Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-30
TUESDAY. APRIL 80, 1859.
a century of Progress.

The inauguration OF the t1rst PRESIDENT
of the United States took place in New
York just one hundred years ago to-day
From this date actually commences the
real political existence of our country.
The confederacy that was patched upI
between the thirteen Colonies that had
successfully emerged from the Rev
-olution was found to be i'm
practicable. The States were not
knit together by any binding
or effective tie. Their bond of cohesion
was like a rope of sand, and it parted
at the slightest shock. Congress had
the power to emit paper money, but it
could not control the resources needful
to sustain the credit of its promises. 1t
could make no commercial treaties that
would be respected. Each State levied
its own duties on imports and exports,
and even interfered with the COM
mercial intercourse of other States.
The pressing need of a general govern
ment that should be able to preserve the
liberties gained by the War of Independ-
ence, that could insure the execution of
treaties and make the country respected
abroad, that might have efficient control
of interstate relations, represent the
combined strength of the nation, and be
able to foster sll its interests, was every
where felt. The question Of how the Gov
eminent was to be thus strongly and ef-
fectively organized was one that pre-
sented great and preplexing difficulties; /;
but the loose Confederacy was manifest
ly failure, and must be supplanted by
stronger and more cohesive system at
any cost. ortunately the War Of Inde-
pendenoe had brought out class of great
and patriotic statesmen, who were equal
to the emergency. AT no period in the
history of any country had there appeared
on the stage of public affairs, a
q class Of public men who could vie in
ability, in devotion, in self-sacrifce, in
pure patriotism with the magnificent
galaxy of statesmen who directed the
destinies Of the new Republic at this
critical juncture. Washington, Jefferson.
Madison, Monroe, the Adsmses, Jay,
Hamilton, Morris, Sherman, and scores
of others, whose names are like
beacon lights in our esrly history, ad-
dressed themselves to the emer-
gency. A convention was called to
revise or amend the articles OF confeder-
alton; but it was soon found that an en-
tirely new departure would be the only
step that would meet the needs of the
country, and that a constitution giving
the Federal government all the
powers required to re-establsh
public credit, to make treaties
with foreign countries that could be en-
forced, and to levy and maintain war as
a nation, would alone avert chaos and
restore unity and permanence to the
States as political power. There was no
model to be found in modern or ancient
history that CO uld even remotely serve
as guide for the convention. Switzer-
land was loose federation with an aris-
tocratic elem ent; the Netherlands had
been ruled by commercial aristocracy
until the princely house of Orange had
obtained royal powers; the Free Cities
and italian Republics of the Middle Ages
had been governed by aristocracies and
trade guilds; and none of the ancient
Republics had any clear idea of constild-
tional freedom. England furnished
fundamental ideas of civil liberty; but
embodied the Anglo-Saxon principle OF
equality among the citizens very i'm
perfectly, and was really ruled
by it's highest and most prosper
GUS classes-too often rather in
their own interest than that OF the
whole people. No such half-realized
liberties would satisfy Americans. They
must inuent a government of the psople
that could act with vigor and precision,
and give effect to the aspirations and de-
yeiop the resources of a new and enter
prisiDg nation. How far these
devoted and able men succeeded in
their design, the history of the
Republic under the constitution and
system they devised has been attested
by century of growth and prosperity
and her achieved greatness aud national
power under it. Under that Constitution
WAS selected, for the first President of the |
Republic, GEORGE WASHINGTON, the FORE |
most man of that or any other age. He |
was inducted into Office just one hundred |
years ego to-day, with solemn |
and impressive ceremonies. In that
city where Congress met and where
he received the oath of office from the |
Chancellor of the State of New York, |
the centennial of his inauguration will |
be celebrated in a way commensurate |
with the importance of the event and |
with the greatness of the country OF which |
he, more than any other man, NAV be
considered TO have been the founder and |
iather. 1t would be we'll if this epoch |
in our history should serve to point the
present generation back to the simple
md patriotic ways OF our fathers, and to
he unselfish patriotism that prevailed
amongst the great men who stood at the
:radle of the Republic. tt ere are
sssons in their history which csn be
tudied with profit both by the public
nd the private men Of the present time.