The National tribune., 1882-06-03

! To-day we tell the history of our countrv's
life; recount the lofty deeds of vanished wears
the toll and suffering; the defeats and victories
Of heroic men-of men who made our Nation
| great and free
We see the first ships whose provs were
| gildcd by the western sun. We feel the thrill
.of discovery when the New World was found.
We see the oppressed, the serf, the peasant, and
the slave-men whose flesh had known the
chill of chains-the adventurous, the proud,
the brave, sailing an unknown sea, seeking
homes in unknown lands.
We see the settlements, the little clearings,
| the block-house and the fort, the rude and
lonely nuts, brave men, true women, builders
OF homes, fellers Of forests founders Of Statesl
separated from the Old World away from
the heartless distinctions of caste, away from
sceptres and titles and crowns, they governed
themselves. They defended their homes, they
earned their bread. Each citizen had voice,
and the little villages became almost republics.
slowly the savage was driven, foot by foot,
back IN the dim forest. The days and nights
were hlied with fear, and the slow years with
massacre and war, and the cabins earthern
floors were wet with blood of mothers and their
babes
But the gavages of the New World were
kinder than the kings and mobiles of the Old :;
and SO the human tide kept coming, and the
places of the dead were flied
Amid common dangers and common hopes
the prejudices and feuds of Europe faded slowly
from their hearts. From every land, of every
speech, driven by want and lured by hope, ex-
lies and emigrants sought the mysterious con-
tinent Of the West
Year after year the colonists fought and
tolIcd and suffered and increased.
They began to talk about libcrty-to reason
of the rights of man. They asked no help from
distant kings, ana they began to doubt the use
OF paying tribute to the useless They lost
respect for dukes and lords, and Held in high
esteem all honest men.
There was the dawn of new day. They be-
gan to dream of independence. They found
that they could make and execute the laws.
They had tried the experiment of self-goyern-
meht. They had succeeded. The Old World
wished to dominate the New In the care and
Keeping OF the Coionists was the destiny Of this
continent-of half the world.
On this day tho story of the great struggle
between coonists ard kings should be told.
We should tell our children of the contest
first for justice, then for freedom. We should
tell them the history of the Declaration of In
dependence, the chartand compass of all human
r1ghts-"AI mon are equal and have the right
to life, to liberty" and joy
This iSdeclaratIon uncrowncd kings and wrested
from the hands of titled tyranny the scepter of !
usurped and arbitrary power. 1t superseded
royal grants and repealed the cruel statutes of
a thousand years. 1t gave the peasant a career.
1t knlghted all the sons of toll. It opened all
The. paths to fame, and put the star of hope
above the cradle of the poor mans babe.
England was then the mightiost of nations
mistress Of every sea, and yet our fathers poor
and few, dofcd her power.
To-day We remember the defeats the victories |
The disaster, the weary marches, the poverty, !
the hunger, the suferings, the agonies, and, |
above all, the glories OF the Revolution. We |
remember sll-from Lexington to Valley Forge, |
and from thatmidnight OF des pair to Yorktown's |
,ioudless day.
We remember the soldiers and thinlzers-the |
lep2es of the sword and pen. They had the |
}raln and heart, the wisdom and the courage, /
o utter and defend these words: Govern /
ncnts derive their just powers from the consent /
If the governed"
In defense of this sublime and self-evident
ruth the war was waged and wea.
To-day We remember all the heroes, all the
generous and chiyalric men who came from
thcr lands to make ours free.
Ofthe many thousands who shared the gloom
nd glory Of the seven sacred years not one re-
aaius. The last has mingled with the earth,
nd nearly'all are sleeping now in unmarked
raves, and some beneath the leaning, crum-
ling stones from which their names have been
faced by times irroverent and relentless
and. But the Nation they founded remains
he United States are still free and Independent.
'ho " government derives it's just powers from
he consent Of the governed" and fifty millions
free people remember with gratitude the
erocs Of the Revolution.
Let us be truthful; let us be kind. When
cace came, when"the independence of new
alton was acknowledged, the, great truth for 5
hich our fathers fought was half denied, and
le Constitution was inconsistent with the
eclaration. The war was waged for liberty, l
nd yet the yictorS forged lew fettcrs for their F,
llow-men. The chains or fathers broke I
ere put by them upon the limbs of others. '
reedom for all was the cloud by day and the t
llar Of fire by night through seven years of
ant and war. In peace the cloud was forgot t
II, and the pillar bl,zed unseen. /
Let US be truthful; all of our fathers were T
1t true to themselves. In war they had been It
nerous, noble, and selfsacrifcing; witA peace b
me selfshness and greed. They were not s
eat enough to appreciate the grandeur of the \
inciples for which they fought. They ceased t
regard the great truths as having universal s
pleation. Liberty for all included only Ii
emselvcs. They qualified the Declaration. +;
lGy interp0latcd the word "White;" they G.
liberated the word ALI Let us be kind.
e will remember tho age in which they lived. &
e viii compare them with the citizens of d
her nations. a
They made merchandise of men. They legal a
ID a crime. They scwed the seeds of war p
t they founded this nation. 81
Let gratefully remember;
Let us gratefully forget. II
To-day we remember the heroes of the second Il
7 with England, in which our fathers fought II
the freedom Of the seas, for the rights of the Il
lcrican sailor. bl
Ne remember with pride the splendid vic ey
les OF Erie and Champlain, and the wondrous
licvements upon the sea-acEievoments that ii
yered our navy with glory that neither the pl