyme, or a cradle song, a saga, has
arisen, no one knows where or
whence it came. What is it worth
in money? AT how much shall we
estimate the enjoyment which it has
furnished to millions, these thousands
OF years or more, generation after
generation ? If turned into a jewel or
precious stone which might be bought
and kept apart for the eyes of a select
few, no doubt its value would have
equaled or exceeded that of the
costliest gem ever added to the crown
jewels of the British or Russian
Empires. Fortunate indeed. that the
little nursery rhyme, the saga, the
song, the melody cannot be purchased
and locked up for the private enjoy
ment and ediication of the few. They
constitute values which, let us hope,
will always be as free to the poor as
to the rich, as accessible to the lowly
as to those who reside in castles or
mansions. Where effort has been
made to stife knowledge and educa-
ton. to restrict their discrimination to
a select few, history tells us that such
efforts have invariably proven dis
astrous and futile. Our schools and
libraries should be free to all, without
distinction of rank or wealth, for no
one knows in what village or country
side may be born a future Lincoln,
a Washington, Franklin, Schurz, a
Whittier or ar Emerson. No one can
say whence will come our mex Watt
or Edison.
| believe that it was President
Faunce of Brown University, whom I
once heard say in an address to a
convention of Librarians, that a taste
for reading was estimated to be worth
Sl0,OOO a year. Our answer to that
| statement might be both "yesn and