Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-07-18
The Fourth at sandusI1y.

The Fourth at SandusIzy.
Sandusky had a gala day on the Fourth
and celebrated it in grand style. Anon:
the distinguished guests were GoYerno
Bishop, Hon. Charles Foster and Genera
Ewing, the two rival candidates for Gov
ernOr, who were seated on the platform
side by side, and Ohio's fsvorite statesman
General J. A. Garfield, the orator of tn,
day. All of the above gentlemen, follow
ing General Garfield, made brief speeches
Judge Watson made short address o.
welcome to the distinguished guests, at thu
close of which he introduced General Gar
field, who was received with unusual cheer,
and applause from the immense audience
assembled. Below will be found his very
eloquent effort:
FELLOW CITIZENS: IdOubt If can make
this large audience hear me at this heignt
above yOu, and at this angle of the wind,
it coming directly against me; but if you
viii be patient with me / shall try to make
at least portion of you hear me.
This is national Sabbath day, and, like
a Sabbath when all the churches meet to
celebrate whatever they have in common,
it would be indecent for any one to preach
his political creed, or his ecclesiastic creed,
when they met to talk of those things that
they all believed in common. Politically
We all believe in parties and each one be-
lieves in his party. As you have behind
me the representatives of the two great
parties, you are all perfectly satisfied with
what you have on this stand Tapplause1,
and l give you great JOY Of your satisfac-
ticn, and say to you that we are here TO re-
joice In all those things in regard to which
these two representatives of their respective
parties unite in rejoicing, and, therefore,
that there can be no difference between us
to-day. On these common grounds we all
hope for the same great results for our
country. We all believe in its future great
ness and glory. Our differences only arise
from our modes in bringing it about; there
fore, let us turn to the things we believe in
and for little while talk of them.
ln the whole history of mankind on this
globe, there has been nothing half so won
derful as the development of the human
race on this part of the Western Hemis-
phere. do not say that because it is the
Fourth OF July, nor because am an Ameri-
can and loYe to boast of it, but say it de-
liberately, as man who has read some
thing of history, and has a right to Judge
something of its relative character. all
the other nations on this globe are growths,
and the growths of several thousands of
years. One Of the wisest and brightest men
IN England lately wrote a very valuable ar
ticle about America entitled F'0ur Kin Be-
yond the Sea-" 1t was the great Gladstone
Of England, and when he came to sum up
our characteristics of England he said
this substantially: England is the best il
lustTation of a Government developed by
centuries Of growth, commencing away
back in barbarism, slowly, gradually, pain
fully envolving out of its barbsrisln bet
ter, higher, nobler type, until at last l
dare affirm, said he, that England is the
best result of a nation on the globe of the
growth of Government by the means of
growth. Now, your people across the wa
ter-Our kin beyond the sea-are by all odds
the best example on the earth of another
kind Of Government; not a Government by
growth, but Government where men sat
down with the deliberate purpose to make
out OF their own intellects, and out of the
experience of mankind, Government by
theory; and you people beyond the sea have
built your Government on that model, and
1t IS of its kind the best that the world ever
saw, and it is fair to question whether its
kind is not the best kind the world ever
saw. But ours and yours, said he, are the
best examples on the globe.
Now, fellow-citizens, ! ask YOU to take
our example for little while and follow It
historically that we may see what our faith
ers attempted 10 do. In the first place they
had wild, untrodden continent, with moth
ing but savage life in it, and, finding that
savage life could not be moulded much into
the life they were going to live, they, with
the old Anglo-Saxon spirit of displacement,
drove it off, and had, as it were, clean
sheet to write their constitution upon. It
was the only example among mankind
where men had a great. virgin continent,
with the full untrammeled right to sit down
and make Of it what they could. Every
where else there was already Government
IN occupancy. Everywhere else order OF
some kind was set up. Here they under
took to set it up by and of themselves, and
IN accordance with the light of their own
genius and experience.
Now, ask you to follow with me, very
hastily, some of the steps they took in this
experiment and some of the enormous dan
gers they had to overcome before they could
plant their ideas of Government. First,
they had this unknown wilderness to con-
quer. There is nothing more terrible than
an unknown enemy. Let brave man see
his enemy and measure his height, and If
he is very Samson of strength, it is q
comfort to know that he has measured his
antagonist. But when you give him con-
tinent Of unknown breadth, full Of un-
known diseases, tenanted by unknown saw
ages and unknown species of wild beasts,
and full OF danger, and say that men shall
leave civilization, home and happiness,
and plunge into the uncertainties of that
kind of life, that requires the highest type Of
human courage. Our fathers met all that,
and when they had planted themselves
along these shores, almost instantly they
encountered a second enormous danger.
They fell into the grasp of all the politics,
and all the rivalry, and all the mercenary
greed Of the great powers of Europe. The
question was, Who shall own American
The French said, ''We will take it." The
Spanish said, "We will have it." The
English said, "We will try for it" The
French skirted the great lakes and descend
ed the Mississippi; the Spaniads ran over
the southern part of the Atlantic Coast
and across to the Pacific; the Norwegians
and other tribes settled in various other
places, and England, after long struggle,
bloody, at times ferocious and powerful,
took the main center Of the continent and
held it, and it was fortunate for the future
OF the people that should live on this con-
lnent that the Latin races, with their wild
ideas, did not conquer America; but that
It was rather conquered by that old, solid,
daring, substantial Anglo-Saxon race that
has made it what we know it to be to-day.
Finally, third great question was made,
the question Of seyering from the parent
State, from the Government. that planted
us. The very power that had won the con-
tinent for us became, at last, unbearable as
a master and ruler, and our people broke