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 Rotarian
Silvester Schiele (Chicago Illinois, U.S.A.):
Mr. Chairman, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a
great honor for me to read President Emeritus Paul
Harris’ message before this convention. It would be more
effective were he here to deliver it himself, but he
cannot be here.
Paul and I have been neighbors for more than a quarter
of a century and friends a longer time. He has Given me
this message for you:
ADDRESSES TO THE CONVENTION
MESSAGE OF PAUL P. HARRIS, PRESIDENT‑EMERITUS
Greetings and best wishes for the success of this, the
twenty‑seventh convention of Rotary International.
It
is my aim to bring you a message of good cheer, of glad tidings.
My old friend, Silvester Schiele, the first president of
the first Rotary club has consented to read it to you.
During the past year, my wife and I have had the honor of
continuing our travels in the interests of Rotary. Year before
last, our mission was to South Africa; last year to Japan,
China, the Philippine Islands, Australia and New Zealand; and
this year, we have visited eight countries of South America:
Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and
Brazil. We have crossed the equator six times within the past
three years.
In
all of our travels, we have conceived ourselves to be
ambassadors of good will to the countries visited, and when we
embarked on our trip home, we promised our friends of the
countries visited to be their ambassadors of good will to other
countries. That is the mandate I am trying to fulfill in my
message to you today. I have the honor of being ambassador of
good will from the above‑named countries of South America.
History must always be in the background of our thinking when
considering international problems. In the light of history, if
we want to be consistent and rational, we shall be less disposed
to be harsh and critical in our judgment. We shall remember that
this is not, and never has been a world of pure idealism, and
recognize the fact that it cannot be made so by force. The best
and the most that we can expect of the future is that we shall
gradually grow more tolerant and kindly, and wiser as well.
The countries of South America, like the United States, have
suffered from the effects of bad advertising. Inconsequential
revolutions in South America have been played up in the press
through the world, as have stories of gangsters and racketeers in
the United States, until readers abroad think of them as the
sole engrossing themes in the respective countries, instead of
as events of which home folks see nothing, and know nothing,
except as they read of them in the newspapers. The thousands of
important developments along cultural and educational lines pass
without notice, especially in the foreign press.
The truth is that no countries are entirely good, none entirely
bad; that the moral content of all are about equal. There is an
immense amount of conceit in the world; and bombastic speeches
of supposedly patriotic order deceive the youth of all countries
into the belief that the intentions of their countries alone are
honorable, and that in war, their countries alone are
invincible. Such misleading propaganda does not make for
security, it makes for trouble. It is not patriotic, it is the
reverse.
Mrs. Harris and I will cherish in memory the events of our visit
to South America. Everywhere we were welcomed with open arms by
everyone from the chief executives down. The honors showered
upon us were sincere expressions of admiration of and gratitude
for the work of Rotary in South American countries.
I
could not but recall the period when Rotary was struggling for a
foothold on South American soil; the doubts and suspicions that
were manifest. Was Rotary not an ingenious device created for
the purpose of furthering the interests of North American
business men? What were they to get out of it? When South
Americans became convinced that Rotary was not merely another
Yankee money‑making scheme, how wonderful was the joy with which
they embraced it.
What our trip revealed to us about Rotary of today in South
America filled us with happiness. For the time being, my wife
and I were symbolizing Rotary, and when four of the eight
governments offered to confer
decorations upon me, I accepted in the name of Rotary. The
governments of two countries expressed their appreciation of
Rotary by conferring the order of the Sun; the government of
another country, the order of Merit; and the fourth, the order
of the Southern Cross. Rotary indeed stands well in South
America.
Evidence of the pioneering spirit of North American industry is
especially evident on the Pacific coast of South America.
Beginning with the great canal across the isthmus, which serves
the shipping of the entire world, and makes the countries of the
western coast accessible to commerce, and extending all the way
down to Valparaiso, North American enterprise has played a
conspicuous part. The development of natural resources calls for
engineering skill of high order, organization ability, and large
combinations of capital. These elements were to be found in
North America. However, South American technological institutes
are making rapid progress, and the countries are becoming less
dependent upon foreign capital as time passes. On the east
coast, English and Italian industry is much in evidence, and
French and Italian culture is emulated.
South Americans view business as a means to an end, and not the
end. They place life above what is, by some, termed success. If
that is true, perhaps their philosophy of life is better, more
wholesome, saner and more dependable in times of crises. I am
convinced that things will change; we shall become more alike.
They will become more efficient in business affairs, as we
become better versed in the business of extracting the wholesome
sweets from life as we go along, more discriminating in our
tastes, less dependent upon demoralizing excitement.
The cities of South America, taken by and large, are beautiful;
perhaps more beautiful than any others we have ever seen in all
our travels. Emerson said that beauty is a necessity., It seems
to be that, in South America. We travelled a great many miles in
visiting principal cities of South America, and nowhere did we
see anything to approach the blighted areas of certain cities in
the United States and other parts of the world. I must confess
that, returning to the United States, my wife and I were almost
shocked at the drabness of our cities.
Who can doubt that the presence of so much beauty as is to be
seen in the parks, boulevards, and streets of Lima, Buenos
Aires, and Rio de Janeiro, for example, has much to do with the
charm, grace, and courtesy of the human beings who are
responsible for its creation?
As
ambassadors of good will to South America, Mrs. Harris and I
planted, in the name of Rotary,
ten shapely trees in the public parks of as many cities.
They stand as living testimonials of the good will which
Rotarians trust will eventually obtain throughout the world. As
ambassador of good will from South America to this convention, I
beseech you to remember that far away from here, in the southern
hemisphere just off the beaten track, there is a great continent
peopled by unusually lovable men and women who are destined to
play an important part in international affairs; who are
stretching their arms out to you. They have embraced Rotary, and
are carrying the standard high. Many of them, cultured men and
charming women, will be in attendance at this convention. I
advise you to make their acquaintance. In my absence, I beg you
to be as hospitable to them as they were to us.
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