Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-07-13
The New Century of the Republic.


At this peculiar time in the history
of our nation it is difficult to refrain
from little moralizing, for the occa-
sion justifies it, and makes it seem al
most "A duty. We have passed beyond
our centennial birthday, have moved
over in the midst of demonstrations of
national joy on every hand, into the
second century of our existence as a
united people. That our great Repub-
lie has lived one hundred years has vast
international significance and may be
said to settle the stability of Republi.
can government. Governments by the
people have generally been ephemeral
and have quickly passed away. The
prophets of evil looked for scores of
years for the downfall of this nation,
and whenever troubles arose they wise
" shook their heads, and said, 1--WE
told you sou But a Republic one hun
dred years old is stubborn fact that
cannot be croaked away. Very few of
the nations of the earth havs exhibited
between 1776 and 1876 as large degree
of permanency as this American Re-
public. Change after change has
come to the States of Germany, and
they are at last consolidated by the
/ genius of Bismarck into the present
magnificent German Empire. To the
whole of Central Europe and nearly
every country in it, numerous changes
have come. Italy was torn and rent
by discord, and revolutionized by piece
meal, until Cavour gave her as one uni
fed whole TO her present able sovereign
Victor Emmanuel. The States of the
Church have been blotted out and the
Pope's temporal power utterly destroy
ed. At the beginning of our existence
France was kingdom, and as such
she assisted to establish our freedom,
doubtless with many misgivings, and
the expectation that our Republic
could not be permanent. Not here but
in France the changes came. Her king
dom expired in blood, and a Republic,
atheistical and crime-stained arose on
the ruins. The Republic sank in the
crimson tide, which itself had caused
to flow, and the Empire of the First
Napoleon arose, to be in its turn over
thrown, and the kingdom re-establish
ed, this TO be succeeded by Republic
with Louis Napoleon at its head, who
turned it into the second Empire, which
also fell at last to give place to the
present republic. All these changes in
France, while our nation has gone
steadily on its way gathering strength
at every step of its advance. Only
England, Russia, and Switzerland,
mountain-buttressed have been as sta
bic as this new experimental nation of
the western world.
At such time why should there not
be rejoicing? We have passed the per-
lous period of our existence. We have
shown ourselves able to maintain in
ternal coherency. We have shown ca
pacity to grapple with a foreign foe,
and to repel the more dangerous and
powerful assaults of domestic enemy.
The hundred years closes on nation
united and at peace at home and
abroad. We start on our second CEN
fury with more favoring breezes than
our fathers enjoyed. War was their
portion; ours Is peace. They had less
than three millions of people scattered
vulnerably along the sea-coast to cope
with one of the foremost powers of the |
earth; we are forty-four millions, with |
''no war nor battles soundr ringing in |
our ears. They were destitute of the
grandest inventions and discoveries |
that have eyer blessed the earth; we /
have them all in the highest perfection.
And we are pushing right on, and util-
izing every Improvement which the
genius of man and the God of nations
have laid at our feet. In these great |
improvements, inventions and |
have we reached the limit?
Perhaps, and PERHAPS not. Who shall |
say TO us, thus far, and no farther"
Who shall limit the conceptions of in
tellectual force? Who shall circum-
scribe the designs and power of the
Eternal. What we are, we know; what |
we shall be we know not. If the limit |
in material progress has been reached,
and it may only be well begun, man
himself in the next hundred years may |
be the object of Gods uplifting power. |
The progress of the past hundred years
has been largely in material things. |
May we not have an era of as wonder |
full progress in intellectually and spir-
ituality? We shall not stand still; that |
is certain. There will be development
in some direction. Our eyes
that have seen the glories of the era
just closed, will not see the full fruitIon
of the on-coming century; but other
eyes will be opened to it, and we may
be assured that its rounded completion
will be gloriied by triumphs for hui
manity, which we can see only through
glass darkly, but which succeeding
generations will see face to face and
eye TO eye.