Phoenix tribune., 1922-06-24
DANGER OF TOO MUCH
STANDARDIZATION
SAYS CLASS ORATOR
Especial to The Tribunel

hampton, va, June 23.-Dr. James |
E. Gregg, principal of Hampton In
stitute, in presenting the St. Phillips
Church School Prize to Arthur P.
Davis of Hampton, the ranking schol-
ar and valedictorian of the 1922 class,
said: Long ago the common fallacy
that the prizes of life and sure sue
cess go to the boys and girls who are
undistinguished in school and college,
was refuted by the best statistics
available. 1t was discovered, after
careful search through the files of
Who's Who that man has a far
greater likelihood of success among
his fellow men in after life, if he be-
gins by succeeding in school and col
Iege."
That the young Negro, who has re-
cevied thorough and all round training
is able to analyze modern social prob
lens was shown by Arthur P. Davis
in his address on "The Contribution
Of the Individual" in which he made
strong plea that men should dis
cover and develop individualities. He
said:
There are many who feel that
standardization, the mere following of
the crowd, is a sure sign of progress.
Theirs is the clearer vision who firm
ly believe in individualism-the fol-
lowing of ones own best light.
"Gandhi has been fighting western
civilization because he believes that
it tends to standardize everything. He
does not advise the people in India to
spin and weave their own cloth be-
cause it is economical but because it
tends to develop their own individu-
ality. OF necessity, the hand-work-
er is thinker, whereas machine,
worker soon becomes a mere cog in
the machine.
Victims of War Spirit
"The recent world war, at is best,
may be regarded as a protest of the
nations against such Standardization.
Germany set out to standardize Eu-
rope. At the beginning, the great war
was an honest struggle on the part of
the nations to maintain their individ-
uality-to possess their own souls. But
the trgeday of tragedies is, that many
of the nations, because of the mob spir-
it which the war produced, so soon
fell victim to the very Standardization
against which they had fought so de-
terminedly at first.
I'm the peace conference which fol-
lowed, some of the nations made an
honest effort to bring about the self
determination of all peoples,-true in
ternationalism,- but this honest ef-
fort to safeguard the individualities of
all peoples was soon defeated by the
same old tendency toward standard
ization on the part of the big nations.
Some people have the false idea
that internationalism tends always to
put all nations on the same level. But
true internationalism really means CO.
operation, and cooperation among ma
tions means ust this: That every ma
should regard its individuality as its
birthright, and develop it as its own
peculiar gift for the sake of all other
peoples. No matter how backward it
may be, there is something good in
every nation; something every people
can do better than other people;
something which the world cannot af-
ford to lose.
Contributions from All Groups
After all, each foreign group has
its individual contribution to make to
American life. For example, the Ger
mans may contribute their scientific
genius, the Polish and Russian their
musical genius, the Dutch their sturdy
thriftiness. Each has it's own peculiar
metal to cast into the melting pot. To
suppress the individuality of these
people by an attempt to standardize
them according to all of our popular
American customs is to render impos-
sible their contribution to America.
"The members Of the race, as well
as the race itself, must also protect
their individuality. The race that pro-
duces only one type of man soon be-
comes decadent. To make growing
race, it takes radicals as well as con-
servatives. The conflicting thoughts
of these two groups tend to lend in
terest and give vigor to life. All races
are inclined to preserve old customs,
whether they be good or bad. IT,,
therefore, there were no radicals to
question and attack these old customs
the race would soon become stagnant.