For A Neighborly World

“He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!”
—EDWIN MARKHAM.

The melting-pot is still boiling furiously in Chicago and patriotic citizens are still hastening to cast wholesome ingredients into the pot, in full faith that the final product will be delectable. If the city of Chicago, U.S.A. was not a suitable place for the birth of Rotary, the fact is a reproach to Americans, and to Chicagoans, in particular, because no country has had better opportunity to experiment in fusing diverse and discordant elements into homogeneity than America, and no American city has had so many serious social problems to solve as the windy city of the lakes, the hottest of all hot-spots in America, sociologically speaking.
The movement, which a few brief years ago was content with its part in welding together a small group of men of diverse political parties and religious faiths, has outgrown its swaddling clothes. Its successes thus far achieved give rise to expectation of great influence in the years to come. If Rotary continues to make progress materially and spiritually during the next quarter century as it has since its inception, it may safely be said that it will become one of the most potential influences in favor of international amity.

It is true, however, that eternal vigilance will be necessary to the realization of what is believed to be Rotary’s high destiny. Many movements have failed in the attainment of their purposes because of complacency. It is to be hoped that Rotary will never become complacent; there is too much serious work at hand. There is much for Rotarian newspaper men, publishers, educators, lecturers, preachers, authors, playwrights, theatrical producers, lawyers, and business men in general of all nations yet to do. Flames which have been fanned by unnumbered generations are not easily extinguished. Red is the most discernible color on the horizon at present, but generations as yet unborn presumably are still to live here, and there is room for hope that they at least, will not be color-blind.

One of the parasites to be exterminated is the “laissez- faire” more popularly known as the “Let George do it” parasite. It manifests its presence in Rotary and in fact, everywhere. In churches, many members render their most valiant service in their pews where they serve consistently so long as the minister can be depended upon to have something impressive and “quite regular” to say. In Rotary, many render their most conspicuous service at the luncheon table where they serve consistently so long as the meals and programs are up to par. As it requires a resourceful minister to exterminate the parasite “laissez-faire” afflicting his followers, it also requires a resourceful club president to exterminate the parasites afflicting his. Good addresses are of much importance to insure good attendance, but they do not constitute the Alpha and Omega. There is still something to be done. It is up to the leaders to find the needs and to respond to them.

The resourceful leader will find a way to draw out as well as to fill in. In the final analysis, his success will depend more upon the former than upon the latter; it is more important to bring men out than to thrill them with eloquent words. There is a natural tendency to select finished speakers for presidents of Rotary clubs. The writer believes that ability to speak well need not necessarily be a handicap to a president, but that it frequently proves to be that if it predisposes him to depend too much on that faculty. Choosing between a poor speaker who is a real worker and who realizes that his opportunity is to be found in the development of men in service lines, and an eloquent president who thinks that his opportunity is to be found in thrilling members by inspirational messages, it seems to the writer there can be but one choice and that is the worker.

Most everything that needs to be said has been said, but much still remains to be done. To make the point emphatic, the greatest president of all time might even be one who never appears before his club in the capacity of presiding officer. He might be one who, like a general of an army, remains in the background planning, managing, directing, and assuming responsibility in the larger affairs. Such a president would develop many capable leaders in his own staff who in turn would develop men of lesser authority under their command, and so on down the line.

To the writer the movement has been an experimental laboratory wherein he has had a grand opportunity to study the reactions of men.. He has learned more than he has been able to teach. He has studied the mental processes of men and frequently found himself in the hopeless minority in his conclusions. It is not his policy to insist upon having his way, but to be patient, rather, and to await developments. By the pursuance of this policy he has frequently found it possible to avert misunderstanding; almost invariably doubts have eventually cleared up, and not infrequently it has been made manifest to him that his original conclusions were unsound.

Emil Ludwig states that he has never known an uninteresting person nor been bored by anyone; that he has always been able to learn something.

