The Rotary Balita no. 746 (May 27, 1954)

Address delivered at the District Conference at Katoomba.

In the challenging times through which the world is passing: in an age when distance in terms of time has been literally annihilated; when all the nations of the world have become near neighbours; when the basis of world peace depends on understanding between the peoples of all races, Rotary's fourth avenue of service has assumed an importance and an individual responsibility far transcending the vision of our founder Paul Harris when, in 1905, he laid the foundation of our great world-wide organization.

Let us begin by refreshing our minds as to the specific aim enunciated in the fourth avenue of service, which reads —

"To encourage and foster the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace
through a world fellowship of business and professional men united in the ideal of service."

At this point, it is pertinent to read relative policy references by the Board of R.I, as stated in the Manual of Procedure.

"The Rotary ideal of service best finds expression where there is liberty of the individual, freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom of worship, freedom from persecution and aggression and freedom from want and fear, Freedom, justice, truth, sanctity of the pledged word and respect for human rights are inherent in Rotary principles and are also vital to the maintenance of international peace and order and to human progress."

The basic objective, advancement of international understanding. goodwill and peace must be at all times our ultimate and highest goal in Rotary.

In the definition of our fourth avenue of service. as with the other three, I believe that words were never more appropriately used, nor in better sequence. Understanding, goodwill and peace add to these, world fellowship and the ideal of service, and we have the perfect conception, expressed in simple and direct terms.

UNDERSTANDING. Without knowledge, trust and mutual respect amongst peoples within communities, the initial attainment of understanding is not easy. Lacking this foundation, however, the ultimate objective of international understanding is at least difficult, if not impossible to achieve.

GOODWILL. At a Rotary Assembly, you do not need me to elaborate on this, nor on all its implications, so well realized in your own individual professional or business life. How vital it is in the wider and more important spheres of international relationships, we all readily recognize.

PEACE. Without understanding and goodwill you obviously can never have a basis for lasting peace.

WORLD FELLOWSHIP. In Rotary, the objective of world fellowship is stressed in all our contacts. Our achievements are already confirmed by Rotary's 48 years' growth in 84 countries and geographical areas in the world and expressed by the living, constant contribution of 385,000 serving Rotarians.

Relate to these, the Rotary ideal of "Service: above Self," the dedication in personal expression and then indeed we have some real prospect of achieving our goal. To that end, there has never been, there never can be, any substitute for personal service. Such is not only the very basis of Rotary, but also the blending ingredient so necessary for an understanding approach, with probability of real and effective contribution to the solution of today's pressing world problems.

The task confronting every incoming officer in a club, and especially its president, is to devise means whereby this message, the relative understanding and the call to personal expression in daily contacts, can he clearly presented to, and applied by, each club member.

Action by the individual Rotarian is the goal of our whole Rotary programme in all the avenues of service. How then, can we simply, but effectively, inspire that action? The challenge must be presented in terms of reality — expressed by simple illustration. of what the individual can do. Such development in each club is the primary responsibility of the Chairman of the International Service Committee. The measure of success in his task will be the degree of practical expression by each club member. Every fellow should be clearly told of his responsibility should be made to realize that, in accordance with the undertakings, implicit in accepting membership, he is expected to conform to the following —

I now quote from Pamphlet No. 712, issued by Incidentally, fellows, I often wonder how many of these excellent pamphlets are really read by the responsible officers in our clubs. If you fellows only realized the enormous amount of background work that lies behind each publication, with its consequential value in getting over the message of Rotary to our club members, I am sure you would read and use these much more than is now. the case.

"Each Rotarian is expected to make his individual contribution to the achievement of the ideal inherent in the fourth avenue of service.

Each Rotarian is expected to so order his daily personal life and business and professional activities that he will be a loyal and serving citizen of his own country.

Each Rotarian, wherever located, working as an individual, should help to create a well-informed public opinion. Such opinion will inevitably affect governmental policies concerned with the advancement of international understanding and goodwill toward all peoples."

Consequential upon these three charges, he should be made to realize that, as a world-minded Rotarian, he will understand and practice those principles expressed in the "Attributes of a World- Minded Rotarian." The relative eight points you will find on Page 84 of your Manual of Procedure.

