Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Dec. 1, 1927, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1327 PAGE TWO THE FRANKLIN PRESS CHARTER P TUESDAY TO ROTARY CLUB OF FRANKLIN Presentation Made bv Governor David Clark of 58th Dis trict W. R. C. (Dick) Smith of Atlanta Made Principle Address Franklin Ladies Tuesday night" was one of inspira tion and one destined to mean much to, the future of Franklin and. Macon county, for on this night a , goodly number of Rotarians from Wayncs villc, Atlanta and Charlotte came to town to take part in the presenta tion of the charter from the Rotary International to . the Rotary Club of Franklin: The exercises took place at Rogers' Hall where an excellent banquet was served to approximately SO Rotarians, their wives and friends. Mrs. Smith Harris and Mrs. De vereaux Rice rendered beautiful vocal solos and both were enthusiastically encored. During the meal, such as has made' Rogers Hall famous throughout the Southland, many' Ro tary songs were sung by the entire assembly. 1 . David Clark, of Charlotte, governor of the 58th Rotary District, presided and at the conclusion of the meal introduced W. R. C. (Dick) Smith, of Atlanta, who made the principal address of the evening. His speech was listened to with rapt attention ' "and was a great inspiration to those present, particularly to those who were just becoming members of Ro tary International. ' That the public of this section may learn something of the aims and teaching of Rotary Mr. Srriith's speech in part follows: Governor Dave and Gentlemen of the Franklin Rotary Club : , It is with a deep sense of grati tude to Governor Dave Clark that I stand before you this evening. 1 think he has paid me one of the most delicate compliments I have ever re ceived Here in this county, where for nearly a quarter of a century to. me the greatest playground in this wonderful nation of ours where summer after summer, I have spent many happy vacations; he has given me the very wonderful privilege of attempting to express some of those motives, precepts, and ideas which have in a large measure guided my life and mv actions since the good year 1914, when, through the gra-j cious action or one ot my menus in Atlanta, . I became a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club. And further, I have a peculiarly selfish pleasure in coming here tonight and seeing" the Franklin Rotary Instituted for it means to me the privilege of better maintaining my summer attendance record in Rotary than has been pos-J eihlp fnr "same vrars. Most of voul Franklin Rotarians know that I have 'a camp less than fifteen miles from here "and with that magnificent State . j ----- Highway No. 2b now half completed, it will be only a matter of forty or fifty minutes on any Wednesday I happen to be there to run over and attend your meetings so, not only am .1. interested in the inception of this club, but I hope a beneficent Provi dence may grant me many years to observe and watch your growth- and .progress, and it will be, I predict now, a record of growth and prog ress because, knowing you as I do, I can safely say that the type of manhood and citizenship embracing this club, is a type that having once "set it's hand to the plow" in any good and worthy purpose, will not turn back and that it is a good and worthy purpose you now believe, or this audience would not be gathered here tonight. As the years flow by you will of your own knowledge know, indeed, that it is great to be a Rotarian. Now Governor Dave in a letter to me a few days ago, told me I was to - have about - 20 minutes on the program tonight, and that he would like for me to talk about the old fashion, "old time religion" of Rotary, some of those old . fundamentals grounded on the rock the Fathers of Rotary set up nearly a quarter of ? century ago. So first 1 of all, you young members of Rotary here in Franklin would undoubtedly be inter ested in my interpretation of what 1 think Rotary is. Undoubtedly in the preliminaries which have attended the organization cf this club, much n'u cational literature has been handed you and you' have seen definitions of Rotary and have probably accepted some one of them as a definition sat isfactory to you. I have long since discarded practically all of the idea! slogans that have been handed down by the orators and the Idealists. I have long since swept into the gut . tcr the "feathers and flowers" of emotional Rotary. For me, there lias come through the years, an appreciation and belief, if you please that Rotary is so substantial, so solid, so firmly grounded as one particular thing that I have accepted that one thing as my definition and explana tion of Rotary. It is not of course original with me and I am happy Take Part. that, many other thinking . men, ac tive in Rotary's affairs, have accepted the same thing. It is this: "Rotary is a philosophy of life, made militant and practical." Just let me repeat that once more to empha size it: "Rotary is a philosophy of life made militant and practical." Our minds run back through the decades and centuries, those of us at least who arc students of history, and we recall the story of the "Philosopher's Stone" and we think of the old time philosopher as a man bound up with in himself, a dreamer, and idealist, who saw things as "they ought', to be" but who took no practical steps whatsoever to make them that way. We looked upon him as a learned sage, sometimes a hermit