Rotarians have been greatly encouraged by the fact that their friends are not confined to the membership, nor to one nation. Men and women of all ranks and of all countries have repeatedly expressed their admiration of the movement and amazement at the rapidity and extent of its growth.

From the seats of the mighty throughout the world, come the following expressions which were compiled by Past President Klumph.

Theodore Roosevelt: “I thoroughly believe in the idea of meetings such as Rotary International are holding, just as much as I disbelieve in political cast-iron covenants and alliances. No alliance and no treaty will hold nations in amicable relationship where their interests diverge, and where they are out of touch with each other’s sentiments. On the other hand, no alliance is necessary between governments whose people understand and sympathize with each other. Contact between men such as compose Rotary International will certainly contribute towards mutual understanding.”

Woodrow Wilson: “The only cement which will hold the Nations of the world together in permanent peace will be the cement of friendship between the people — irrespective of their government officials.”

The King of Siam: “It is a matter of gratification to see the rapid progress achieved by the Rotary movement and the strength it has acquired, and the support it receives wherever it spreads. You meet with a view of exciting thoughts and ideas so as to contribute further to the better understanding between peoples of many nations and creeds. It is the international character of the movement that helps materially to promote the general happiness of mankind.”

Prince Iyesato Tokugawa, while president of the House of Peers of Japan: “It is a matter of profound gratification that most excellent work has been done by Rotary, ever since its inception, for the common good of humanity. Rotary truly deserves the congratulations it is now receiving from all parts of the world.”

Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of Great Britain, in a message to a convention of Rotary International then convened at Vienna: “In times like these, a convention like yours is especially opportune. The disarmament conference will only succeed if all those participating can rely confidently on the whole-hearted backing of the peoples they represent, and in arousing public enthusiasm for the ideals after which the conference will strive. Who can do more useful work in discriminating true and just ideas than Rotary International, representing as it does. all classes of all nations?”

The late Albert, King of the Belgians and a Rotarian: “A lively and active civic spirit is the root of all good government. Rotarian principles are those that make good servants of the state and develop among members of a nation and of a society, true friendship — that great need of the world.”

Benito Mussolini: “Rotary does good; it may continue its work and it will always have my approval.”
The words of Mussolini are characteristically brief but they are to the point and their sincerity has frequently been made manifest. It is customary both for Mussolini and for the King of Italy to send messages of congratulation to newly elected governors of district 46 of Rotary International, which comprises all of Italy.

The late Senator Theodore E. Burton, from Ohio: “I believe in Rotary. You have the best organized piece of human machinery in existence throughout the world to day, to develop acquaintanceship, friendship, understanding, and goodwill, leading to international peace.”

A Briton said to an American that in his estimation the Rotary clubs had exercised a greater and more beneficial influence upon his country than any other movement which had originated in America. The American happened to be a Rotarian though the Briton was not aware of the fact.

A non-Rotarian British divine made the statement that the most significant development of the period was the rise of the Rotary clubs; and the president of Northwestern University (Chicago) described Rotary as one of the world’s greatest achievements.

Sir Henry Y. Braddon said: “You and I have seen certain members expand under the influence of Rotary as flowers expand in response to the rays of the sun. Rotary did not create a new spiritual form and breathe it into such men; it revived and encouraged the latent good qualities which were slowly atrophying for the lack of exercise. Rotary asks of members conscious and willing sacrifice of time and convenience to the end that this world may become brighter, healthier, safer, and happier for those with whom we come in contact.”

His Excellency, Sir John Asser, Governor of Bermuda, told the writer that Rotary had done more to encourage goodwill in Bermuda than any other agency.

The Reverend W. Thompson Elliot, Vicar of Leeds, and past president of Rotary International-Association for Great Britain and Ireland, designated Rotary as an integrating force among the many forces of disintegration.

