The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-06-07

waged and won. [Applause.] To-day we
remember all the heroes, all the generous and
chivalric men who came from other lands to
make ours free. OF the many thousands who
shared the gloom and glory of the seven
sacred years not one remains. The last has
mingled with the earth, and nearly all are
sleeping now in unmarked ground, some be-
meath the leading, crumbling stone from
which their names have been effaced by
times
IRREvERENT AND RELENTLESS HANDS.
But the nation they founded remains; the
United States are still free and independent;
the government derives its just power from
the consent of the governed" and 50 ooo, 900
of free people remember with gratitude the
heroes of the revolution. Applause. Let
us be truthful let us be kind. When peace
came, when the independence of the new ma
ton was acknowledged, the great truth for
which our forefathers fought was half denied,
and the constitution was inconsistent with the
war that was waged for liberty, and yet the
victors forged new letters for their fellow-men.
The chains our fathers broke were put by
them upon the limbs of others. Freedom for
all was the cloud by day and the pillar of fire
by night through seven years of want and war;
Applause. In places the cloud was forgot
ten and the pillar blazed unseen. Let us be
truthful. All of our fathers were not true to
themselves. In war they had been generous,
noble and self-sacri6cing. With peace came
selfishness and greed. They were not great
enough to appreciate the grandeur of the prin-
ciples for which they fought. They ceased to
regard the great truths, as having universal ap-
plication. Liberty for alp included only
themselves, They qualified the declaration.
They interpolated the word ''all." Let US be
kind. We will remember the age IN which
they lived. We will compare them with the
citizens of other nations. They made mer
chandise of men; they legalized a crime;
they sowed the seeds of war, but they founded
this nation. Let us gratefully remember; let
us gratefully forget. To-day we remember the
heroes of the second war with England, which
our fathers fought for the freedom of the seas,
tor the rights Of the American sailor. APP
plause. We remember with pride the splend-
id victories of Erie and Chamrlain and the
woNDRoUs ACHIEVEMENTS
upon the sea-achievements that covered our
navy with glory that neither the victories nor
defeats of the future can dim. We remember
the heroic services and sufferings of those
who fought the merciless savage OF the from
tier; we see the midnight massacre and hear
the war cries of the allies of England; we see
flames climb round the happy homes, and in
the charred and blackened ruins we see the
mutiated bodies OF the wives and children.
Peace came at last, Crowned with the victory
of New Orleans-a victory that did redeem
all sorrows and all defeats. The revolution
gave our fathers free land, the war of 1872
a free sea. To-day we remember the gallant
men who bore our flag in triumph from the
Rio Grande to the heights of Chapultepec.
Leavin. out of the question the justice of
our cause, the necessity for war, we IRE yet
compelled to applaud the marvellous courage
of our troops. A handful of men, brave, i'm
nation. Our histo has no record Of more
daring deeds. [Applanse.] Again peace
came and the nation hoped and thought that
strife was at an end. Wehad grown too power
full to be attacked. Our resources were
boundless and the future seemed secure.
The hardy pioneers moved to the great West.
Beneath their ringing strokes the forests dis
appeared, and on the prairies waved the bill
lowed seas of wheat and corn. The great
plains were crossed, the mountains were con-
quered, and the foot of the victorious adven-
turer pressed the shore of the Pacific. In the
great North all the streams went
SINGING TO THE SRA,
turning wheels and spindles and casting shut
ties back and forth. Inventions were spring
ing like magic from a thousand brains. From
Labor's holy affairs rose and leaped the smoke
and flame, and from the countless FORCES rang
the chant of rythmic stroke, but in the south
the negro toiled unpaid and mothers wept
while babes were sold, and at the auction
block husbands and wives speechlessly looked
the last goodbye. Fugitives lighted by the
north STIR, sought liberty on English soil, and
were by northern men thrust back to whip
and chain. The great statesmen and success
full politicians announced that law had COM
promised with crime; that justice had been
bribed and that time had barred appeal. A
race was left without right, without hope.
The future had no dawn, no star, nothing but
ignorance and fear; nothing but work and
want. This was the conclusion of the states
men, the philosophy of the politicians, of con-
stitutional expounders. This was decided by
the courts and ratified by the nation. We had
been successful in three wars; we had wrested
colonies from Great Britain, we had
conquered our place upon the high seas; we
had added more than 1000, 900 of square
miles to the national domain; we had in
creased in population from So, 100000 to 81
600, 600. We were in the midst of plenty
We were rich and free. Ours appeared to be
the most prosperous of nations. But it was
only in appearance. The statesman and poll
tician were deceived. Real victories can be
won only for the right. The triumph of JUS
tice is the only peace. Such is the nature Of
things. He who enslaves another cannot be
be free; he who attacks the right assaults him
self. Cheers. The mistake our fathers
made had not been corrected. The
FOUNDATIONS OF THE REPUBfIC