or recluse. He thought large thoughts. He en: visioiicd great things, but he very seldom painted his picture so that the rest of the world could comprehent it. Not often did he mould the cogs for the wheels; or attach the lever or fit the bars to this dream machine of his into an actual working: entity so that it might benefit the rest of the world of mankind. As I said, he was a ' philosopher who was con tent merely to write the rules of his theory without caring whether they became practically applied or not.' , And so, in its relation to business, philosophy for ages was a latent and a dead thing. A few men knew the rules and methods of the betterment of the world of business but fewer still applied them. And then one day in a great city up yonder on the lakes, a lonely, friendship seeking younp attorney had a dream, a vision. He has since said that his dream was larger than he knew, that his vision did not encompas all which was to happen, but enough of it was born in hi brain at that time to cause him-surely a philosopher of his day and time to go just a step farther than had ,ever been gone before and to put into practical, militant, active effect, some of the things he dream ed, sufficient at least to actuate him to di) his brush in .the pigment and spread it upon the canvass so thai the eyes of other men might sec and recognize, and believe in his philoso phy, and go out and paint other pic tures and dream still greater dreams and then make those dreams conic true. What is this philosophy of life made militant .and .practical, that ' Paul Harris gave us ? , 1 am not a very old man. I can still remember less than a quarter of a century ago, when business was looked down upor. by most of the world, when the butch er, the baker, and the candle-stick maker, had not yet emerged from that semi obscurity of traditional deceit, when, "Caveat Emptor" (Let the Buy er Beware) was the more or less unwritten policy of the business world, and where service beyond the con tract was never expected or given. And into such condition of affairs came this thing called "Rotary." It was applied and practiced and in credibly, it worked.' You will read in your Rotary Code of Ethics, and I hope you will re read it until it is impressed upon your consiousness like the Ten Com mandments on the Tablets of Stone, that vou are to consider your vo cation worthy and as affording you a distinct opportunity to serve society, and in the second paragraph, a reali zation that you are a business man ambitious to succeed, but that you are . first . an . ethical man and that vou want no success that is not found ed on the highest justice and moral ity. My friends, no greater thing was ever written or spoken in the 2,000 years that have elapsed since the Great Master ennunciated the Golden Rule. So for the first time in ages, the business men of America ; began, un der Rotary, to nut. -into militant nractica! application, a philosophy of life. They began to unrcscrvedb trust each other, to believe in each other to believe the best of each othr and as the years crept by, those of them who followed the unrollmr of the scrlll of this great philosophy discovered another and greater pnn ciple, and after a while someone gave voice to the belief that "he profit? most who serves best." That slogan was the great disvovery that the aver age, everyday business man couldtasJstcp on tneir necks and keep them I said a while ago, give service be yond his contract, give measure be yond the requirements of the letter of the law, and still find greater profit than he ever had before This led, somewhat later, to an ap plication of these principles " beyond and outside a man's Own person? business or vocation. Those of Ro- tary .who had practiced these precepts and observed these ethics in their business and profession, to them, there came a still greater awaken ing and that was the fact that they were very ' vitally concerned with what took place outside of their busi ness. As representatives and arnbas sadors of their business and profes sions in their Rotary Club, they found, that it was necessary to see that the level of all busines and profession: be raised, that it was not. enough for them alone to know and practice prin ciples of success and happiness but that "they must carry the message to others in their vocations and pro fessions so that the business world would also realize whether they wore the badge of Rotary on their lapel or not that it was virtually and vi tally true that any man . prof its most who serves best ! . Then there came another applica tion of this great philosophy of life and it's the second slogan of Rotary today. "Service before Self", and I really like it better than Rotary's original slogan for in "Service before Self" it seems to me that we arc ap plying the broadest possible principle of this philosophy. Not selfishly within our own' vocations and pro fessions, b,ut in every possible way it makes us sec our brothers' troubles, it makes us see our community's lack,-it maks us sec our civic slack uess, it makes us sec the' opportunity of putting our shoulders to the wheel in every good and worthy cause for the betterment of our .community, it makes us, more keenly value that heritage which the fathers of this great republic bestowed upon us when with an 'indomitable spirit that struck like flint on steel a spark .which ig nited the spirit of freedom in the hearts of a mighty people, they constituted a