The new North-west., 1888-04-06
AN ELOQUENT RESPONSE.
Delivered by Comrade GalDraitn ~
Miles City Banquet.

Resn0nSe of Hon. VIM. d. d8lOIais"s ~
Grand encampment Of the g. A. h'' ~ sue
banouet given at Miles City, Montan.'
March Nst, 1888, to the following toas''
"Our Country, one and indivisible; may .no
good in its past prove but foresnaoo"'"s
of its future"
Comrades, Fellow Citizens and Gentlemen;
This subject is SO vast and comprehensive
that am not able to do 1t justice WILL"
what I consider to be tho proper hml's o.
respense to a sentiment of this charactel'
prcposed upon such an occasion as the one
unon which we are present here this even
ing, but will endravor to say few "otuS
within these liraits, which I hope may be
germane to the subject proposed. Our couh-
try is one in that the allegiance OF every GU
izen within its borders is due nrst 10 tno
Government of the United States, so 1ar as
power and authority are conferred upon u
by the Constitution. This power and this
authority have been subjected to the severest
tests. to the hottest crucible of experience,
to which the powers and authorities OF ma
tions have ever been or are eyer likely again
in the history of the world to be subjected,
and have been found sufficient for all gov
ernmental purposes whatsoever.
It is ssoue" in so far as that it is the para
mount duty of every citizen in every State
and Territory and every portion OF lts 40
main to render obedience to the Constitution
of the United States and the laws, made in
pursuance thereof, anything in the Constltu-
ton and laws of any State or Territory to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Our country is some" in that the lnhabit-
of its domain can withdraw themselves from
the operation of this Constitution, or these
laws, except perhaps for some cause coming
within the purview of the principles enuncl-
ated BY the Declaration Of Independence,
without being both morally and legally
guilty. of treason and rebellion against the
Government of the United States.
This doctrine, although once disputed, has
been so often asserted and successfully main
tanned and vindicated in different arenas of
conflict as now to have become generally
recognized as maxim, an axiom, or self
| evident truth.
1t acquired so great a triumph in the forum
of reason as to have obtained the approval
and appreciation of the best understanding
and judgment Of the Nation and of the civil
lized world. And when the appeal was
made to the god of battles it achieved the
most complete and overwhelming triumph
by which any national principle was ever
established, by the arbitrament of war, by
the Judgment of the Almighty.
| 1t is matter to us of the very highest
pride and self.congratulation that we were
participants in this memorable conflict and
| that in the providence Of God our names
are enrolled among the numbers of that
mighty host of heroes who achieved the
| victory.
| 1t is our most precious, our proudest ret1ec
ton, that the best portion of our lives was
| so spent in the service of our country and
was not spent in vain. These years could
not have been better employed, they could
not have beer devoted to a higher or holie1
purpose than in participation in this mos
sacred cause Even our then enemies, who
now believe without hypocrisy profess the
warmest friendship for the Union, rejoice in
the fruits secured by the triumph of Concord
Right and Justice over Discord, Injustice
and Oppression and admit that victory tc
them would have brought misfortune; tha
our conquest was their gain and that thu
become the nations greatest glory.
Not the acquisition of untold wealth or the
attainment of the highest station, dignity Of
distinction in the State or Nation, in time!
of peace or prosperity, can approach IL
value the hallowed memories, the sacre(
"reminiscences of these eventtul years, no.
their worth or pride outshine in brillian
lustre that legacy of honor and glory which
the soldier for the Union can hand down tt
his children and to his childrens children
from generation to generation forever.
The triumphant wreath which binds tht
Union soldiers brow will never fade, bu
will flourish with a greener hue and brighter
lustre, with fresh verdure and flowers
plucked from the boundless, never fading
fields of immortality.
We therefore, each one of us, my fellow
soldiers, possess a most priceless Jewel, the
proud reflection that We aided in maintain
ing the integrity of our country and, as we
fondly believe, have established its suprem
acy, its unity, as one and indivisitle unit
time shall be no more.
When the past presents the most rapid ele
vation to the greatest height of moral ant
political grandeur which the world has evel
witnessed, what can we not predict Of tn
future? Our highest hopes can hardly real
ize what our own experience has designated
may be the reality.
Who, for example, in the widest dream
of youth ever, even in the highest flights o
his imagination, contemplated, at this periot
of his life that he would one day, as we d.
now engage in the formation, the promotion
of the lofty destinies of commonwealth
which promises to become one of the bright
est stars in the national constellation, one O
the fairest virgins in the sisterhood of States
here beneath the sombre shadows of thu
Rocky Mountains?
Tt is not for me, even if had time, t,
draw the picture. Great INTEL ects, brllian
imaginations, have, 1 believe, withou
exaggeration, presented to the world tn,
splendid, gorgeous scene when our coas
lands and the valleys of our great river
shall abound with population, civiliza
tion, an architectural grandeur and magnifi
cence far more numerous and powerful
I more cultivated and more sublime thai
those of the Euphrates, the Nile, the Indus
the Hellespont or the Tiber; when these val
leys and these plains beneath the shadows O.
our mountains shall become very gardens il
beauty and fertility and when in the deve1
opment of their resources these mountain
themselves shall resound and reverberat
with the hum and the clangor of machiner.
} and shall glow with furnaces and crucible
of fire. l verify believe that free govern
ment will only have attained its consumma
ton, will only have achieved its perfec
work with the universal recog nition Of tn,
divine principle of the fatherhood of G 10,
and the brotherhood OF man, when tn
worlds inhabitants shall become substan
TALLY one nation subject to this Sovereign
sway alone; when the time shall come tina
"the lion ana the lamb shall lie down to
gether, and a little child shall lead them;
when the time shall come that "men shall
beat their swords into plow shares and thei
spears into pruning-hooks;' when "natio1
shall not rise up against nation, neither sha1
they learn war any more;" ssfor he mas mad
of one blood all nations of men who dwell O,
> all the face of the EARTH" Who can tell
who can predict what precious fruitage this
the fairest, the brightest flower of the mas
ages, will bear for the waiting inhabitants q
earth.
l g.