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The Commoner.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 25
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when, for example, a nation In the extension of itsyet
commerce introduces its language and enlarges
the horizon of the people with whom it trades.
Tills incidental benefit conferred by the opening
, of now markets must bo apparent to any one who
has watched the stimulating influence of the new
ideas which have been introduced into Asia and
Africa through the medium of tho English lan
guage. This is not tho mother tongue of very
many of the world's leaders in relicion, states
manship, science and literature, but it has received
through translation the best that has been written
and spoken in other countries. He who learns this
language, therefore, is like one who lives upon a.
great highway where he comes into daily contact
with the world. Without disparaging other mod
ern languages it may be said with truth that
whether one travels abroad or studies at home
there is no other language so useful at the present
time as that which we employ at this banquet
board, and the nation which is instrumental in
spreading this language confers an inestimable
boon even though tho conferring of it be not in
cluded in its general purpose. England has ren
dered this service to the people of India and the
United Statesis rendering tho same service to the
people of the Philippines, while both England and
the United States have been helpful to Japan and
China In this way.
"But the advanced nations cannot content
themselves with the conferring of incidental bene
fits. If they would justify their leadership they
must put forth conscious and constant effort for
the promotion of the welfare of the nations which
lag behind. Incidental benefits may follow even
though the real purpose of a nation is a wholly
selfish one, for as the sale of Joseph into Egypt
resulted in blessings to his family and to the land
of the Pharaohs, so captives taken in war have
sometimes spread civilization and blacks carried
away into slavery have been improved by contact
with the whites. But nations can not afford to do
evil in the hope that Providence will transmute the
evil into good and bring blessings out of sin. Na
tions, if they would be great in the better sense
of the term, mustjntend benefit as well as confer
it, they must plan advantage, and not leave the
results to, chance.
"I take it for granted that our duty to the so?
called inferior races is not discharged by merely
Edeamg .thom-in times of famine or by contributing
to their temporary support when some other calam
ity overtakes them. A much greater assistance is
rendered them when they are led to a more ele
vated plane of thought and activity by ideals which
stimulate them to self-development. The improve
ment of the people themselves should be the par
amount object in all intercourse with the Orient.
"Among the blessings which the Christian na
tions are at this time able and in duty bound to
carry to the reBt of the world, I may mention five:
education, knowledge of the science of govern
ment, arbitration as a substitute for war, apprecia
tion of the dignity of labor and a high conception
of life.
"Education comes first, and in nothing have
tho United States and England been more clearly
helpful than in the advocacy of universal educa
tion. If the designs of God are disclosed by His
lla? u?' then "l3 creation of the human mind is
indubitable proof that the Almighty never intended
that learning should bo monopolized by a few, and
Uayh mse11; agalnst thQ Pns of Jehovah,
who would deny intellectual training to any part
of the human race? It is a false civilization, not
riHrm X : TV ntenances the permanent sepa-
PnonnrnL 1C et3I tW dlStinCt ClaSS, the 0U6
cSS ft0 iimpi;ove the mind and the other
t?S t0 topless ignorance. Equally false
Souw m?SCOfUon f int,ernational Politics which
unon thS ?vn fProsp$rIty o one nation depend
5ffrSS??ltaon o anor. While no one is
rLtl l ono,lg?1 10 cstlmat0 witn accuracy the
human cLnVevthe immedla consequences of
numan action, yet as we can relv unon tho nrin
ciple that each individual profit" ? aS than loses
by the progress and prosperity of his neighbors
so we cannot doubt that it is to the advantage 0c
each nation that every other nation shall mak! the
largest possible use of its own resources and the
capabilities of its peoplo.
