USA > Indiana > The Indiana centennial, 1916; a record of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Indiana's admission to statehood > Part 31
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THE STATE'S DEFECTIVES
Indiana is giving practical proof of her enlightened inter- est and public spirit by adopting or creating new methods and
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instrumentalities for the care and cure of her afflicted and defective population. She is now developing the colony plan for her chronic insane, that they may have the advantage of outdoor life, with its sunshine and fresh air, and that they may in a measure contribute to their own support by invigor- ating work-by gardening, working in truck patches, and taking a part in the activities of farm life-calculated to improve both their mental and physical condition.
Indiana has gotten away from her former custom of try- ing to reform law violators by sending them to jail. Jails are no longer recognized as cures for crime. They are de- grading rather than regenerating in their nature and effects. Nine out of ten of those sentenced to jail come out more strongly bent upon mischief than they were when they entered upon their sentence. This class of law violators will therefore be hereafter sentenced to hard work on the Penal Farm, where they will be kindly treated and given time to see the error of their ways and an opportunity to make compensation to soci- ety, by labor on the farm and by making lime and crushing stone for commercial purposes. It is believed that a stone pile will do more toward giving this class of individuals a proper conception of the duty they owe to themselves and to the State than will a privilege afforded them to swap stories over a deck of cards in a jail cell.
INDIANA'S MARCH FORWARD
Indiana moves forward. Our State was among the first States of the Union to create a Board of State Charities, lay- ing upon it the duty to investigate the whole system of public charities and correctional institutions and to review the man- agement of any institution, whenever the board believed the same should be done, with the view of having errors corrected and new and modern methods adopted therein. The duties of this board are diversified, perplexing, and arduous; but its work has been performed most efficiently and in a manner that has attracted attention and won approval throughout the country. Rev. Francis H. Gavisk, fine spirited man that he is, has long been and now is a member of this board, and he has quite recently brought honor to his State by being elected president of the National Conference of Charities and Correc- tion.
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Indiana moves forward. Our people are a practical peo- ple. They believe that the Lord helps those who help them- selves. They believe, therefore, that it is better to prevent illness than it is to take chances on curing illness. For this reason they are becoming more and more watchful of sanitary conditions-they are champions of the public health.
The typhoid germ was discovered in 1881. That same year Indiana inaugurated her public health work. In 1899, our pure food statute was enacted, and we are proud of the fact that, when Congress came to legislate on that subject in 1905, it had the sound judgment to appropriate much of our law. But I cannot now undertake to mention the progressive laws enacted in the interest of the public health. They are numerous, of course. That they are wise may be inferred from the fact that health authorities of other States and of the federal government rank the work of our State Board of Health second to none.
DISEASE PREVENTION WORK
I know I shall be pardoned for suggesting in this connec- tion, that I have the honor of having issued as Governor the first proclamation issued in this country asking the people of a State to observe a day as Disease Prevention Day. In my proclamation I said :
Health is the greatest of blessings and the source of efficiency and power. The enjoyment of life, and the achievement of liberty and hap- piness are impossible without it. There is nothing strikingly glorious in a civilization not founded upon intellectual and moral, as well as physical strength; for physical health is the surest foundation of mental and moral health.
This proclamation attracted favorable attention through- out the nation. It was discussed in pulpits and by publicists ; and in newspapers and in magazines. The public spirited Nathan Straus, of New York, in urging other Governors to favor a disease prevention day, said in part :
The Governor of Indiana has proposed a plan that will pay big dividends to the State and its people. The idea is one of the best that ever has been originated in this country. It is so good that I want to pass it along to you in the hope that you will adopt it in your State.
As an evidence of the humane and progressive spirit of the people of Indiana, I cite the fact that no day, set apart by
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statute to be observed as a holiday, was ever as generally and as enthusiastically observed in Indiana as was Disease Preven- tion Day. Indiana moves forward.
INDIANA'S CENTENNIAL
And now let me say to you, former sons and daughters of Indiana, those who have moved away from your old Hoosier home-the home where you were first loved and where you first reciprocated love-next year your mother State will celebrate the hundredth anniversary of her admission into the Union of States. I know you will be interested in that his- toric event. Some of you will want to return on that occasion, because near the old home rest the remains of father and mother; and hallowed is the spot where their ashes lie. Some of you will want to return, because there you can regale your- selves anew with the stories and experiences you enjoyed in the flower of your youth, before you knew of the bitterness that comes with the breaking of family ties. Some of you will want to return to see how we, who have remained, have kept the old homestead-and the faith. You will find in many instances that the walls about and the hearthstone in the old house have been worn out by the heel of time and replaced in modern style to meet our demands. The old well, with its moss-covered bucket, is no more to be seen. The winding pathway down to the spring is no longer visible. Here and there, you will see that the roof on the old smoke-house has toppled in, and the barn, in which you played hide-and-seek and hid Easter eggs, has finally yielded to the elements.
