The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1883-07-07

upon their heads, indicating that they
were free. May the day never arrive
when our goddess may be compelled to
def nor surrender her cap to king,
prince or potentate of earth.
The declaration of American indie
pendence is mountain standing bold
ly out above the lethean waves, but
even Mount Heod may be forgotten
when not kept constantly in view. 1t
is necessary that we should be often
reminded of our goodly heritage, and
the words of that grand old indictment
ought to be often heard. This day
which we are now celebrating is the
one monument to liberty to which time
is annually adding polished stone. 1t
towers still more grandly among re-
memhered things, after each day when
the noble old declaration is herd in
solid wave of sound, joining Atlantic's
boistersus joy with the lock-bound tide
of our grand old Pacific!
There may be mora loudly enthusi-
astic crowds in our country to-day;
there may be mere splendid pageants
and more eloquent words, hut let it not
be said that there are those who wor-
ship more devotedly at the shrine of
our goddess, nor who would more will
ingly shed their richest blood to hand
her unpolluted to posterity, than we
who have made our hosnes here in
these confines Of her dominions. Let
Oregon's star beam brightest to-day in
the galaxy of the Union! Let us re-
new our VOWS at this altar. Let us
gird eur loins snd 60 forth from this
place more earnest, ho.lest and law
abiding Americans for having again
made it an order of business to hear
that Americans are free. Washington
ard America are synonymous terms,
and no monument which mar ever be
erected to either ought to be more sa-
credly protected nor more reverentlt
renewed than Il e day upon which they
have respectively carved their names.
And strange to say these are the prin-
cipal national monuments to both. We
need no sculptuGsi, shining bust nor
towering pile Ia suggest to our minds
that man whose virtues are lnimitanle
and that country which is immortal
They are eternal monuments 10 them :
selves, too grand to be perpetnated by
braz proxy or marble substitute.
Forget them and neither marble nor
| br5s. can address itself to our deAdsnsd
sens,s, and their only appropriate places
will be near the funeral cypress, in the
sad silence of onr final homes.
We ara free, But how was our
freedom achieved and why does it con
tinus to exist? There ale these who
scoff at religion; yet, had not religion
existed, 10 oppression CT the Pur.tans
would have been known, and th. whole
proud history of our country would
have been omitted or changed. These
honest msn would Worship Ged as it
| pleased their consciences, and the land
f their nativity was too s'nal for such
liberty. The same spirit actuated
thsm to deny q ight in their former
country to resume its authority over
them in the susamer Of their prosperity
when she had sent thsm adrifG In the
winter of their aIversity. T.ley cut
out the work for future generations
they took chaotic material and un-
bounded poss i,iEties to build up a new
and glorious government, and by the
very act, aroused Lhc spirit of Freedom
in her ally-Francs-one of the oldest
and clearest defined monArchies known
10 those days. France, however found
it more difficult and pitiable expert
ment to graft a republic on the stump
of monarchy, having to fell the
ancient and mighty tree AZ the first act
of preparation. while our ancrstors had
Only to decide that the evils which they
knew could not be more distressing
than these to which they might fly, to
declare that these Colonies are, and
of right, ought to be free and independ.
ent States, to demonstrate the trntl
of their proposition by successful ap
peal to the God Of battles, and the
thing was done While all the worlt
wondered
| 1t is true that the temple of libert,
lay hey ond river of blood, spannel BY
. bridge of dead Heroes, but they hest
tatea not to furnish the crimson tide o1
the stream; supply the materials fol
the bridge and march triumphantly
over to occupy the promised land.
Having obtained what they desired
being free and Independently ther
became necessary to establish and de-
fend t!.ir hard-sarned reward. Tw,
enemies presented themselves with low
ering brew and hellish purpose--brut,
force oflencroaching and ambitious ma
tions from without, and grovelirg ig
norance of untutored minds from with
In. And right gallantly did they NEE
, and vanquish the former They wer
called upon to admonish England
France, (their former allv) and Mexico
OF their exact construction of the mean
ing of the words "free and independ
snt States"
With all these wars every schoo
boy aud ex schoolboy eught ts be fa
miliar, aud ] merely refer to them il
their order. But sf those who ~er
identified with the contest with Nexi
CO, | am constrained to speak a littl
more at length. For there are thos
| here who performed NJ insigni6can
| part in that land cf cactus and palms
, who should he remembered kindly b
tha indiyiduals of fhe A,n.r;can roo