The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-05-30
AmSTkCGQ
LndiUIduQltsrn
A Timely Message to
the American People
By HOOVER
Secretary of Commerce.
~Iu.-Spiritual Phases.

cannot march toward better
days unless it is Inspired by
things of the spirit. Il is nefo Ill
the higher purposes Of indiYiduaH!sm
must find their s%ustenance. Men do
not live hy bread alone. Nor is IN
dividualisiH merely Il stimulus to pro-
duction and the road to liberty II
alone odmijs the universal divine IN.
spfratiou of every human soul. | may
repeat that the divine spark does net
lie in agreements, in organizations. in
institutions, in masses or in groups
Spirituality with its faith, its hope,
its charity, can be increased by each
individuals own effort. And in pro-
portion as each individual increases
his own store of spirituality, in that
proportion increases the idealism of
democracy.
For centuries, the human race be
lieved that divine inspiration rested in
a few. Tho result was blind faith in
religious hierarchies, the Divine Right
of Kings. The world has been disil-
lusioned of this belief that divinity
rests in any special group or class
whether 1t be through a creed, a tyr
amy of kings or of proletariat. Our
individualism insists upon the divine
In each human being. 1t rests upon
the firm faith that the divine spark
can be awakened in every heart. 1t
was the refusal to compromise these
things that led to the migration or
those religious groups who so largely
composed u %forefathers. Our diversi-
fed religious faiths are the apotheosis
of spiritual lndiyidualism.
The vast multiplication of voluntary
organizations for altruistie purposes
are themselves proof of the ferment
of spirituality, service, and mutual re-
sponsibility. These associations for
advancement Of public welfare i'm
proYement, morals, charity, public opin-
ion, health, the clubs and societies
for recreation and intellectual advance
ment, represent something moving at
a far greater depth than Joining"
They represent the widespread aspira-
ton for mutual advancement, self-ex-
preston, and ~neighborly h~elpfulness.
Moreover, today when we rehearse
u own individual memories Of sue
cess, we find that none gives us such
comfort as memory of service given.
Do we not refer to u veterans as
service men? Do not our merchants
and business men pride themselves in
something of service given beyond the
price of their goods? When we trav-
erse the glorious deeds of our fathers,
we today never enumerate those acts
that We're not rooted in the soil of
service. Those whom we revere are
those who triumphed In service, for
from them comes the uplift of the
human heart and the uplift of the
human mind.
While there are forces in the growth
of our in%dividualism which must be
curbed with vigilance, yet there are
no less glorious spiritual forces grow
ing within that promise for the fu-
ture. There is developing in u peo-
pie a new valuation of individuals and
of groups and of nations. 1t is a
rising vision OF service. Indeed If l
were to select the social force that
above all others has advanced sharp
ly during these past years of suffer
ing, it is that of seryice-service to
those with whom we come in contact,
service to the nation, and service to
the world itself. If we examine the
great mystical forces of the past seven
years we find this great spiritual force
poured out by our people as never
before In the history of the world-the
Ideal Of service.
just now we are weakened by the
feeling Of failure of immediate realiza-
ton of the great ideals and hopes that
arose through the e|Xaltation of war.
War by lis very nature sets loose cha
otto forces Of which the resultants can
not be foretold or anticipated. The in
s-ensitiyeness to the b|rutalities of physi-
cal violence, and all the spiritual dis
locations Of war, have left us, at the
moment, poorer. The amount of Sc
reQity and content in the world is
smaller.
The spiritual reaction after the war
has been in part the fruit of some IL
luslons during those five years. In the
presence Of unity Of purpose and the
mystic emotions of war. many men
came to believe that salvation lay in
mass and group action. They have
seen the spiritual and material mobil'
ization of nations, of classes, and
groups, for sacrifice and service; they
have conceived that real human prog
ress can be achieved by working on
the psychology of the people'-by
the mass mind; they yielded to lead
ership without reservation they con
eeived that this leadership could con
tinue without tyranny; they have for
gotten that permanent spiritual prog.
ress lies with the individual.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Copyright. 1923, by Doubleday, Page s
Co. Published by arrangement with
Western Newspaper Union)