And while these things will bring to you a touch of pathos and sorrow, on all hands the evidence of a happy people and a normal life-industrious, thrifty, and cultured-will bring gladness to your hearts. You will find that we are working out our destiny along broad lines. You will discover that we have been farsighted enough to know that we had to make our own fortunes and cannot rely upon other persons or the State to make them for us. Having individually progressed through our own endeavor, we are now ambitious to make a creditable showing of our state's greatness; and you are asked, because of the ties that bind us together, not to fail to witness this display of Indiana's glory.
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But you will also discover that your mother State, in her first century, has not lived for herself alone. Her vision is world-wide and under the bow of promise of her patriotism- a patriotism resting upon justice-will be seen the manifesta- tions of her fraternal spirit-her affection for all mankind. Just now, Indiana is most solicitous for universal peace. All her moral strength is back of President Wilson in his tireless efforts to heal the bleeding wounds of civilization, and re- establish the Golden Rule and the open door between the nations of the earth. Indiana would love her neighbors as herself and she would find her neighbor wherever she can serve in promoting civic righteousness among men.
CITIZENSHIP
ADDRESS OF GOV. SAMUEL M. RALSTON BEFORE THE INDIAN- APOLIS BOARD OF TRADE CENTENNIAL DINNER, FEBRUARY 22, 1916 '
Mr. Toastmaster and Gentlemen :
This event is suggestive of lofty sentiments, and I recog- nize I am distinctly honored in having a share in it. The day is the anniversary of the birth of America's patron saint, George Washington, whose wisdom will ever serve to direct our nation's course. The year marks the hundredth anniver- sary in the life of our beloved State, and brings vividly to mind the hardships and sacrifices of pioneer days. And the subject assigned me-Citizenship-challenges our attention to the duty we owe to home and country. I repeat, the event is suggestive of lofty sentiments.
Washington ! Our nation's first President. Jonathan Jennings! Our State's first Governor. What enthusiasm these names arouse in the breast of the lovers of liberty and of free government! I confess to having a reverence for the memory of Washington and to having a feeling a little more difficult of analysis for the memory of Jennings. I honor his memory of course, but in thinking of him, I admit some em- barrassment. He was my great predecessor in office. His ability and wisdom set an official standard that but few, if any, of his successors have filled. Though he was young in years and had to blaze the way as the first Governor, he im- pressed his individuality upon the State and won the approval of her citizenship in a manner seldom possible for one in high office to do.
Governor Jennings was a man far in advance of his immediate associates. He was thoroughly schooled in the principles of our government. He believed devotedly in the freedom of the individual and was uncompromising in his opposition to slavery. He was an advocate of an educated citizenship. He saw that ignorance and greed were the twin enemies of our State and nation, and he urged upon the people the importance of education and the dissemination of useful knowledge among them, in restraint of vice and in the support of public morals. No one understood better than
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he, that the security of free government rests upon the morality of the people and upon the maintenance of public order. In his first message to the Legislature, he said in part :
Under every free government the happiness of the citizens must be identified with their morals; and while a constitutional exercise of their rights shall continue to have its due weight in the discharge of the duties required of the constitutional authorities of the State, too much attention cannot be bestowed to the encouragement and promotion of every moral virtue, and to the enactment of laws calculated to restrain the vicious, and prescribe punishment for every crime commensurate to its enormity.
These words were uttered a hundred years ago by a young man in discharge of an official duty, but they afford as sound a basis today for the development of a healthy republican citi- zenship as they did when they were first penned.
Mr. Toastmaster, I thank and congratulate your organiza- tion for honoring the memory and affording me the opportu- nity for recalling on this occasion the imperishable services of my brilliant predecessor of a hundred years ago, the Hon. Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor of Indiana.
My subject affords a very wide range in which to conduct a discussion, but it is not my intention to venture very far afield. The founders of our government cut rather a large pattern, after which to fashion and develop American citizen- ship. In the preamble to the Declaration of American Inde- pendence they declared that "We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
A citizen of this government, therefore, resting as it does upon this conception of the rights of man, might be reason- ably expected to recognize a very close relationship existing between him and his government and to feel very keenly the obligation he is under thereto. American citizenship is the first citizenship of the world.
Life without liberty is without one of its very greatest charms. Liberty, without the right to go in pursuit of happi- ness, is not liberty ; and so it is that the government that guarantees to its citizens the right to life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness should enjoy the unswerving loyalty of its citizens. American citizenship deserves to be the first citizen- ship of the world.
