Daily Republican., 1880-09-01
Cur CountPy

Cur Ceuntrye
Bob Ingersoll opened the campaign
at Gloucester, hass., the other day
He had been spending the hot weather
there with his family, and they asked
him to make q speech. What he said
in regard to the rights and duties ol
the government is so good that We tran
scribe II:
Ladies' and gentlemen: Everything
in the world that Is good for anything
has TO be defended. Everything tina,
is good has to be taken care OF. Every
thing that ia bad will take care OF IL
8 II. IA plsusel. There is the same
difference between virtue and vice, Do
tween truth and falsshood, rs there ID
bstween grain and wheat. We have
TO plow the land, we have to SOW the
seed, and We have, with great labor
aud infinite patieuce, to guard the
crop against anything that might in
jure, while weeds and dog fennel,
sown by chance and cared for by acct
dent, will grow on the common high
way.
And exactly so II is with everything
OF any account In this world. The bat
tie ia never over; the battle for the
right Is never Won, fight IS long as you
may and the argument Is never fin-
ished. After four years Of war in the
United States the questions that We en-
deavored to settle by the sword are as
open, M unsettled as they were in
1859. These questions must be settled
not only by the bayonet, but by argu.
msnt. There is no argument in war,
no reason, no logic, In the sword. All
that war settles Is who Is the stronger
Of the contestants. War makes them
stop and listen. War gives the sue.
cessful party the door in order to pre-.
sent his argument, and the result is TO
be argued, and fought out. 30 TO- day
we are arguing on this side, in the de-.
ferse of which millions Of men risked
their lives, and the question is just as
0sen an unsettled tonight as 1t was
then.
We have got q country which Is, In
NY opinion, the best country In this
world. l hold all forms Of government
in sublime contempt except the Repub-
lican form Of government. Applause.
I utterly dstest every system Of gov.
ernment that is not founded on the le.
gally expressed will Of q majority Of
the people. [Applsuse.] I look upon
kings, and princess. and noblemen 90
men In the livery Of larceny, wearing
the insigns Of robbery. am proud !
am an American, and that l live In
civilized country. When speak Of
free country Oonane myself to the
northern and western states Of this
great republic. [ApplAuSs. This is
In my opinion the best government In
this world, simply becAusc 1t gives the
best chanos to every human being. 1t
is the best country simply because
there is m.re liberty here than there ia
anywhere else simply because life,
liberty and property are better secured
In the northern and western States Of
this Union than In any other portion Of
the hAbitabls globe.
Ilovs this co1ntry because It gives
to the lowest equal opportunity with
the greatest. The avenues to destruc-
ton open to all. We have done re-
markedly will, considering what We
have had 70 do with. We have taken
the failures Of other countries; We have
taken the men who could not succeed
In England We have taken the men
who have besn robbed and tramplsd
upon-we have taken them into this
country, and the second generation are
superior to the nobility of the country
from which their fathers emigrated.
[ Cheers.l We have taken the Irish.
man, robbed ; We have taken the for
eigner from the almshouse, and we
turned rags into robes we have trans
formed their novels and huts into
palaces ; out Of the paupers We have
made patriotic, splendid men. That Is
what We have done in this country.
We have given TO everybody in the
states to which have referred, equal
opportunities to get home, equal op-
portnnities 10 attain distinction. That
Ia the reason like this country.
like this country because the hon.
est and industrious man is . noble
man. l like It because = man, NO
matter how poor he may be, whether
q merchant or clerk, can 90 home at
night, take his towheaded boy on his
knee and say to him: "JohD, the pub
lie schools and every avenue Of dis
tinction are open to You. Your father
may be ignorant; he may not be good
at figures, but you may rise to the
highest Office within the gift Of civ.
ilissd people, [Applause.] We do
not know how good this country Is.
Do you know that we have more to eat
here than any other nation on the
globe hasf And that is quite an
item. lLaughter.l We have better
clothes, and they come nearer fitting
us. (Applause. There is more general
information among our people, and 1t
is better distributed, than In any other
country. But really the greatest thing
about our couutry is that thereis no 9TH
or country where women and children
are treated as well as they are In the
United States. [Cheers.] Let me
tell you why:
In other countries the family is pat
termed after the form Of government. In
countries where there Is monarch, the
head Of the family is q monarch in
countries where there is despot at
the head of the government, the head
Of the family is despot. Hers in this
country our families are Republican.
U.a.- .aau niAiinu hu Tho Kaaiha hAA