In a message of greeting to a district conference at Schenectady, New York, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Thinking of Rotary, I visualize a series of concentric circles which, starting with the smallest and going to the largest, I denominate as the community, national, and international influence. In the center I see Rotary International as a generating force of incalculable value in creating civic and international consciousness. The healing spirit and uplifting influence of Rotary are sorely needed in the world today. Standing as it does for inherent honesty, fair dealing, orderly justice, and the rights and worth of the individual and the definite obligations of the individual to society and of society to the individual, I see Rotary in this ever world as a powerful stabilizing factor designed to secure common understanding and peaceful relations among men and among nations.

I speak for Rotary International a continuously increasing effectiveness and power.”

Thomas Jefferson said that neighborliness was almost the most important circumstance in life. Rotarians believe in that doctrine so sincerely that they aspire to spread it around the world.

Friendliness and neighborliness are natural and will thrive if given a chance. To waste one’s opportunities to cultivate neighborliness and friendship is more foolish than to cast diamonds into the sea. Are you heavy-laden with cares of the day? A neighborly call at eventide will drive dull care away and start you out anew. The world needs more well-beaten pathways from door to door and, incidentally, neighborly pathways should lead to back doors, not front doors. In the days of our fathers, folks just “dropped in.” It is much better to “drop in” than to “call” and may we never forget the “extra plate”; it is a harbinger of goodwill. A neighborly visit is the best tonic that’s known — better than beef, iron and wine. Try it, I beseech you.

There is a path from “Comely Bank” to the home of Silvester, the first man to whom was breathed the first word of Rotary. It is a well worn path winding through the oak wood made fragrant in the spring by countless blossoms, and radiant in autumn by blazing sumac. The wood is full of melody in the warmer months, and redbirds and a few other feathered friends stay the year round.

This particular path has been showing the imprint of Schiele and Harris boots and shoes more than twenty years now. An experienced observer might have discovered that some of the shoes were down-in-the-heels at times. When the Schieles and the Harrises run back and forth, they go as they are. Their visits are not dress parties. Silvester took to himself a wife who could never out’ wear her welcome anywhere were she to try ever so hard. Jessie is a distinguished personage in her own right; President of the Illinois Board of Baptist Missions; President of the Women’s Department of the Chicago Federation of Churches; and twice President of the Women of Rotary. She is of Scotch extraction and Jean considers Scotch ex traction second only to being out-and-out Scotch.

Silvester and the writer have been stumping along together for thirty-eight years, now. He is my long time friend. The writer knows a man who during the period of so-called prosperity lived within himself. No one was permitted to disturb him in his sanctum sanctorum. His house was his castle in very truth. Had he lived in feudal days, he would have surrounded his castle with a moat. The drawbridge would have been kept up and the portcullis down. None could have gained admittance except in the sacred name of business.

A business crash came and with it crashed the castle. His business partner took his own life. But not so he — in his veins flowed stronger blood. He took inventory of his assets. Among many which had become worthless, were some which were of astounding value. They had been overlooked, almost forgotten, in the days of so-called prosperity. In former days of adversity, they had been prized. This man of iron dug them out and now nothing on earth could ever replace them again. They are beyond price. Take a look at the list: neighborliness, friendliness, sympathy, love. Place them against whatever else you will — stocks, bonds, or what-not. This man of iron lost his castle, but he found a home.

Emerson in his delightful essay on friendship, said:

“The moment we indulge our affections, the earth is metamorphosed: there is no winter and no night; all tragedies, all ennuis vanish — all duties even; nothing fills the proceeding eternity but the forms all radiant of beloved per sons.”

Elbert Hubbard held that friendly intercourse was as essential as food and drink. Certainly this would be a dreary world without it. One can stand poverty and even ill-health, in fact, almost any form of vicissitude, but he who is friendless, has little to live for.

Conversation is not always essential to friendly intercourse. Carlyle loved to spend long winter evenings in the silent companionship of a friend. They sat and smoked together. Are there any who have never experienced the joy of silent communion with a friend? One doesn’t need to chatter like a magpie while in the companionship of a friend.

