Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-05-31

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them with its fadeless palms, they turned their
faces northward and homeward, laid aside
their arms and folded their battle worn stand
ards reyerently away In a moment, as it
/ were, that vast and magnificent army became
oniy name and memory, their deeds a
story Of the past. History does not record
grander spectacle than this. A nation in arms,
obediert to the call of its representative gov
eminent; trained and victorious army dis
banded at once in obedience to the same au-
thority. In that baptism of blood the nation
was lifted to higher life. That lofty spirit
of loyalty which aroused the latent energies
and filled the muster rolls, and armed and
equipped the troops. and cared for the wound
cd and sick, and maintained the public credit,
and replenished the public purse, was the
same which made possible the peaceful disco
luton of that army, elated with success, and
conscious of power. How in those happier
times OF peace can we encourage the devel-
opment of this energizing spirit, and
make it daily feature of our lives, so that
in peace or war it may be the handspring OF
the nations activities, the abiding cause OF its
greatness, the armor which protects it from
assault?
Fellow citizens, am wrong in saying that we
need more loyalty, we, ourselves, here, now,
to. day? Loyalty is obedience to the laws, it is
more than that, it is respect for authority, it
is faith in our institutions, it is sef-respect, it
is the spirit of mutual sacrifice, of charity.
The savage is selfish by instinct and re-
mains selfish Of necessity. Association i'm
plies and compeis set-denal. Every man
parts with something of his natural independ-
ence when he takes a companion. He gives
up something that he may receive something
which alone he could not have. The citizen
of a free state, where the people are the source
and ~ h.. et,
out injuring his neighbor and his fellow; the
Development of q government is logical from
mutual benefits grow mutual obligations,
and the concessions and compromises which
are necessary for the public good become
crystalized into laws. Obedience to these
laws is a paramount duty of the citizen; with
out this loyalty there can be no virtue, no
true happiness, no honor, nothing but vice
and crime and disease and death. In this
democratic republic the people are the law
makers what can we hope for if law makers
become law breakers; if they make laws, or
cause them to be made, which cannot be
obeyed; if they look complacently upon flag
rant disobedence, or smile at the paltry meth
DDS by which are evaded solemn enactmcnts
which have the seal and sanction of the State?
Does the almost fatal facility with which We
| make and unmake laws, make the RESPONSE
bility less serious, or lessen the need of pa
tient research, wise preparation, searching
| criticism: How can we eXemplify our con-
fidence in Our own judgments when the
statute book contains for years laws which
are not and cannot be enforced, and are not
and cannot be obeyed.
After great periods of excitement comes
reaction, after great exaltation depression,
after great victories apathy, often over conf
dence and Boosting, sometimes, unhappily, ar
rogance and intolerance and false pride.
Fellow citizens, can this be said Of US: 1t
IS said of u.s. it is true of us and makes our
duty plain, to shake off this sloth and humble
our Boosting pride, and, cherishing the memo
ries and examples of this day. to work stead
tasty, each for himself and each for all ard
all for the State, so that honor and virtue and
religion. and good government may revive
and prosper and prevail. There is no sound
| or threat Of war, bu. the country is not at
rest, ard there is much earnest, patient work
to be done. Free governments have been
subveiteJ, the greatest nations have had their
decline and fall. Have we solved the prob
lem in barely one hundred years which the
Republics of the old world essayed for GEN.
turtles in vain: The name of Republic is moth
ing without the substance, maJorities may be
tyrannical and despotic. There is seryitude
which is Conten,ment and happiness; there is
a freedom which is not free. Let us not era
die ourselves in vanity and hug our own con-
ccits and say to each other, we are great, our
system is perfect. we are the envy Of the ma
tions, the refuge of the oppressed. We used
to say those very words when millions of our
countrymen were slaves, bought and sold and
beaten and murdered under the very folds of
| our Starry Flag. God be praised that He has
permitted US TO cut that cancer out and wipe
away that stain, though with our blood.
Having done this tardy justice is there no
| more to do; is the problem solved, is our sys-
TEN perfect? We have the right of suffrage;
do use it wisely: Are our public men the
purest? Have we lost the right to crticise and
punish? Are men in power always the best
| men, are our representatives, faithful to their
trusts, do we relieve ourselves OF the reproach
of misgoverBment by delegating our right to
| make laws to others? Have we less crime
and more virtue than others whom we call
| less free? Al, let our hearts respond,
touched with the spirit of this day, and in
the name and memory of that innumerable
| throng who have gone before, let US look the
! truth in the face aud search out the disease,
and having found it, cure it, if it can be cured.
| The American system is an experiment. it
would cpresumptuous to assert the contrary
There are a few aged men still living who
were born American subjects of an English
King. 1t would be folly to hope or expect
that IN two or three generations we have mas
tered the science of political economy and
realized the IDEAL OF a government "of and for
the people" Our system is not yet perfect,
If it is, then there can be no progress; and
if We would have progress, improvement, de-
yelopment and growth, we must begin by
acknowledging our imperfections. We must
remepber with humility that there are men
who are justly accounted wise and prudent,
| in other lands, who are lovers of liberty and
free governments and free institutions, who
would not fear TO die for them, who love this
country snd our people, but who look upon
our distinctive system as an experiment mere
ly, and acknowledge with regret and pain
their fears that it is an experiment which can
not succeed Such honest criticism of our
friends should make us eager to convince
them of their error; we should reflect that it
| is our experiment, not theirs, that we are
| pledged to its success, that these graves and
thousands upon thousands throughout the
land attest the hope and faith Of those who
have, in their efforts to assist in the solution
of this problem reached even to the sublimity
of death. believe, | trust there is no one
here who doubts that this experiment will
succeed, that what has been accomplished thus
far il an earnest of v hat can and will be done