Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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Class Cration THOMAS STREET CLARK. The purpose of academic training is two-fold. It aims to give the individual greater powers of understanding and appreciation. It aims to give society a more intelligent and a more efficient service. As we leave Princeton after four years of such training, we expect to live broader, deeper lives because of our academic experience. We expect to render society larger and more efficient service in our chosen field of activity. Naturally our activities will be along very different lines. Our manner of life, our acts and aims, now cease to be the same. And so in summing up the specific relation of our Princeton training to our future activity it is difficult to find a common ground. There-is one held of activity, however, which will demand the services of each and every one of us. A field to which our preparation here bears a definite relation. We are all of us to live under a government which de- pends for its stability and efficiency upon the services of its citizens. The character and action of popular govern- ment must rest in the last analysis upon the character and action of the individuals composing it. The political re- sponsibility of the citizen is direct and all important. Our governmental institutions are new and in the larger sense untried. They are constantly being put to the test by powerful antagonistic forces. Our state was founded upon principles more or less theoretical and apparently of limited application. Guided by these principles we have developed a complex civilization tremendous in its intricacy and extent. Are our institutions fitted to the demands of such a civiliza- tion? This is a question which this generation must an- swer. As we enter upon our political responsibility com- plex and powerful forces are theatening good government on 'every side. The tremendous power of organized wealth, protesting labor and social revolution, wide spread corruption, self seeking influence of all kinds, these are as dangerous foes as ever were foreign hostility and dis- 18

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I W czshingtonir Birthday Oration place. But Mun was unable to keep up the fast pace that the Irishman set for him, so they gave up that project and formed themselves into an International Fire Dept. O, they did very valuable work around this campus, ladies and gentlemen. They put out a great many fires in each dormi- tory, and where they couldn't find any they made one, and incidentally just escaped a big fire at the hands of Jack, the Cop. We appreciate the service they rendered and are glad they escaped the constables. Well, I have about come to the end of my ropes and in closing I Want to say, fellows, that I hope all these little stories I have told in good part will have been received in the spirit in which I have told them. I7

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Class Oration union. Such forces can be met and overcome only through the services of our citizenship. Our political responsibili- ty is of first importance. Government is one of the first things to be cared for. It is the very guarantee of our opportunities and our civilization. The relation of our Princeton training to political ac- tivity is not hard to analyze. In such a commonwealth as ours education is the cause as well as the effect of good government. We stand as exponents of liberal and efficient education. Our responsibility must be proportionately great. VVhat then characterizes efficient citizenship? Wliat are its functions and how are we specially prepared to perform them? The first characteristic of the efficient citizen is sound and discriminating judgment. He must be able to form true estimates of men, of issues and of principles. He must be able to distinguish clearly between the real and the seeming, between the true and the false, between the wise and the mistaken. This is no simple task. The complexity of our modern life gives rise to intricate problems. Issues are clouded by a ,thousand and one considerations. Lines are not sharply drawn. To judge truly is a most difficult task and yet the decisions of the citizen lie at the very roots of our political action. To see clearly, to think straight not to be misled by the superficial and the specious. That is a first requisite to efficient citizenship. For performing this func- tion our academic training has specially fitted us. A cer- tain writer recently summed up the value of a college educa- tion by saying that it enables the graduate to know a good man when he sees one. Surely this is one of its values if not the chief one. To know a good man, a good principle, a good law, a good reform when we see one. If liberal training dose anything it gives us perspective and discern- ment. It places us well up the mountain side where we get a broad view and one properly proportioned. Once judgment is passed the efficient citizen becomes a partisan. He must abide by the verdict of his judgment with unfaltering resolution. Self interest and indifference I9