At this point you fellows might be inclined to say "Oh, that's all very well in theory, but how do we get the message over to each fellow in our club? How do we hope to get the relative individual reaction?" I believe the answer is simple. and should include the following:

1. By distributing to each fellow a copy of the "Attributes of a World-Minded Rotarian."
2. By arranging addresses to the club on all aspects of our fourth avenue of service, with special emphasis on individual responsibility.
3. By arranging to have addresses given by competent nationals of other countries on various aspects of international relationship, particularly from their own country's viewpoint.
4. By inducing every fellow to get "The Rotarian." Therein every month there are articles. dealing with many aspects of our fourth avenue of service.
5. By having at least two forums each year, with the programme providing for full discussion and by ensuring the attendance thereat of every new member.
6. By distributing to each fellow the pamphlet covering the Rotary Foundation.
7. By inducing every fellow to contribute, aiming
at making your Club a 100% subscriber.
8. By arranging for a Rotary Foundation fellow to address your club, thus providing visual and oral evidence of the work of the Foundation. Nothing could create better realization of the great work. the Foundation is doing.
9. Use every personal endeavour to increase contacts between the young people of different nations — to that end, generally supporting the great work. of the Rotary Foundation, and helping to entertain overseas students and similar young people residing in his community.
10. By arranging with the editor of your club Bulletin to include a paragraph each week on international service, especially from the personal angle. It should be short, pithy and to the point. I suggest you vary it by making the implication subtle and underlying, as is cleverly done in our magazine.
11. By taking every opportunity to emphasize that, in our fourth avenue, as in the other three, the emphasis is on personal service and relative individual expression. That it is our duty, and that that duty cannot be "farmed out." Above all else, stress that there is no substitute for personal service.
12. By carefully reading all the relative pamphlets received from R.I., subsequently giving to each fellow in the club a memorandum on any particularly pertinent aspects. This could be augmented by inclusion in the club Bulletin at later date. 13. By impressing upon every member that he
has a responsibility to keep himself well informed. to remember that he is the chosen representative of Rotary in his vocation, and that accordingly he has a challenge to meet by helping to correct the ill-informed statements so frequently made by irresponsible people. 11. By establishing contacts with clubs in other countries, to that end using the devices made possible by modern science. The simplest way is obviously by writing. 15. By urging every club member to become at member of the United Nations or relative organization in his own area.
16. By urging each fellow to conduct himself both at home and abroad as a responsible and representative citizen of his own country.
17. By stressing the national and international importance of helping with the assimilation of new people, many of whom have come to us from a war-torn world.
18. By suggesting that every fellow pledge himself to better understanding of his fellow man, no matter what his colour, race or creed.
19. By providing subscription for "The Rotarian" to be sent to prominent persons, visiting speakers, schools, individual students, libraries, hospitals, army posts, churches, exchange students from other. lands, diplomatic staffs and others in your community. In making the gift, point out the international character of the magazine.

R.I. has an excellent pamphlet No. 717 on this aspect of Rotary Service. Get your club to try out the suggestions made, remembering always that "every little helps."

With the foregoing in mind, let us never forget. that throughout the ages, in every field of science, the arts and social and economic development, progress has always been relative to individual effort. Emerson wrote "Every great reform was once an individual opinion." Your constant objective as a leader in your club must be to get every fellow to realize that the approach to this, as to every other avenue of Rotary Service, must be based on one question "what can I do about it?"

This is a natural question, because to the average Rotarian the challenge seems so great, so difficult to define. The reason is not far to seek. It is probably expressed in the following three headings
(a) The problem is so vast, encompasses the world and involves so much of history and of high policy.
(b) A feeling that the influence of the individual is insignificant.
(c) A fear that the subject is mixed up with controversy and politics.

The answer must reside in the ability of the club officer himself to understand just what is required and to transmit that understanding to his fellows
In simple and practical terms.

In broad outline, the answer relates to the realization of three basic facts —
(1) That the world fellowship of Rotary includes leaders in some 84 countries and geographical areas, and in over 7,700 communities.
(2) That, in the final analysis, world affairs are shaped by public opinion — and that public opinion is formulated on the community level.
(3) That Rotary is not a pressure group — but that Rotarians must be trained to act as individuals in the task of advancing understanding, goodwill. and peace.

In the ultimate, there are certain obvious conclusions —
(a) The vastness of a problem can be a discouragement or a challenge.
(b) For Rotarians, international service is a mighty challenge to match their efforts to the
scale of the problem.
(c) What greater satisfaction for the individual Rotarian, and especially for the club officer, than to feel that he has done something to conquer existing ignorance that he has added his quota to the reservoir of international goodwill — that he has made some tangible contribution to the establishment of lasting peace!

So, fellows, I leave these thoughts with you. I do hope that my contribution has at least reduced this problem of interpreting the responsibilities under our fourth avenue of service to a realization that it means action by the individual as indeed does practically everything in this transitory life and in all its related contacts and challenges.

In Rotary especially, the challenge is very real let us not shirk it! Let us face up to our personal responsibility, accept all the implications, and behave as befits men who were chosen for Rotary membership, based on already proven leadership in our respective vocations.

By such individual contribution shall we all prove worthy of our great organization and conform to all those things inherent in our motto "SERVICE ABOVE SELF HE PROFITS MOST WHO SERVES BEST".