Ground Under Our Feet: An Autobiography

357 Pages·1938·24.902 MB·English

by  Richard T. Ely

GROUND UNDER OUR FEET
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NSW YORK • B08T0N * CHICAGO * DALLAS
ATLANTA ’ SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
LONDON • BOMBAY * CALCUTTA * MADRAS
MBLBOURNB
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
OP CANADA, Limited
TORONTO

Blank & Stoller, N. Y.
GROUND
UNDER OUR FEET
« « « « »
AN A U T O B IO G R A P H Y
by
Richard 7. Ely
New York • 1938
•T H E MACMILLAN COMPANY®
Copyright, 1938, by
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
All rights r cse nr cd—no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written
for inclusion in magazine or newspaper.
Set up and printed. Published November, 1938.
FnsT Pane nit c
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OP AM EMC A
AM KM CAN BOOK-STKATFORD PRESS, INC., NEW YORK
DANIEL COIT GILMAN
First President of the Johns Hopkins University,
creative genius in the field of education; wise, in­
spiring and courageous chief under whom I had
the good fortune to begin my career and to whom
I owe an inestimable debt of gratitude, I dedicate
this book.

o o o
PREFACE
• O •
I was bom befóte die Civil War. I have witnessed a panorama
of events which has thrilled, saddened, inspired and ever kindled
in me a burning desire to set the world right. I have been
guided in my efforts by the philosophy that "the beginning and
end of all is man.” In my youth I was branded a "radical” for
saying things which are today commonly accepted. This does
not mean that the problems of the days of my youth have van­
ished. On die contrary, the conflicts raging today are essentially
the same conflicts: between labor and capital, between govern­
ment and industry; but they are being fought on a different
plane. Technological advances have brought into view the pos­
sibility of abundance for all. Yet we do not have abundance
for all. Therefore the battle rages between those who have and
those who have not. Technological advances have resulted in a
growing interdependence of human beings. Our economic re­
lations are more and more closely interwoven, and more and
more it is "one for all and all for one.” Failure to act on this
means disaster. If we apply ourselves intelligendy and sanely
to the problems of today we can lode forward to a future
worthy of man. If we unleash die forces of hatred, selfishness
and brutality, we can lode forward only to destruction.
Nearly half a century agp I made die following statement
which is just as applicable today as when I first wrote it:
"The way which we must travel is long and weary, and yet
it is one which affords delight in the prospect of progress.
Looking into the future we may contemplate a society in which
men shall work together for common purposes, and in which
this wholesome co-operation shall take place largely through
government, but through a government which has become less
repressive and has developed its positive side.”
This autobiography, itself, reveals a coundess number of peo­
ple to whom I am indebted for whatever I may have achieved
▼Ü