"No one questions that Japan's influence has
been a beneficent one since she has emerged from
illiteracy and endowed her people with pubUc
fC f 0pcn t0 a!! bep boy and SMB. The transi.
tion from a position of obscurity Jnto a world
power was scarcely more rapid than hex tranXuon
from a menace Into an ally. China is onteriSg
upon a similar experience and I am confident that
her era of reform will make her, not a yellow peril
but a powerful co-laborer in the international vine
yard. In India, in the Philippines, In BptSS
oven in Turkey statistics show a 'gradual exten
slon of education and I trust I will be pardoSed ?f
I say that neither the armies, nor the navies nor
the commence of our nations, have given ua
so just a claim to the gratitude of the people of
Asia as have our school teachers, sent, many of
them, by private rather than by public funds.
"The English language has become the ve
hicle for the conveyance of governmental truth
even more than for the spread of general informa
tion, for beginning with Magna Charta and con
tinuing through the era of the American revolution
and the Declaration of Independence down to the
present, no language has been so much employed
for the propagation of that theory of government
which traces governmental authority to the con
sent of the governed. Our own .nation presents the
most illustrious example known to t history of a
great population working out its destiny through
laws of its own making and under officials of its
own choosing, although, I may add, we scarcely go
beyond England in recognizing the omnipotence of
a parliament fresh from the people. It is difficult
to overestimate the potency of this conception of
government upon tho progress of a nation and, in
turning the thought of the world away from despot
ism to the possibilities of self government, the
pioneers of freedom made western civilization pos
sible. An idea will sometimes revolutionize an indi
vidual, a community, a state, a nation or even a
world, and the idea that man possesses inalienable
rights which the state did not give and which the
state, though it can deny, cannot take away, has
made millions of human beings stand erect and
claim their God-given inheritance. While the era
of constitutional liberty Is ever widening, while
the tyranny and insolence of arbitrary power are
every year decreasing, the leaders of the world's
thought, not only the English, speaking nations but
the other Christian nations as well, have yef much
to do in teaching reverence for the will of the
majority and respect for the public servants upon
whom the people bestow authority.
' "The Christian nations miist lead the move
ment for the promotion of peace, not only because
they are enlisted under the banner of the Prince
of Peace, but also because they have attained such
a degree of intelligence that they can no longer
take pride in a purely physical victory. The be
lief that moral questions can be settled by the
shedding of human blood is a relic of barbarism;
to doubt the dynamic power of righteousness is
infidelity to truth itself. That nation which is
unwilling to trust its cause to the universal con
science or which shrinks from the presentation
of its claims before a tribunal where reason holds
sway betrays a lack of faith in the soundness of
Its position. I venture to suggest that the world's
peace would be greatly promoted by an agreement
among the leading nations that no declaration of
war should be made until the submission of the
question in controversy to an impartial court for
investigation, each nation reserving the right to
accept or reject the decision. The preliminary in
vestigation would in almost every instance insure
an amicable settlement and the reserved rights
would be a sufficient protection against any pos
sible injustice. . .
"Let me go a step farther and appeal for a
clearer recognition of the dignity of labor. The
odium which rests upon the work of the hand has
exerted a baneful influence the world around. The
theory that idleness is more honorable than toil
that It Is more respectable to consume what others
have produced', than, to be a producer of wealth
has not only robbed society of an enormous sum
but it has created an almost impassable gulf be
tween the leisure classes and those who support
them. Tolstoy is right Jn asserting that most of
the perplexing problems of society grow out of the
lack of sympathy between man and" man. Because
some imagine themselves above work while others
see before them nothing but a life of drudgery
there is constant warring and much of bitterness.
When men and women become ashamed of doing
nothing and strive to give to society full compen
sation for all they receive from society there will
be harmony between the classes.
"While Europe and America have advanced
far beyond the Orient in placing a proper esti
mate upon those who work, even our nations have,
not yet fully learned the lesson that employment
at some useful avocation is essential to the physi
cal health, intellectual development and moral
growth. If America and England are to meet the
requirements of their high positions they nlust be
prepared to present in the lives of their citizens
examples, increasing In nuumber, of men and
women who find delight in contributing to the wel
fare of their fellows, and this ought not to be diffi
cult, for every department of human activity has a
fascination of its own. The agricultural colleges
and industrial schools which have sprung up in so V1
many localities are evidence that a higher ideal is1
spreading among the people.
