The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1922-06-01
MARKET STRQG
FOR CHIACTER
ARKANSAS EXECUTIVE SPEAKS
FROM VANTAGE POINT OF
AGE AND HONORS
PRESENT EPOCH Of INVENTIVE GENIUS
Says Nations Strength Must Find
Its Base in the Strength Of
The Individual Citizen
BY Thomas G. McRae,
cAuArnn, af A.Ennen,

EullOr 5 NOte n was
written by a man who has risen to
high office. 1t is a kindly, philo-
sophical bit of thinking that may give
you a renewed faith in America and
ity of the man who is an American
first of all himself and who loves his
country and his fellows. There is no
stern presentation Of facts and
figures but in their place is a little
~preachment that may well be alb
sorbed in the rush to re-establish the
normal.
Having the privilege of selecting
my subject, not being required to ad-
here to al assigned or arbitrary
theme, l wan to emphasize what l
consider to be the greatest need of
our American Observation-Disclosures.
There is a growing need for it; more
and more the harmonious relations
of mankind are promoted by hon.
esty of purpose.
Looking back through the misty
mazes OF the past we note certain
outstanding epochs, characterized by
the high development of art, litera-
ture, trade or war. No student of
the advance of civilization can fail
to recognize in the present epoch the
pronounced development Of inventive
genius. The wonderful mechanical
agencies Of utility which have come
to us during the last hundred years,
have glorified the activieies Of the
world. Man has been lifted out of
the slow methods and processes
OF the toilsome past, and his very
nature is being transformed. A thou
sand years from now it is not I'M
likely that people will revert to this
period and marvel at it's peculiarities
and it's epochal righteousness. The
present time may be hen styled as
the age of invention, the electrical
age, the railroad age or the money
age. However, not being able to
approximate the centuries ahead Of
us it is of course impossible for one
to do more than guess at how the
present era will impress the people of
the distant future. We may progress
SO far in our inventive genius that a
perspective Of this time will only
reveal it to have been the birth of
human inventive genius.
| have lived through a consider
able eXpanse of time myself, having
almost attained to my proverbial
three score years and ten, and | have
been very much impressed with the
question of why the march of civili-
cation was unattended by very much
inventive genius until the present
century. Certain it is that there
has been more advance during the
century past than during any thou
sand years in the worlds history.
| do not contend that human ma
ture is very much changed from it's
characteristics of the ages past, but
| do assert that the miraculous me,
chanical developments of recent
times have reacted heavily upon hui
man conditions. There is little doubt
that the morals of the people have
been affected through our new-found
freedom and that we are confused in
the living out of our Interpretation
of liberty as against license.
Many Of our students and philoso-
pliers and moralizers are expressing
great Encouragement at what is
termed the breaking down of our hui
man integrity. Many Of our thinkers
believe that the morals of our Ameri-
can people are at a low ebb. Others
try to be more hopeful, pointing out
that with the advent Of greater per-
sonal freedom and greater govern
mental guarantees of liberty that peo-
pie are only asserting their natural
instincts, without bad intent, and they
point out that there is now a broader
human charity, more %gentleness OF
soul and greater freedom from bigo-
try than ever before.
But the great crime wave which
We hear so much Of has upset us
and discouraged us very profoundly.
There is indeed a growing need for
human character. In the business
world this is recognized. l spent
eighteen years as a member Of our
United States congress, then retired
and practiced the profession of law
for an equal number OF years, during
which latter period l supervised a
banking institution, and l fell that l
have some right to announce my OBJ
servations upon human character.
Very often we hear the question
asked, rs the world growing better?"
l am sure that 1t is. But there are
some very grave tendencies now be-