St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-26

Tie quantity of our people must be
thought of along with their quality.
When the political wisdom of the Amer
leans is considered, when one marks the
prevalence of American common sense
and compares it with what intelligence
the past possessed the conclusion comes
quickly that our nation is one of the
wonders of the world.
1T is not known how many centuries
Egypt or Greece or Rome consumed in
reaching their forms of excellence.
Back of each European nation are seen
at least thousand years. Each good
thing came SLOWLY. Truths came with
all the scarcity of angels visits, and not
many truths ever came to any one state.
| In the outset of this country. and in its
first years, the truth OF political science
! ralned down. 1t was better than the
manna which fell from heaven for the
| Hebrews. We did not, indeed, make
this truth, for it was in part wrought
out by the old world, but if we did not
make this mana our fathers
Caught 1t as 1t Fell.
"Odr fathers possessed such an appre-
citation of political truths that no lesson
could escape them, and no lesson could
escape from actual service in the cause
that lightning was fond of iron and
would leave all other substances that it
| might travel upon iron, he at once said
if lightning loves iron let us put little
iron rod down from our steeDle tops and
| chimney tops that the enemy from the
clouds may not harm our fabrics and
imperil our lives.
sin political matters he followed the
xUicn nj nv |,
| if certain truths were good for mans
progress and happiness, then man
should at once put those truths into
practice. 1t were foolish to protect a
| chimney against lightning and not pro-
| tect the mind and body against the in
| jury which is wont to come from the
| scepter of kings. Thus the truths of the
world touched minds which were ready
| to apply all principles to human life
Our fathers discovered many principles,
! but their greatest merit lay in their hot
and bold anxiety to impress all truth
| into the service of the human family
| AS the light was for mans eyes and the
! air for mans lungs, so all political
| truths must bring some happiness TO
each Preside. Our nation came forth
| from a new and ardent zeal in
The Application of Principles.
although some of our fathers saw a
| great end and straight path to that
| end, there were SO many who did not see
| the same vision. that it is now mat
| ter of wonder that the United States
| ever came into existence. The Union
lay for months at the point of death.
Each colony had so long been state
| quite perfect in itself that to form con-
federacy seemed little better than to
belong to king. The battles which
Washington fought were followed by
| battles in the field of debate; and the
| perilS of this second war were as great
| as those of gun and sword. The
contest with England had made
the colonies unite for a time,
! but after peace had been secured each
! colony lOnged for perfect indepen-
dence. The colonies could not look for
ward and see the value of union as we
can now see that value by looking
around and looking back. The most
poetic of those statesmen could not have
seen much more than few thriving