"And now we come to the most important
need of the Orient a conception of life which
recognizes individual responsibility to God, teaches
the brotherhood of man and measures greatness
by the service rendered. The first establishes a
rational relation between the creature and his Cre
ator, the seconds lays the foundation for justice"
between man and his fellows and the third fur
nishes an ambition large enough to fill each life
with noble effort. No service which we can render
to the less favored nations can compare in value
to this service, for if we can but bring their peoplo
to accept such an ideal they will rival the Occi
dent in their contribution to civilizaton. If this
ideal which must be accepted as the true one if
our religion is true had been more perfectly illus
trated in the lives of Christians and in the conduct
of Christian nations there would now be less of the
'White Man's Burden.'
"If it is legitimate to 'seek another's profit'
and 'to work another's gain' how can this service
best be rendered? This has been the disputed
point. Individuals and nations have differed less
about the purpose to be accomplished than about
the methods to be employed. Persecutions have
been carried on avowedly for the benefit of the
persecuted, wars have been waged for the alleged
improvement of those attacked anfl still more fre
quently philanthropy has been adulterated with
selfish interest. If the superior nations have a
mission it is not to wound but to heal not to cast
down but to lift up, and the means must be ex
amplea far more powerful and enduring means
than violence. Example may be likened to the
sun whose genial rays constantly coax the buried
seed Into life and clothe the earth, first with ver
dure and afterward with ripened grain, while
violence istlie occasional tempest which can ruin
but cannot give life.
"Can we doubt the efficacy of example in the
light of history? There has been great increase
in education during the last century and the school
houses have not been opened by the bayonet; they
owe their existence largely to the moral influence
which neighboring nations exert upon each other.
And the spread of popular government during the
same period, how rapid! Constitution after con
stitution has been adopted and limitation after
limitation has been placed upon arbitrary power
until Russia, yielding to public opinion, establishes
a legislative body and China sends commissions
abroad with a view to inviting the people to share
the responsibilities of government.
"Wliile in America and jn Europe there is
much to be corrected and abundant room for im
provement there has never been so much altruism
in the world as there is today never so many who
acknowledge the indissoluble tie that binds each
to every other member of the race. I have felt
more pride in my own countrymen than ever be
fore as I have visited the circuit of schools, hospi
tals and churches which American money has built
around the world. The example of the Christian
nations, though but feebly reflecting the light of
the Master, is gradually reforming society.
"On the walls of the temple at Karnak an
ancient artist carved a, picture of an Egyptian
king. He is represented as holding a group of
captives by the hair one hand raising a club as "if
to strike them, No king would; be willing to con
fess himself so cruel to day. In some of the capi
tals of Europe there are monuments built from,,
or ornamented with, cannon taken in war. That
form of boasting is still tolerated but let us hope
that it will in time give way to some emblem of
victory which will imply helpfulness rather than
slaughter."
A FAMILIAR SONG
Andrew Hamilton, insurance lobbyist, defend
ing his practice of controlling legislatures, said:
"I have no excuse whatever about the form of the
vouchers that were accepted for the disburse
ments that I made to the various branch agencies.
The insurance world today is the greatest finan
cial proposition in the United States, and, as
great affairs a'arays do, it commands a higher
law. In defending its rights and its property
you can not stop to kick every cur that comes
along and barks; and if you could sweep them
out in other, perhapd mysterious, but honest
ways, you are defending and asserting the higher
law, which great enterprises have a right to com
mand." That "higher law" song has been used to
quell the conscience of many guilty men and to
quiet protests from a plundered people. Even
the highwayman sings himself to sleep with that
same old song. Notorious as these facts are,
republican leaders sing the "higher law" when
ever they are reminded that in 1896, 1900 and
1904 their party became the fence for stolen goods.
When they are asked to Mput it back," they insist
that because their party was engaged in "the pre
servation oLntftional honor" that Which men have
been tratatT to regard as common theft was . not
only qxjen'sable but commendable.
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