Rotary craves no greater distinction than that of being enrolled among the forces devoting themselves to the shaping of a tradition of individual, national, and international neighborliness, kindliness, friendliness and helpfulness. Civic, national, and international behavior must be immeasurably improved.

The Duke of Kent, youngest son of the King of England, who is Patron of Rotary in the British Isles, during the course of an address which he delivered at a recent conference of Rotary clubs in Folkestone, England, said:  “We are living in difficult times. We all know it, and if we do not, there are plenty of people and facts to tell us so. If in the face of the world crisis, we can still succeed in holding aloft the sign of cordiality and cooperation between business men of all nations, we may have confidence that in years to come it will seem well worth while to have done it. Confidence is a thing the world requires today, and I hope we are displaying it; confidence in the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace — there is no nobler sentiment or nobler task.”
 
The progress of man is painfully slow. In tracing through the ages what he terms “The Rise of Man,” Doctor James Henry Breasted records the transition from savagery to civilization; the first defeat of materialism; the dawn of conscience; the discovery of character; and the emergence of social idealism, as having taken place approximately two thousand years before the birth of Christ. But the process of development of social idealism continues. From the period of its inception to the present day, it has never ceased. Cataclysmic outbursts have periodically threatened civilization’s collapse; but in the course of centuries unmistakable progress is manifest. The rule of one generation becomes the exception of the next, and ultimately fades entirely away in the light of clearer concepts and brighter promise.

“And step by step, since time began, I see the steady gain of man.”

Dr. Edward S. Ames, head of the department of philosophy of the University of Chicago, predicts that all students of the university will soon be required to have a world outlook and to be able to make comprehensive surveys of the biological and social sciences and the humanities. Dr. Ames states that a goodly number of the undergraduates are already able; that, in fact, they have already done it.

In view of the unprecedented progress in aeronautics and other mechanical devices for the acceleration of speed in intercommunication, it is manifest that it is necessary for institutions of learning also to expand their views, and it is gratifying to know that they are doing it. The world is really becoming comprehensible.

Thirty years have passed since the first small gathering in the name of Rotary. Within that period the Walter Drummond blue spruce tree which stands in my garden of friendship, bowing gracefully in gentle breezes to friendly visitors from distant countries, has gained appreciably in stature, but the twin oaks looking condescendingly down on all ephemeral things, are as they were.

Within that period, the green level of the cemetery lawn has been frequently broken, leaving mounds sacred to the memory of friends passed on.

Within that period, children have passed through the various stages from infancy to manhood and womanhood. Sons have begun their business careers; daughters have married, and now have families of their own; but to Mother and Dad the happiest days of all their lives, the days when childish laughter rang throughout the house, seem but yesterday. Thirty years is nothing to undying love.

Those who have Rotary’s interests at heart, trust that we may always continue to view it and its children, the other so-called service clubs, as contributions merely to social progress within our chosen sphere; that we may view ourselves and our work in proper perspective; that we may never become complacent; that we may stand ready to face adversity or prosperity, war or peace; that our thoughts may never become crystallized; that we may ever continue to grow. This is a changing world; we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again.

Time and tide wait for no man; but time is of relative, not absolute importance. Determined men take time by the forelock and make it do. their bidding. In thirty years earnest men have flung Rotary around the world and into the nerve centers of eighty nations.

Have Rotary ideals any perceptible effect? That is the question. It is difficult to visualize the growth of the spirit of a generation. Could we, like Rip Van Winkle, have gone to sleep in one generation and wakened in another, we might see the changes more clearly.

Why did Rotary come into being in the year of our Lord 1905? Social movements, like individuals, are subject to the laws of heredity and environment. Rotary inherited the growing spirit of tolerance and the “I WILL” spirit of Chicago, the incorporeal hereditaments of many generations. No president or officer of Rotary International, no district governor, no club president has failed to leave his imprint, and as the individual member is in turn the product of heredity as well as environment, it is necessary to look far back into history to find the Why of the rise of Rotary in Chicago in 1905.

