Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-06-15

means more athletic fields and gymna-
STA. 1t means less money taken at the
gates and more spent by responsible
people to make possible not sport for
sports sake but sports for health's
sake. I plead for a program of ply
steal education that will be common
surate with the needs of ALL our
children and that will compare favor
ably with other efforts made to ad-
vance human welfare. Is it not time
for the community to consider the
needs of the 80 boys who do not make
the team as well as the nine who do?
If baseball is fine, helpful physical
exercise let us make it possible for
every boy who loves the game to get
into 1t. For my part do not desire
to see less athletics in our schools of
learning, as some advocate, but / do
want to see more attention given to
the physical training of all our chill
dren. would like to see it COM
menced in the home and go on through
the grades and continue as long as pos
sible and be made as inclusive as pos
sible. When thus rooted and ground
ed and built UP in body, our boys and
girls will be better able to stand the
stress and strain of life's journey all
the way to the Promise Land of Sue
cess. To curtail community's health
program. to close athletic fields, to
neglect gymnasia is robbing Peter to
pay Paul; 1t saves money today to
pay the doctor tomorrow.
"In the second place 1t may have
been possible that Terah failed to
reach the Promise Land because he
lacked the COURAGE to proceed.
There were many miles to be covered
before he could hope to reach the
country for which he had originally
set out. The precise way hither may
have been unknown to him and there
might have been many dangers on the
the courage to go forward. Life came
to an end with his journey only half
complete and his goal unattained. AS
1t was with Terah so it is with many
today-they do not attain the goal of
success because they do not possess the
courage to proceed.
Il do not need to speak to you young
people concerning the kind of cour-
age displayed on the battlefield. For
my part confess the way and man.
ner of its accomplishment is unknown
to me but / look forward with ardent
expectation to that day when war
shall be no more and we shall not be
under the necessity of speaking of
that kind Of courage. 1 do know We
are in the midst of days that demand
an even higher kind of courage. We
need moral courage today of the high
est order. 1 am born optimist. l do
not hide my eyes from the wrongs of
the day nor do I close them to the
good. Yet / am sure you will all
agree with me that We badly need to-
day men and women, boys and girls
who can say mo" to the enticements
Of the hour.
AS I do not desire to speak of war
like courage neither do care to speak
just here about the courage necessary
to overcome the assaults of the great
tempter of mankind. I know how Sc
rious this latter is and will speak of
1t in a moment. What I do want to
emphasize now is the moral courage
needed to keep steadfastly on the
journey Of life until the goal it
achieved. So many stop at the half
way house like Terah Of old and there
die without reaching complete sue
cess. An advertising devise recently
came to my home that pictured out
the fact that of 10 men who started
out at Is years, of age, all well and
strong, prepared and ready for life's
battle, only one reached financial in
dependence by the time he was 65;
the rest had all fallen by the road
way Young folks you may as we'll
know 1t now-it takes courage to sue
coed in life. Courage Of the highest
and best type. 1t is becoming in
creasingly hard to mark out the paths
Of life and still harder to keep firmly
in them. There is so much to tempt
one to give up. The demands Of every
worthwhile calling in life are tire
some; even preaching Is sometimes
tiresome-to the preacher. But what
can one expect IL one constantly
changes from one thing to another. It
is often true that some folks lose
courage just when success is nearest.
Through force of habit they drop this
project or halt that advance just be-
cause they lack courage to 60 on
they die in Haran only half way to
success. The namby-pamby, haphaz-
ard fellow does not have much show
today. One needs today a strong body
and a stronger will. The pathway of
life is strewn with fiabby fellows who
haven't the strength of body and the
will power to keep on everlastingly at
1t until worthy and honorable des-
tiny is achieved.
Il confess to you young people that
1t Is hard to see the journeys end. 1t
would be different If boy of IS had
the wisdom and experience of the man
OF 30. 1t is so easy to assume they
are out of tune with the present. We
all want to reach the Promise Land