The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-07-15
FOURTH OF JULY GRAFTON.
DELIVERED AT SOMERSET, PA, BY a. J. col
BORN, JR., ESQ, OF SCRANTON.


worlds affairs. A wave Of history rolled
down the 18th century when the declara-
tion Of Independence was declared to
the world, and when that declaration
was established by force of arms freedom
winged itself for a new and lofty fight.
Here in my own-my native town, 1
fell proud to greet you, my fellow citi-
zens, on this day. Here see those who
gave me the patriotism of my early life,
and from the free winds of this noun
tain town it received its vigor and its
strength. This is a day for rejoicing.
The past of our country is secure with all
that glory can make it; the present is the
wonder of the whole world, and to-day
it behooves us to look forward to the
future.
That form ofgovernment is best which.
while it restrains all passions dangerous
TO a community, leaves the greatest
amount Of personal liberty to the indi-
vidual. A government which lifts the
weakest and the strongest to a common
plane Of right and privilege which
throws open TO all the avenues of
thought and avocation, and suffers even
worthy beggary to strive side by side
with the richest and proudest. A gov
ernment based and administered upon
such principles carries force and energy
into every quarter, solicits every i'm
provement, stimulates every industry
and lifts man up to the highest pinnacle
of civic virtue and developed manhood.
Such a government we have in our own
republic, whose birth We to-day cele-
brate; whose strength has been more
than yindicated by its triumphant strug-
gle with the most gigantic rebellion the
world has ever seen, and whose expand
ing greatness, swiftly advancing beyond
the confines of human achievement, in
yokes the pride Of every true American
heart and the admiration Of the whole
world.
Our Revolutionary fathers need no
magnificent arch of victory, no monu-
mental pile pointing heavenward and
covered all over with the story of their
deeds, to preserve their memory. For
they are enshrined in the hearts Of a
grateful posterity-there to live as long
as sentiment ofjustice is felt or a chord
of patriotism viDrates in the human
heart.
From the earliest ages patriotism and
heroism have ever been considered
among the noblest attributes of man, and
under all forms of government history
and oratory have given them such re-
and recognition as to endear
private virtue and quicken love Of ones
The pyramids of Egypt, crown
ed with ten Thousand years, still stand
to tell the story of her warriors; the ora
tory Of Greece has embaimed in never
dying eloquence the glory of her defend
ers; the minstrels Of the middle ages
sang to admiring audiences the ehival-
rous deeds of knights of the olden time;
while the achievements of Tell, of Wal
lace, of Bruce and of Washington,
whether told in legend or in song, still
stir the hearts and thrill the souls Of
their descendants and towering shafts
mark the resting place of the great
soldiers of the world who fought the bat
ties of their countries; and here in our
own America monuments to heroism and
patriotism overshadow every hillock, on
whose graves tears fall and over whose
dust blossoms cluster ever bright and
fair.
In this land of freedom, consecrated to
the maintenance of the equal rights of
all men before the law, We have sought
to do more than simply perpetuate the
fame Of those who were the leaders in
our battles. True, We give TO them all
need of praise, and as their merit de-
serves we perpetuate their name and
fame in marble, in oratory and in song.
But recognizing no distinction of caste,
no privilege of birth or position, we thank
God that our soldiers fought on patriotic
fields, where all, both officers and pri-
Yates, caught some gleam of glory; and
we desire to do more than all other ma
tions to perpetuate the memory of every
one who, rising above the fog of human
selfishness and party environments, gave
up his life that this Union might live.
Time will never efface the record Of
that valor which our citizen soldier gave
to the world and which upheld our Con-
stitution and preserved Us as a Nation.
Grander than the stateliest silver-voiced
epic, nobler than the fairest dream of
is the sacrifice of the humblest
soldier for the preservation Of his coun-
try. Honor shall the statesman have
glory for the military chieftains; but the
grandest and truest gin from hearts both
loyal and true, the nation grants the
private soldier-loye.
And thus il is on such occasions as this
we love to assemble and speak Of the
past no present destroys, and call over
the deeds of the brave army boys" A
history of the world is the history Of its
heroes. They have been the hinges on
which have turned the fates of empires
and kingdoms and the destinies Of ma
tons. In quiet majesty and silent mag
nifcence they stand as monuments for
US to gaze upon with feelings of admira-
ton and exultation. The helmet, the
spear, the plume, the sword, the onset
these have been the themes Of classic
funeral eloquence.
Men have been prone to forget what
has been done by the gifted and great in
literature, science and at. The world
hss seldom remembered long those whose
lives we're rounded with the humility of
good deeds and gentle affections. Nations
have reared monuments and arches to
the captains of armies, rarely to the lead
ers Of opinion. But We can feel thankful
for better civilization. Even the success
full general of to-day must have more
than the brute instinct which led thou
sands of heroes of old to fame and inn
mortality. He must have the knowledge
of human nature by which to rule men,
not merely in the ranks. but in the SEN
ate, the Forum and among the masses.
He must ever be ready to strike for tran