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SCIENCE CONGRESS

THE GREAT STRUGGLE < FOR EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY. Professor Richard T. Ely, of Wisconsin, U.S.A., lectured to a largo and in-, teirested audience at'.'Victoria Colloge last evening on the subject of "The Struggle for Equality of Opportunity in the United States." The chair was taken by Mr'. G. Hogben, InspectorGeneral of Schools. _ . In modern civilisation, said Professor Ely, there was to-be found a great and increasing purpose, an ideal continuously increasing in strength, namely, equality of opportunity. A great deal was heard about industrial democracy—the control of industries in the interests of the people. There were a great many ways of interpreting this, but it was a continuous growing movement whatever else it was, and lie thought it was the struggle for equality of opportunity. America had contributed largely to the movement, and American experience had had a good deal to do with shaping the movement in other countries. In America it could be traced from the Declaration of Independence, wherein the equality of man was assertod. Those who said that all men were created equal explained known inequalities by the theory of environment. Nothing about heredity was to •be found in their philosophy. Thoughts like tlioso recently uttered in this city by Dr. Davenport were entirely foreign to the last century. Profess# Ely went on to Show that as the struggle, for equality of opportunity grew in the States, tho Americans were constantly on the. search for man-made inequalities in order that those" inequalities might be swept away by legislation. They found political inequalities and gave every man tho vote, _ and then they proceeded to abolish titles, monoiiolies, hereditary privileges, perpetuities, and the like. As an instance of tho extent to which the idea of equal opportunity was then spreading, _ the lecturer mentioned that tho educational programme, formulated by President Thomas Jefferson about 1800, had not yet been reached. Tha-t equality of opportunity did not follow all these earlier efforts was due to the fact that people did not like the idea of class legislation. As sound thought developed, however, it would be found that all satisfactory was class, that was (in a word) legislation for all classes. It was wonderful, however, 'how a word could'frighten people, and so. this word class had been raised against many education and political reforms in' the past just as the word conscription had been raised against Lord Roberts's proposal for universal military training in England some few years ago. There was a- weakness in the modern philosophy, which required -trained men for important commercial duties, but which would not recognise that men must be specially trained for tho performance of political duties— most important of all. The task of democracy was a task of solection, not to govern individually by the referendum, but to select the very best men possible to servo in public offices. After a few brief remarks on the modern socialisation of private property, Professor Ely concluded by saying that ho thought, without boasting, that America could still bo styled the "land of opportunity and hope" for all persons from all lands provided tlioso persons could do their part in making the opportpnft/es still wider for others. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer for his address.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19140910.2.51

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2251, 10 September 1914, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
541

SCIENCE CONGRESS Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2251, 10 September 1914, Page 7

SCIENCE CONGRESS Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2251, 10 September 1914, Page 7

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