government in which all men would be' free and equal before the law, and I believe Rotary has been a great influence in the last quarter of a . century that, has done more than any lother one thing to revive and rededicate this immortal principle, for Rotarinas put their , civ ic duty first and foremost in all their actions of life. They are con stantly struggling, against tremendous odds oftentimes to be sure, to up hold and support better government. Now let me come back to the homely side of Rotary. - Just because I have taken a few minutes to cn nuciate and, I hope, to clarify some of these principles of the philosophy of life, please do not think it is not practical, livable, and everyday thing. Why Rotary is as fine and comfortable as an old shoe! It's some thing you get so accust.omcd to wear ing you mis it when you take it -Ff if vou are ever able to take it off and if you get Rotary right you can't lose it. . I think I have learned something in the Atlanta Rotarv Club about , the under-educated down there and the under-privileged. When I saw bank ers, capitalists, big business men, captains . of industry, shuck off their coats and get busy tagging (lolls, sorting out shoes, bags of candy ami nuts, and selecting warm caps, under-' wear, and all kinds of nice things for the Christmas baskets for those little fellows who hadn had a chance and wouldn't eat and, sleep comfortably unless men like those Rotarian friends of mine did look out for them, I began to say to myself: "Well who are you anyhow? You are no better and nrobablv not as good as those men who are doing the job, and whose stuff is this that you have been accumulating all these years? You think it s yours, don t you ( Well it isn't. It belongs to God Almighty in the first place. To be sure He may have given you the brain and the industry to have accumulated a few worldly goods but haven't you for gotten that along with it goes a tre mendous responsibility, that, after all you are only a custodian of this stuff, and you will not only be judged in the final analysis on how you got it but also what you did with it, and if you stick it away in some darn place somewhere, a safety deposit vault, and gloat and exult as you see it grow dollar by dollar aren't you afraid the good God is going to take it away suddenly and put it into hands where it will be better admin istered and where the little tots who haven't had the chance you have had will get a crack at it without your consent and knowledge? Wouldn't it be a heap sight better to do the gracious thin? .and dispense i.t your self where it will do the greatest, good and get a little kick out of the re action that comes to vou when you see the happy faces of these children? And how about the boy and the girl struggling to get a little education, fighting just for a chance to be some one in this great America? Going to down? Or disregard them entirely? How come you get; that way ? You can't "do it and be a Rotarian. Let's forget about the Christian part of it and stick to the word Rotarian. Ip the first place, it isn't good business in any community to have - a great number nf indigent noor, that is No. 1. It isn't a safe thing in any com- munity to have an overwhelming ma jority of ignorant and illiterate peo ple. That is the most dangerous thing that could happen to your busi ness or mine. . The more educated, analytical, .clear-thinking minds you have, in a community, people who know what they are doing and why they are doing it, the quicker you will have a rich and propserous com munity. If I could take out an in surance policy for the United States of America protecting it aginst ignor ance, which includes crime and disease as well, I would start a campaign to morrow to raise funds and never stop work till I got the premium. It would) be good business! ''.-'.-' j Well fellows, these are some things) I learned way back yonder, in the ' . i.i it' i ' n..t I days wanen ine Aiiama notary viuo only had about fifty or sixty mem bers. I got to know my; fellow-man. The nitimacy, the good fellowship, the friendship, the first hand knowl edge, was a priceless thing, and you will find it so right here in Franklin. Misunderstandings arise of course. You will worry about the price cutter in your , community, you will worry about the narow-minded, fellow who cannot see further than his own coun ter. He will get your ; goat lots of times. All right, that is good for you if you take it yie rightway and apply this philosophy of life we have been talking about tonight.' Don't get mad at him, go talk it over with him in a friendly way and keep your, temper, just try to kindly show him that every time he does something irregular or unethical in his business or vocation, he is making the entire public suspect all of you as being a bunch of crooks. ' , Now last, but no means least qf all, I couldn't be a good Rotarian unless I took an active, militant in trecst in all civic organizations that were functioning in my town for good and worthy purposes I found I had to be a good and active member of my Chamber of Commerce. I had to go to any job they gave mc, not flaunting my Rotary colors, but sim ply and ciuietly as a good citizen and do the best job I knew how. I had to go into all the welfare agencies I had time to devote to and again, as a plain citizen do the best job 1 knew how. The reason I was perhaps selected for these particular . missions or jobs, was frequently because I was known