Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1861-07-18


take. No sooner were onr Constitution
and our Union as.aied by Treason and
Rebellion thanparty names were cast to
the winds and forgotten. aud thrice ten
thousand brave men Of al political com
plexions FASTENED 70 put on the attire OF
the warrior, aud rush to the field + strife
70 DO battle Tor tue mper.led liberties OF
our country.
To-day We have come together as broth
ron % speak TO each other again OF the
-reat events OF 1910. to indulge in the
pleasing rccollectious Of the past, to kin.
4le again the fse. OF patriotism that may
have grown languId on the altar OF our
Hearts, anu to swear again ia the presence
of tbs assembled people, and OF Him
whose dominion i, over all that We viii
BE- true and loyal 10 our country.
For r-otten, then, be every feeling ofan
imosity, and strife and rivalry when we
come into the Temple of Freedom to pay
our devotious there. Within this Temple
our Fathers worshiped, aud here are reg
istercl their mighty names. Tne VOWS
they gave, when they pledged To each
other their Lives, TIA ir Fortunes, and
their sacred Honor are here recorded. We
may almost hear their voices and catch
the lingering sounds OF their footsteps.
But they themselves are gone. The men
who reared the proud fabric of our Gov
crnmcnt are numbered not to day with the
living. They have all passed away from
Earth. But, though dead. their memory
and their bright example still live, fresh
and green a the leaves of vonder forest
Would that these Patriot Fathers could re
visit Earth again that we might hear anew
from their lips the thrilling stories Of our
comtry's early struggles and suiierings.
Mtthiuks that while it would impart new
inspiration to every true heart, it would
paraiyze the arm, ard scar the eye.balls of
the traitors whose hellish plots have
brought our country to the very verge of
destruction.
The lth of July with all its pleasant
memories is again here. We can not, if
We would. separate the day from the
events which have given to II It's immor-
tality. IL carries Us back TO the time when
that Declaration Of Independence. which
has just been read in your hearing to-day,
was promulgated to the world by the Del
cgates OF the assembled Colonies. 1t
brings vividly to our minds the noble men
who there IN independence Hall, and amid
the deep muttcrnssof of the storm that was
about to break over them, resolved to set
ua the standard OF Liberty for themselves
There might have been seen in more
than princcly greatness the forms of Ad-
ans and Jefferson, an1 Franklin and Lee
and Sherman and Wythe. and many others
whose names are stamped with the seal o.
Immortality. Well did these men know
th1t before that Declaration could be made
good mtny fair field would be desolated
and drenchcd in the blood of their hreth-
ren--many city and village would smoke
and shoulder in ruins--and many home
and tireside would put on the attire of
mourning for the absent Fathers, and
Brothers and Sons who had fallen in the
.trife.
But for all they did not dcsist Away
down the vista o. Time they looked with
prophetic eve and saw as the results OF
that day the yoke Of the foreign oppress
or broken. the reign of Liberty and Law
established. and home provided for the
exilcs OF Liberty from every land beneath
the sun This eheered them as the great
Prophet and warrior of Israel was cheered
when from the top of the mountains of
Moab lie caught some gIances Of the far
or Canaan.
Ths inspiration Of thatvisjon and that hour
was stiilw.th them when at Lexington anu
Trenton, at Germantown aud Bran WINE,
at Monmouth and Camden, at Guiitord
Court House and ENtlw Springs, they
poured our their blood like water to make
that Declaration good.
By the priyatious and suGerings Of sew
en- years, such as history has seldom re
corded, that Declaration was established; ;
and what, fellow citizens, do We behold to-
d7y as the RESULT How changes is every
thing since then! How much like magic
the transformations that have been wro't.
The AIeghanies and the Ohio, once form
ing the Western boundary of the Colonies
and new States now so far TO the Eastthat
NOT one in "A hundred of this vast assembly
ever saw them in his life. The lew and
feeble States that then skirted the Allan
,ic Ocean have gone on increasing and
expanding, until they have seized, aud
now hold within their grasp the far-oi
shores of the Pacific. The solitude t.at
once reiened over the valleys of the Ms
souri; the Columbia, the Platte and the
Colorado has given place to the noise OF
the city, and the busy scenes OF active
lie.
See this Confederacy of hitherto happy
States; see our ships on every sea, see our
Colleges and Churches. our Schools aud
Academies, our Railroads and Canals,
our Manufacturing establishments and a
that tends to adorn the Arts, enlarge the
circle Of the Sciences, and improve the