Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-07-25
THE GLoRf6tjs FOURTH.
How an Iowa Joker Spread Desolation
Over Rural Place.


Over Rural Place.
The humorous man of the Burlington
Hdmkeye burst out of his sanctum on the
Fourth and desolatcd suburban town
with an Grafton, from which we quote:
Why have we assembled here to-day?
What means this vast concourse of peo-
pie, these waving banners, these strains
OF soul stirring music, this glittering
array OF beauty, patriotism and intelli-
gence? AS face this immense multi
tuue, am impressed with one thought,
that PUSHES upon my very soul and
struggles in vain for utterance. 1t is
the thought that | am not going to be
able to make one half these people
hear a word / say 1t is not a grand
thought. 1t is not even brilliant
thought. But it is true, and the trl, n
is worth far more than brilliancy. And
| will tell the truth every time get an
opportunity 1t isn't often that | get
the chance. What with trying to recon
ellie Tees weather predictions and the
Presidents policy, man has to be a
vigilant, and lie awake nights and watch
his chances, in order to get an opportu-
nifty to tell little truth, once week,
and yet this has nothing to DO with the
Turkish war.
Why, then, | repeat, are we assemble
ed here to-day? To rejoice that we are
IA free people, endowed with the inaien-
able rights of life, liberty and the pur-
suit Of happiness in long range. To
rejoice that the precious boon and heri-
Of - Oh
by the fathers who fought, bled and died,
that | and mine and you and yours
might breathe the air of freedom. And
we rejoice to-day, we are proud and
happy and glad, glad that our fathers
died for us instead of compelling us to
die for them. They were great grand
men. In fact, they were, many Of them,
great grandfathers.
1t is sweet to die for ones country.
1t seems to me that |, too, would gladly,
oh how gladly, add my name to the
list of the great and good, and die for
my country-of old age | would die
sooner if it was thought necessary, but
haven't got time. | am too busy. But
if any sacrifices are needed next cen
tcnnial, they may call on me, and will
either come or send II hand.
Our fathers died for us. They died
willingly and gladly. But if they could
come back to-day and see what kind of
Il crowd they died for quarreling over
the Presidents policy, wrangling over
the currency and some of them trying
to pay dollars's worth of debt with
ninety cents worth of money, talking
politics twenty-three hours II day and
praying so seldom that our knees get
rusty, drowned out by the rain, devour-
ed by grasshoppers, they would, if they
had it to do over again, live nine thou
sand years and only die then when they
had to.
And yet ours is ii glorious country. A
wonderful, magnificent country. 1t Is
marvellous. As high school girl would
say, ii is nice Look abroad over our
land turn the pages Of history, and see
what the mighty genius of progress has
wrought. But one short century ago
the cornerstone of this mighty fabric
was laid, amid the thunder of cannon
and the rattle of musketry, canopied by
the smoke of battle and cemented with
blood A little band Of struggling, needy
patriots, half clad, poorly fed, with only
Il few dollars in the national treasury.
To-day the sun of one hundred and one
years breaks III upon the LANDOWNER
ever ii isn't stOrming-and where do we
stand?
\ BILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT.
Our fathers died, but they had no
railroads. If they had they might have
died with less expense and trouble be-
fore they got to the war Our fathers
never knew the ecstatic pleasure Of
leaning out of car window and getting
Il red hot cinder as big Us Il pea in their
eye before they could look at Il tree.
They had no telegraph, and never knew
what Il convenience 1t was to pay forty
cents to send Il message fifty miles, and
then have the dispatch come tagging n
day or two after the man had died of
old age. They had no Kerosene lamps,
and they never knew what it was to
light kitchen fire and make a balloon
ascension out of the same can. They
had no United States signal service, and
never had forty-tiye rainy days in II
month, with tornado every waSh-day
Their wants were few and simple. They
didn't need great deal of weather, and
what they had was regulated 10y the
ground hog, and that reliable weather
bureau never made mistake
These men have passed away. In
their simple habits, their sterling hou-
esty, their grand patriotism, their unset
fish devotion to principle, they passed
from life into eternal fame. The men
of IS are gone do not know where,
but they have gone somewhere; ! do
not see any of them here If there are