When I read the Russian despatch further my dream
of world peace vanished. It said that the vast
expense of maintaining the army had made it necessary
to retrench, and so the Government had decided that
to support the army it would be necessary to withdraw
the appropriation from the public schools. This
is a monstrous idea to us.
We believe that out of the public school grows the
greatness of a nation.
It is curious to reflect how history repeats itself
the world over. Why, I remember the same thing
was done when I was a boy on the Mississippi River.
There was a proposition in a township there to discontinue
public schools because they were too expensive.
An old farmer spoke up and said if they stopped the
schools they would not save anything, because every
time a school was closed a jail had to be built.
It’s like feeding a dog on his own tail.
He’ll never get fat. I believe it is
better to support schools than jails.
The work of your association is better and shows more
wisdom than the Czar of Russia and all his people.
This is not much of a compliment, but it’s
the best I’ve got in stock.
On the evening of May 14, 1908,
the alumni of the College of the City of
New York celebrated the opening of the new college
buildings at a banquet in the Waldorf Astoria.
Mr. Clemens followed Mayor McClellan.
I agreed when the Mayor said that there was not a
man within hearing who did not agree that citizenship
should be placed above everything else, even learning.
Have you ever thought about this? Is there a
college in the whole country where there is a chair
of good citizenship? There is a kind of bad
citizenship which is taught in the schools, but no
real good citizenship taught. There are some
which teach insane citizenship, bastard citizenship,
but that is all. Patriotism! Yes; but patriotism
is usually the refuge of the scoundrel. He is
the man who talks the loudest.
You can begin that chair of citizenship in the College
of the City of New York. You can place it above
mathematics and literature, and that is where it belongs.
We used to trust in God. I think it was in 1863
that some genius suggested that it be put upon the
gold and silver coins which circulated among the rich.
They didn’t put it on the nickels and coppers
because they didn’t think the poor folks had
any trust in God.
Good citizenship would teach accuracy of thinking
and accuracy of statement. Now, that motto on
the coin is an overstatement. Those Congressmen
had no right to commit this whole country to a theological
doctrine. But since they did, Congress ought
to state what our creed should be.
There was never a nation in the world that put its
whole trust in God. It is a statement made on
insufficient evidence. Leaving out the gamblers,
the burglars, and the plumbers, perhaps we do put our
trust in God after a fashion. But, after all,
it is an overstatement.
