The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-07-05
THE GLORIOUS FOURTH.

We say the glorious Fourth, because in
every. sense the day Is a glorious one in
American history. The booming of cannon,
the beating of drums. the sound of martial
music, readings and o~rations, add nothing to
the memories that cluster around the day and
make il glorious. They serve only to remind
us that such a day Is marked by one
of the great events of history, and that its his
tory should never be forgotten by Americans
so long as Columbia is 'the land of the free
and the home of the braye." The true
meaning of the day lies back and far deeper
than the tinseled display and stilted elo-
quence that are seen and heard upon lis re-
currence. The one becomes common and
the other threadbare from repe-
tition. and sometimes fail to inspire
us with that overlooking patriotism
that should move us to celebrate
the day that saw the birth of a nation. But
though one be counted stale and the other I'M
interesting the story cannot be too often told.
The present generation of youths should be
taught its meaning that they in turn may
teach the countless millions who will
come after them, and Lhus the fires of patriot
ism may be kept burning upon the affairs
erected in the name of liberty until the end
of time.
The story is a simple one and is soon told.
In the year l776, the American people, scarce.
ly 3,O00,0 900 strong, found themselves engag-
ed iii a deadly struggle with the most power
full nation upon the earth. Without money
and without credit abroad their congress took
tie war. Supplies were drawn from
the West Indies, powder mills and canno
foundries were provided for ona small scale,
a few frigates were ordered to be constructed,
a committee of war, one of finance, and a
secret committee, to which was intrusted the
negotiations of the colonies with foreign
powers and persons friendly to the cause of
liberty, were appointed. Finally, on the
4th of July congress adopted, on behalf of
the colonies, a declaration of independence
all act which stands out upon and illumines a
page in the history of the world with a
light that time will never efface. But the
lofty, the pure, the noble motives that in
spiret it are too often forgotten in the
sound and business which ushers in our ma
tai day We are too apt to forget the sacri-
fees that the fathers of the American repub-
lie made for their children. We see our flag
proudly and defantly floating in the breeze
and forget that it once trailed in the dust,
horna hv n 1afootol ratraafipr army MO
can note the proud bearing of our citizen SOL
diery as they march to the time Of inspiring
music, but do not recall to our memory the
weary marches made over frozen, broken
ground by the bare-footed soldiers of Valley
Forge. We may feel the exhilerating i'll
~1uence of generous wine and enjoy the pleas.
ures of a well-flled, bounteous table, and fail
to remember the half.starved, halt-clothed
yeomans who imperiled their olives, their
fortunes and their sacred honors'' that We
may become heirs to that liberty which they
gained at the point of the bayonet. In our
of the day we may forget the les
son it teaches. But we should not. We
should bear in mind that the liberty we now
enjoy was wrested from the powerful hands
of a determined foe by men who suffered
privations, endured the pangs of hunger and
death that it might be bequeathed to us.
We should accept that legacy as
a sacred trust standing ready at all
times and under all circumstances to defend
it at the peril of our olives, our fortunes and
our sacred honors" and to hand it down to
our sons and daughters as pure and unstained
as it was when received by the sires of the
revolution. In the festivities of the coming
fourth let us give one thought TO the heroes
of rs and add to our resolves a resolution
that the memory of the day shall never per-
ish during our time and generation.
1t must be a self evident proposition to the
dullest COMPREHENSION that Brady could new