It is safe to say that its tap-roots were deeply embedded in the civilization of the period and that the forces which made the movement possible had been in accumulation for centuries.

The freedom and the friendliness of the West is proverbial. The West is not given to cherishing ancient animosities. Wounds, even though they may be ever so deep, have a way of quickly healing. When General Robert E. Lee, commander-in-chief of the Confederate forces tendered his sword in token of surrender to General Grant, commander-in-chief of the Federal forces, at the close of the Civil War in the United States, the latter said to General Lee that he had demonstrated himself to be too brave a soldier to be deprived of his sword and he bade him to return it to his scabbard. Today, there is no music which receives such enthusiastic applause in the northern part of the United States as “Dixie,” the Confederate War Song. This is the kind of spirit which must find expression in all peace terms if they are to be enduring; it is the kind of spirit which we trust will always be the controlling spirit of Rotary.

The West is the offspring of the East; the New World, the offspring of the Old. New England, long before the birth of Rotary, threw off the intolerance and bigotry which characterized its earlier days and became the Cradle of American Liberty.

Like Platonic philosophy, Rotary concerns itself with the here and now. February 23, 1905 was the psychological day; Chicago, where the forces of righteousness were waging the fiercest battle against unrighteousness, where the social maelstrom was seething white, was a very suitable place for the birth of Rotary.

Rotary is still in its infancy. Thirty years is a long time in the life of an individual, but a brief time in the life of a social movement. We are still in our experimental stage; still fathoming new depths, exploring new fields. Perhaps we have not yet found ourselves, our great opportunity; but we are not discouraged. We shall press persistently on.

Long before the birth of Rotary, in the year of our Lord 1905, long before the beginning of the period characterized “This Rotarian Age,” Rotary had been in the making. For centuries increased enlightenment had been revealing cosmos in the midst of chaos. Shivering twilight had been giving way to break of day. Superstition had been surrendering power to understanding.

He in whose bosom first dwelt the spirit of goodwill toward all men had been called home eons ago. Immortals who, in the name of religion had preached the brotherhood of man had come to untimely ends far in the distant past. The bard who sang,

“That man to man the world o’er
Shall brothers be for a’ that,”

had left his imprint upon time and had passed to his reward. The indomitable Pilgrim fathers, fighting for their faith, had made their contributions, as had also less rigorous and more tolerant generations which followed.

In 1905 the forces contending for physical and social hygiene in the city of Chicago were making a courageous and determined fight against filth, drunkenness and corruption. Chicago was emerging. Business was beginning to have class consciousness, and to suspect that it might possibly not be kin to brigandage. Even the public in general was awakening to a sense of civic pride, the forerunner of community service.

Rotary must ever be grateful for its birthright. Without it, success would have been inconceivable. With it, all things were possible.

Rotarians are indebted to the public for its manifest sympathy and for the consideration it has shown in forming judgments. Words of condemnation have been few; words of commendation, many. If possession of the spirit of Rotary were the only qualification requisite to membership, our numbers would be increased a thousand fold. There is, fortunately, no copyright on the spirit of Rotary.

When this book emerges from the printer’s hands, the writer and his lassie will in all probability be sailing summer seas, as they were last year. From far below the equator, we extend our greetings, to the comparatively small body of Rotarians and to that inestimably larger number, who are Rotarians in spirit only.

May Rotarians continue to be ambassadors of goodwill to high and low, rich and poor, to all races, to the devotees of all religious faiths and to members of all political parties, purveyors of tolerance, forbearance, justice, kindliness, neighborliness and friendliness to the inhabitants of this snug little world, the best little world of which we know.

Far back through the centuries, back to the man in whose bosom first dwelt the spirit of goodwill toward all men, to Him who died for the love of men, and to the bard of Ayr who saw all so clearly, are echoed the words of Edmund Hamilton Sears:

“For lo, the days are hastening on,
By prophets, bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years,
Comes around the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth,
Its ancient splendor fling,
And the whole world send back the song
‘Which now the angels sing.”