The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-09-04
PRESIDENT HARRIsoN'S RUTLAND
SPEECH.

My FellOp Citizens and Comrades of
the G.. a. 1t gives me great pleasure
this morning, tired as am, to see and
to have an opportunity to express my
thanks to this large assemblage of the
good citizens of Rutland. Ny journey
through your State has been attended
with every evidence of respect which it
was possible for the people to bestow.
Your Chairman has spoken of the fact
that the President of the United States
may travel everywhere through our
country without any attendance of
policemen. AS / have had occasion to
say before, the only peril he is likely to
meet, if the railroads take good care of
him and the cranks keep out of the way,
is from the over-kindness of the people.
Laughter and applause. And there is
more peril in that than you will under
stand at first thought.
1t is pleasant to stand upon the steps
of this memorial hall, erected as place
of deposit for trophies of the great Civil
War and as a monument of honor to
those soldiers from Vermont who died
so conspicuously in making that war
successful. We cannot tell how much
hung upon that contest. No orator has
yet been inspired to describe adequately
the gravity of the great issue which was
fought out upon the battlefelds of the
War of the Rebellion. We say it was
contest to preserve the unity of our re-
public, and so it was; but what dismem-
berment would have meant, how greatly
it would have increased the cost of our
Government, how sadly it would have
disturbed the plan of our border COM
munities, how it would have degraded in
the eyes of the world this great people,
how it would have rejoiced the enemies
of popular government, no tongue has
yet adequately described. But it was
not to be SO. God has desired that this
experiment of free government should
have more perfect trial, and it was i'm
possible that the brave men of the loyal
States should consent to ACKNOWLEDGMENT
of the Union. We were very patient, SO
patient in the early contest, as it ranged
through the great debate of convention
and Congress, that our brethren of the
South altogether mistook the temper of
our people. Undoubtedly there were
evidences that the men of trade were re-
luctant to have those cities of profitable
communication which had been so long
maintained with the South broken off.
Undoubtedly. that character so unde-
was particularly conspicuous in those
days of discussion, but we were alto
gether misjudged when the people of the
South concluded that they might support
their threats of disunion which had so
long rung in Congress and had so long
filled their Boosting press, by force of
arms. shall never forget, nor will any
OF you who were old enough to remem-
Der it, that great electric thrill and
shock which passed through our whole
country when the first gun was fred at
Sumter. Debate was closed. Our ora
tors were withdrawn and a great wave
OF determined patriotism swept over the
country higher than any tidal wave ever
lifted itself, upon devastated coast Zap
plause and it was not to be stayed in
its progress until the last vestige of re-
bellion had been swept from the face OF
our beloved land.
The men of New England are peace
full people. The farmers and the farm.
ers' sons were not brawlers. They were
not found at the tavern They were
abiding under the sheltering moral in.
fluences and quietude of these New Eng
land hills. But the man who thought
that the spirit ITO had been quenched
was badly mistaken. The same resolute
love OF liberty, the same courage to face
danger for a cause that had its inspira
tion in high moral purposes and resolves
abided in the hearts of your people
[Applause]. Possibly the war NIGH
La been avoid if the South haC
understood this, but it was SO written il
the severe but benevolent purpose o.
God. There was great scroll of eman
cipation to be written. There was /;
martyr President who was to affix his
name to a declaration that would be al
famous as that to which your fathers
affixed their signatures in l776. 1t wa
to be in truth as well as in theory free
people [applausel, and there was NJ
other pathway to emancipation thai