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A few days ago I had the honor, through the invitation of Col. Russell Harrison, to enjoy a noon luncheon in this city with an Archbishop of Servia and some of his friends. In the course of the conversation at the table, the interpreter con- veyed to me the information, that the Archbishop, responding to a remark I had addressed to him, desired to inform me that my country was recognized in foreign lands as "a basket of bread to the world." And my friends, it is this conception of our nation, held by so many people of other countries, that makes our nation mean more to humanity than any other nation on earth. Those, viewing us from afar as "a basket of bread to the world," have no difficulty in concluding that the material hope of mankind very largely rests with us. But if we are only to occupy this pinnacle before the world our basket must contain something more than bread for the physical man. It must have in it bread for the moral and intellectual man, and sufficient thereof to make him loyal and persistent in his pursuit of high ideals-ideals that are the flower and fruit of a humane and Christian civilization.
The form of our government imposes very grave duties upon the individual citizen. In it he is given a voice in law making and law enforcement. If not directly, he is given this power indirectly through representation, and this lays upon him the gravest sort of responsibility. It obligates him to familiarize himself with public needs and to give his voice and service for the public welfare. When he does not do this, he is living below the standard of good citizenship and below what should be the standard of the average citizenship in this country. If the average citizen is not on the side of the pub- lic welfare, he does not deserve to be designated as a good citizen.
The security and perpetuity of our government, local and national, abides with the average citizen. He bears its bur- dens whether they be imposed in peace or in war; and for this reason, if no other, none should be more alert than he in the guidance of public affairs. He should be, in the best meaning of the term, a politician every day, looking to his "govern- ment's course-to its safety, peace and prosperity." When he adopts this view of his relation to his government, he feels more keenly his citizenly responsibility and appreciates more highly the exalted position occupied by the American citizen ; for things are valued largely by what they cost.
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The people of this country should not overlook the fact that they can have whatever kind of government they want -good, bad or indifferent. Their form of government is hard to improve upon; but this is not so of the administration of their public affairs within the sphere prescribed by their gov- ernment. The former is definitely fixed and can only be changed or modified according to prescribed procedure and after long and serious consideration; but the administration of their affairs depends upon the intelligence, industry, hon- esty and patriotism of those honored with official position. Too often the people are too indifferent in choosing their pub- lic servants and too reticent in demanding faithful service of them. Whenever this occurs the standard of citizenship is lowered.
Mere croaking will avail nothing after an official wrong has been committed. It will not even prevent its repetition. Croakers get nowhere and get nothing except the grouch. It is the alert forward-looking citizen, with his finger on the public pulse and his eye in search of an opportunity to safe- guard public rights, who makes the greatest contribution to society. He is, in the broadest and best sense, a public servant.
It is not enough for a man to be able to say he has kept the law and done no wrong. It is not sufficient for one to say he has done nothing against the peace and dignity of the State. Doing nothing is catching, and it cannot be said that those who do nothing are a blessing to society. While I would not say they are bad citizens, I would characterize them as passive citizens, standing for nothing that is progressive, holy and uplifting. Their failure or inability to touch elbows with each other does not release them from their obligation to their neighbor. The man who does nothing is not needed any- where. He is not wanted at either the Work House or the Penal Farm. It is emphatically true in a republic, if any- where, that no man liveth unto himself.
What is the test of good citizenship? May it not be rea- sonably said that the proper standard of citizenship requires the citizen, free from misfortune, to do more for his govern- ment and for society than they do for him? Judged by this standard, what a colossal figure Washington becomes! What an inspiring model his life is after which the humblest citizen may in some degree fashion his own life! Washington never 24-15997
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sought an opportunity to get something from the public, but to the public he gave his ability and service; for the public he suffered and poured out his blood and treasure; and for free government and humanity, he staked his life in war to cast off of his nation the yoke of tyranny-his nation now the light of the world !
A proper conception of citizenship in this country does not limit one to a consideration of only ethical questions. Society can make no headway toward the lofty things of life in the absence of material progress. This is a significant fact. The founders of our republic recognized it as such, and they evi- denced their belief in thrift by throwing constitutional safe- guards about contractual rights. Without these safeguards property rights would have no protection whether they con- sist of labor or of money.
Thrift is a guarantee against dependency upon another. It begets in man self-pride, and the man who stands for any- thing worth while must have some self-pride. When self-pride is lacking much of the tonic of life is absent. Self-esteem is akin to self-respect. It spurs a man on in his efforts to support those for whom he is responsible. When he is with- out this ambition, he is indifferent to the blessings of thrift and is numbered among the laggards of society,
This occasion is notable also because it emphasizes the im- portance of thrift by paying tribute to the genius of industry. This is Products Day in Indiana-a day set apart for increas- ing the knowledge of and the pride in our home industries. No better time could be found for pledging ourselves to say and do the things in the future that are best calculated to develop our material possibilites, to inspire our people with stronger faith in themselves ; and to preserve from impurity and safe- guard at every turn our state's institutions.
