Howard University - Bison Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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The problems of tin world today are not only economic readjustment, the reconstruction of devastated regions, the restoration .•» jHtblir onlcr these follow naturally in the wake oi war; hut the rebuilding of our civilization along lines which give !i i|k of its jieriiiancncc. and i T| ctiiity. The cademic classes of 1! | go forth with an opportunity for service such as conies t » few generations of college-bred men and women I I lessons for the hour, the lesson that I would have you go forth this day and impress u|»on your fellows, i the lesson taught by the great Workl War, that the maintenance of the supremacy of the laws is the lir t duty of man. When William the Third ascended the throne and proclaimed himself ruler by divine right, he exclaimed, “He who opjxiscs my will I will crush him. Ilis will was to Ik the lex suprema. There is none s«» low n-dav a the all-highest of yesterday Xo single will ran rule the world today the collective will of all alone may make the law far all. The German Kmpirc. built upon Wood and iron. jicrishcd by hl »od and iron. because she thought that might made right, and that the end justified die means The command. “Thou shall not steal” applies to nations as well as individuals. The war taught us that the law of co-ojieration of friendship and gixn! will among nations i essential t » flic jn-acc ami happiness of the workl. (Irdcr is the first law of heaven, and must Ik made the tir t law of earth, or there can lie nothing hut social chaos and anarchy in the world. Individuals and nations must learn to oliev the Laws, which they tliemsdves have made for their own protection ami happiness. If there an anywhere classes of moil outside the jmle of the law. none are safely within its walls, lawlessness and violence produce lawlessness and violence. I.aw is universal, and if it is not everywhere, it is nowhere. From the earliest times, when the shepherds gazed upon the stars at night, through all the ages from I‘tokrins to Cojk. miens. Gallilco. Kepler. Newton. Hcrschel. and Kinstein. men have lieen trying to discover the laws of the universe. Out there in that vast and ont|ity space we call the sky arc many worlds besides our own. There is no war. or clash of worlds. Iiecause inch olicys the law of its Ix-ing. Tlu simple law of gravitation keeps each planet in it orbit The attraction of each for the other keeps it in the jxult marked out

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To our living limits, young Dent (ioodloe. C’urlry. Junes. Ijung. and llvsli|». Ik- ever llic pride and glory of Ainu Mater. I deprecate tin- recent attempt in some quarters u|mn a plea of sincerity and truth to destroy the splendid idealism with which the American youth went forth to war. hy asserting tliey were afraid not to light. I rather •hcrish the idealism of the great leader who siid, Thai our object i- to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life oi the world, as against selfish and autocratic power: that they went forth to light tor democracy, tor the right of those who submit i authority to have a voice in |heir own governments, for the rights and lilicrlics of small nations —as well as the great. Victory of the Allies was a triumph, in j«art. at least, of those great ideals. I lave we colored Americans a right to claim a slum in the fruits of victory? I lave we a right to sjieak of the lessons of war? When the age-long conflict between the Teuton and «aul for dominion and power ami glory had once more set Ivurope allanic. and the conflagration was extending wider and farther to other nations, and the whole structure of our modern civilization menaced, when the honor of America was assailed, her prestige among tiations challenged, the rights of her nationals upon the high sens violated in contemptuous disregard of all law. the colored American asked only tor a chance to prove his fidelity, loyally, and devotion to meriran institutions and ideals Half a million men filled the ranks of our armies; two tUuisaud went over the seas to serve in France and Italy. Whether with Dej»ot brigades, the Stevedore regiments, the Kngmeer-. so-called, doing the menial work of the army, they did tu t complain, they were happy in sticlt service. Along that far-flung battle lines. from the Y-er to the Marne, with the lighting units of the army, they bravely met death in every conceivable shaj»e. Their hli n | and I tones, mingled with the sacred soil oi France, will nourish a tree of lilierty for a thousand year-, and nuke “liltcrtv. fraternity, ami equality a thing worth lighting for. and. if need Ite. worth dying for. I.ei us l»elicvc that in falling upon the field oi l»attlc. their uplifted eyes caught the vision of a liltcrated world.” in which equal justice and democracy shall rule. not lor some men. hut for all men ; not for white men alone, hut for brown, black, yellow, and all the children of men.

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for it in space In doit's unhrrse there is room far millions of worlds, because out there is late which none max disregard. There, at least, the reiyn of hue is complete. ( nr planet is safe , because in oliedience to an immutable law. it revokes around tlu- sun. producing tlu seasons springtime and autumn, sect I time and harvest. symbolizing the i eriods of birth, of love, and of death It turns upon its axis, (jiving us day and night for labor and rest We know that all life tqion this planet, from a blade of grass to the highest vertebra , follows a certain order of existence, and cannot escajie Nature's laws of growth and decay. In those far-off prehistoric times, before the earth lieeame thickly populated. there was little need of law. because there were no conllicting interests of men to Ik: harmoni ed. With the development of the family, tribal life, settlement of villages, towns, founding of great cities, ami the establishment of mighty stales, and the rise of what we call civilization, men found that they could not live together in the same ncighlurhood. u|X»n the same soil, without certain rules, or law , which all must «U y. These laws were either impiscd front without by some su|»erinr jtower a despot or a conquering foe. or from within by the |»eoplc themselves, directly or through their clmscn representatives. Thus grew up a Utdy oi municipal law. In time, with the dotting of the g!ol e 1 many nations, it was necessary that there should Ik established certain laws of intercourse, and even laws of war. resting upon the common consent. Just as a municipality cannot prosjier unless men arc com|x:llcd to keep the peace and settle their disputes by arbitration, m nations cannot endure, and there can Ik- no | eace among and ln-tween separate states unless governments recognize the obligations of international law. Then con he no law in the true sense, unless there is a unlity he fore the law. The humblest individual in the community is entitled to the due and eiftial protection of the laws. The weakest nation in the family of nations is entitled to its complete so;rreit ntx. just as the strongest and the most ptnvcriit I. The |M»pulation of the earth i l.log.r»gn.:;m; The Aryan race, including white Semitic, and . H5,nou,iuu of blast Indians. numlM rs STb.Oim.iHK). The yellow, black, brown, and the red constitute sgii.ooo.uoo The density of population is 2! persons to each square mile. At the Peace Table there sat