The great colleges and schools with which we are blessed are performing
a vital work, and these institutions for developing a higher order of
citizenship are of far more worth and of greater importance than all of
the ships of war or the arms of the nation in maintaining and upholding
those policies which have been adopted for our protection against
foreign and domestic foes. But it is not alone a theoretical education
which is necessary for this higher citizenship. It must be linked with
the knowledge which comes of the study of the character, of the manner
and methods of other nations than our own, which leads the artisan to
inspect and to improve upon the ingenuity of his fellows of other lands.
It is this feature in the exposition which is to take place upon this
ground next year that is particularly significant and important in the
solution of the problems to which I have referred. It is the contact,
the friendly rivalry thus created, which brings about a betterment and
improvement of conditions. It is appropriate, therefore, that at the one
hundredth anniversary of this great event of our nation's history, we
should gather here all of the ingenuity and the genius of the past and
the present, that we may contrast and make note of our progress. This
will be an inspiration for us in the performance of our duty, and will
add to our affection for our native and adopted land, and thus make of
America a still greater power for good. A patriotic people is possible
only when there exists a love of country which has been inspired by the
stories of the past. It is the stories of the glorious past which
encourage us to grapple with the problems of the present and to look
with disdain upon those who fail to solve them. What fills our mind with
more gratitude; what inspires us with greater heroism; what instills
more patriotism than the struggles of the early colonial wars? The
Anglo-Saxon energy which swept from this continent the dominion of those
who sought only wealth, and which substituted the thrift of the voyagers
of the _Mayflower_ and of the settlers of Jamestown--which Speaks