to be a Rotarian and somehow the word had gotten around that Ro tarians were , damn fools for work and awful stickers on the job, till it was finished. . Well when they sound taps over mc, and T have gazed fo- the last time upon the scenes ot this earth, nothing will make me happier than' to have them stick that kind of epitaph on my tomb stone, or something like this: "He was busy all his life in every worthy enterprise and never knew when to quit till the job was done." So fellows of l-ranklm, my time is more than up. It has been wonder ful to be here with you tonight and to have this opportunity .of telling vou a few of the old homely truths of Rotary, but like the school girl or boy just graduating from college, under the title of "Comenccment" that is what you are doing tonight. You arc just beginning' although some of you are already Rotarians at heart. . Some of you have got a hard lesson to learn but I want to premise you one thing, you are now component parts of a mighty host of busines? men 132,000 of them, in forty-two countries of the world, that are being actuated and motivated bv this same wonderful principle and philosophy. hey are finding happiness in the fel lowship and friendship of Rotary. Their lives are fuller, their' days are sweeter, their tranquility of soul ir magnified by-those associated by.thi? common purpose, by this desire to lift BUY AND PAY AS e have 'em priced f rom $60.00 up EASY TERMS REECfc MOTOR CO. HUDSON AND ESSEX Sales Agent FIRE INSURANCE . Fire insurance builds again. It replaces what the flames have destroyed. Without such protection the saving-s of a lifetime may be wiped out in a few minutes. The undersigned will provide you : with sound and complete coverage today. I s t ALLEN & JAMISOfo, Agents PHONE 89 their vocations to a higher and worth ier level, to,' build for . themselves and their children happier and cleaner communities, and so you all here in Franklin will find as the months slip by, if you observe, practice and 'live this great philosophy of- life it is great, to be a Rotarian ! , 1 tA the conclusion of Mr. Smith's address Ernest Withers, president of the Rotary Club of Waynesville, pre sented greetings from his club and stated that his club stood ready at all times to assist the local club in everyway possibl!. Mr. Withers stress ed the importance of attending eacli meeting, saying that fellowship is the foundation of Rotary success and that, without attendance fellowship is im- possible.. He also said that both An drews and Sylva have been approved for organization of Rotary Clubs and that clubs will soon be established in both of these towns. Bob Foreman, president of the tary Club of Atlanta, then made few well chosen remarks stating that for many, years he and his family have been spending their summers at Highlands and that he owns property there. He took ocasibn to compliment': this section of the country very high- ly. Judge Nat Townscnd, who is hold ing superior court here and who is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Dunn then made an excellent talk., He said that the world has come to . expect Rotary Clubs every where to work and to accomplish much for their' respective communi ties. He predicted that the local club would be no exception to the rule and that this entire section is destined to be greatly benefitted by reason of the existence of such a club at Franklin At the conclusion of Judge Town send's talk Governor Clark, then de livered to each ot the lb charter mem- bers of the Rotary Club of Franklin the Code of Ethics of Rotary Inter national and expressed the hope that each member would have his code framed and hung in his place of business. Air. Clark then went on to tei-l something of the. growth of Rotary International In 1905 this organiza tion was started at Chicago by four' friends who met weekly for luncheon,, rotating the meeting place each week hence the name Rotary. . The idea soon was taken up by Oakland, Calif., and in- rapid succession other cities and countries followed until now Rotary International, said Governor Clark, has ; a membership of 132,000 with more than 2,700 clubs located in 42 countries of the world. Only last October a club was ormganized at Hamburg, Germany, at the request of clubs in France and England, these clubs, believing, he said, that what Rotary International can, and has' done for individuals and communities, it can do for nations that is, bring them closer together and to a bcttecr un derstanding of world problems. Governor Clark then presented the fhartcr of the local club to President Sam Franks who responded suitably on behalf of the Franklin club. On behalf of the wives of the Rotarians of Franklin, Mrs. Sam Franks, made a , short though excellent talk with the promise of support and encourage ment of the local Rotary Club. The meeting then adjourned. In auition to the' local' Rotarians and wives the following guest's were present : . Mr. and. Mrs. Ernest Withers, Mr.- nd Mrs. Faucett Swift,' Hugh J. Sloan, Ernest Hvatt and William Lampkin, all of Wavnesville; Hubert Hutcheson, W. R. C. Smith; Bob Fore man, R. M. Crumley, all of Atlanta; David Clark, of Charlotte, and Judge Nat Tovvnsend. of Dunn, Mrs. George Jones, Miss Helen Burch, Mrs. Tes-, sier, Miss Annie Crawford and" Mrs, Gilmer Crawford, all of Franklin. A CAR YOU RIDE 'a
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 1, 1927, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75