The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-07-09

he whose throne Is the embed iment
and source Of justice heard the cry OF
bondmen and bondwomen. He raised
up redeemers,-Garrison, Whittier,
Sumner, Phillips, Harriet Beecher
Stowe, and then Lincoln, and Grant, |
and you, soldiers, and then by and
by the horse and the rider were over /,
thrown In the midst Of the sea.
And now again how does the prin- |
ciple laid down i'm the beginning fit i
this epoch of our national life?
In 1851 we still fell short. Neither |
In our deeds nor In our utterances
had we given final and complete ex- !
preston to the principles Of justice |
and popular government. Our RevC-
lutionary leaders we're aristocrats,
and pure Democracy, as Ii even .
pure Republication, at least one
step above Aristocracy. Those rep
fesentatives of q government which
undertook to establish Justice held
slaves; and though George Washing
ton. Patrick Henry, and many others
freed their own slaves, yet that in
human system, in 1861, still had rec
ignition In the Constitution of the
u. s., and In spite OF the preamble.
Now what was the War OF the Re-
bellion? l speak not Of the South,
nor OF the North, but OF the great
tide Of events. 1t was the resist less
onflowing OF river that must come
to the sea. l answer again, and not
neither the tent of the Confederate
~ thu hDs ~ tho v1ntnnsc< hit
from the mountain top of calm de-
Civil War, in its issues, was q demons
vitality ia the idea Of the equal rights
Of man.
That was destined to be the Ameri-
can idea, but as yet we were not
American in the modern sense. An
all-seeing Providence had written our
history, and our inevitable destiny
was to make good that record. How
swift were the strides made in the de-
cade closing with 1870. The enamel
patton in 1868; the Thirteenth amend
Inent to the Constitution in 1865:
the Fourteenth in 1868 and the Fiji
teenth in 1870. And moreover q con-
fiict of arms, enforcing the terms of
the proclamation, and making the
amendments possible. The ISSUE
the State Sovereignty question set
tied, settled Alright, and settled for
ever, and our fair land purged of the
curse of human slavery.
Fellow citizens, shall our nation,
which has made SO marvellous q rec
ord, prove to be but q meteor in the
political sky? Or shall men speak Of
it as the long looked for north star,
set in the heavens that other worlds,
seeing its brightness, may be safely
piloted through the mazes of mortal
mutations? Grant what we have
here affirmed, and but one
answer can be given.
We have a destiny. God is the ar
chitect of this nation. His plans
were drafted before the foundations
of the earth were laid. We are peo-
pie among many peoples, sent out to
teach earth's millions how to live,
how to rule, how to obey. Our CON-
mission was handed over the battle
ments Of heaven, and how can we
falter, or advancing. how can we
blunder? Only by q wilful perreIsity.
Our fathers did their part well.
They have made it possible Tor us to
add stars to the crown of ''Old Glory.
Says Emerson, America is another
name for opportunity" Shall we SO
improve this present hour that we
may pass down to the next genera
tiop of patriots an enlarged inheri-
tance9
Such q query makes lie bold. am
that kind of a spiritualist that dare
thrust my staff into the darkness and
ask for communication from the
years that are not yet. Listen! Up
from the century whose turn comes
next, hear q voice. The voice SAYS
We are busy artists, touching up the
handwriting on the wall, that it may
not declare this nation to be found
wanting. Some are retracing with
indelible pencil the lines of Jefferson
and Lincoln. The immortal docu-
ments which they penned are grand
SO far as they go. but We are adding,
ami we believe wisely.
By our Declaration Of Independ-
ence we forswear allegiance to the
political delnagogue,t the unamerican-
izing importations from Europe, to
| the Continental Sabbath, and the
liquor power.
To the emancipation of the negro
we are about to add the emancipa.
ton of labor. while woman is rapid
ly emancipating herself. We..are Civ
ing much attention to moral and So
cial evils, and are striving to free
ourselves from the cruel bondage OF
human passions.
For recreation We go out and sit by
the sea. and as our children launch
their miniature barks upon the water.
We call up your own Longfellow and
ask him to sing to us as he so often
sang for you:
Thou too, sail on, o Ship OF State;
Sail on. o Union. strong and great.
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes OF future years.
Il hanging breathless on thy fate:"