Can we not with propriety in contemplation of the grandeur of our State and the immortal principles of our nation, recall, as an evidence of our faith in American citizen- ship, the lines of Longfellow :
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
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Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee-are all with thee.
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR SAMUEL M. RALSTON AT FAYETTE COUNTY CENTENNIAL, CONNERSVILLE, IND., JULY 6, 1916 Ladies and Gentlemen :
I have made a hurried trip to join you on this historic occasion. I appreciate this opportunity to greet you with a few words and to participate with you a few minutes in the reception you have planned.
I am always glad to come out among the people of our State. When I do so, I always gather renewed strength and become more ambitious properly to discharge my official duties. I am a great believer in the value of public meetings. They afford an opportunity for the people to become better acquainted with one another, and in the degree the people be- come better acquainted, the more they will take counsel with one another, touching the welfare of their neighborhoods; and it is this sort of thing that adds to the value of our citizen- ship. Under our theory of government, we are essentially a self-governing people, but we cannot govern ourselves intelli- gently as a nation unless we know one another and are fa- miliar with public needs.
I think it would be a most difficult task to fix a just value upon the services rendered the public by the old "town meet- ing" that was so prevalent in the formative period of our na- tion and which yet plays a most important part in the local affairs in some of our Eastern States. I wish we might in- augurate in this State a custom of having an annual meeting in our counties, touching county affairs, and one in our town- . ships, touching township affairs, before the officials in these respective units of government, through the operation of law, would have to take steps touching the raising and expending of public funds. If such a custom were inaugurated and par- ticipated in, in the proper spirit, the good it would accomplish would be immeasurable.
This is a great year in the history of Indiana. It is a very appropriate time for the people to make new resolves, dedicat- ing themselves to higher and nobler purposes than has hereto- fore characterized their lives. Here in this rich valley the
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people have always, I am glad to say, been most solicitous for the welfare of their State, and have done their part in the de- velopment and strengthening of their commonwealth. The series of meetings you have been having, in recognition of our state's one hundredth anniversary, speaks louder than it is possible for words to do of your devotion to Indiana, her people and her institutions.
I believe that out of these centennial meetings we are hav- ing, wonderful good is going to come to our State. I believe many things will be achieved and many movements put on foot of a permanent character, that will stand as reminders of the hope and ambition of our people for the future of our State. Many things will be done in recognition of the virtues of those who in the earlier days of our statehood con- tributed so mightily in laying the foundation of our institu- tions. I am ambitious to see many things done in recognition of the pioneers of Hoosierdom; and of these there is just one to which I shall pause long enough on this occasion to direct your attention.
We never grow tired in honoring men for their heroic achievements, but I think you will agree with me, that, as a people, we have been a little tardy in recognizing the heroic women of our commonwealth. I want Indiana, in this her centennial year, to recognize in a substantial, in a most appro- priate and lasting way, her pioneer mothers. Our pioneer fathers achieved greatly; but our pioneer mothers achieved mightily. They have both done their duty in this respect- grandly done it. The pioneer father wielded the axe. He felled the forest. He builded the cabin. He cleared a place in the heart of the wilderness, that the seed of civilization might be planted there. But in his labors, the pioneer mother was his constant companion. While he wielded the axe, she rocked the cradle. While he prepared the truck patch, she used the spinning wheel and the loom. While he cared for the stock, she cared for the children. The difference in their services, though both essential to the development of our State and country, is very largely the difference between materiality and immortality.
Motherhood has not been honored as it should have been in our civilization, and yet in every period of the world's his- tory the best sense of mankind has done it honor. The proud-
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est station to be occupied, in my judgment, in this world, is that of motherhood. It hopeth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things. It stands for the nobility of character as does no other influence. Its admonitions are as gentle and as compassionate as are the whispers of the angels. Well may we do it honor !
Many centuries ago the Roman people set us a good ex- ample in honoring motherhood. When on one occasion a so- ciety woman exhibited her jewels to Cornelia, a noble mother, the latter referring to her sons, exclaimed, "These are my jewels," and through these sons she brought a new moral force and a nobler conception of life to the Roman people; and in appreciation of her motherhood and of her services to her country, through her motherhood, there was erected in the Roman Forum in her lifetime, a statue in her honor, on which was inscribed, "Cornelia, The Mother of the Gracchi."
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