Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1892-11-05
30 HERE, under what gov
@ eminent, in what land, can
IN this scene be duplicated !?


Coming, as do from heated politi-
cal contest, in which passion some
times plays an active part, and where
at times, one is made to blush at the
degradation of political manhood, it
is refreshing to look into the faces
of these innocent children and per-
ceive the future bulwark of our free
government and Republican institu-
tions. God bless their bright faces,
their sparkling eyes and innocent
mirth! AS the streets of the city
were resounding to their tread, the
thought suggested itself that the
old "boys in blue" and the old
"boys in gray" who headed the pro-
cession, and who exhibited on many
holly contested battlefield the va
lor of our manhood, will soon have
passed to the silent camps of the
dead, but their bright-faced boys
and girls, will step forward to catch
their eountry's flag from their hands
and carry its colors amidst the blue
of the heavens.
The American people are patriotic.
This celebration of the discovery of
our continent is eminently proper.
1t awakens thoughts of the past it
waits us back to the courts of the
Old World, where Columbus YEARLY
plead for recognition, and where he
was loaded with chains in renumera
ton for the wonderful discoveries he
had made. Not mine to enter into
the realms of controversy and argue
the old question of original discov-
cry. Columbus has the glory of
that discovery, if our fair land does
bear the name of another. His mo-
tives are known to US all. 1t was
not SO much voyage Of discovery
that he undertook as it was search
for wealth. The delusion which led
the early mariners to our shores was
the hope of finding land where the
| ruby and the diamond sparkled from
the heather temples and the streets
were lined with gold. Such were
the ideas that dazzled the visions
of Cortex and Pizarro and induced
| them to undertake the conquest OF
the empires of the Incas and the
Mentezumas. Such were the hopes
that fascinated Isabella and caused
her to sell her jewels to fit out the
feet of Columbus; and such were
| the inducements that prompted De
Leon to lead his romantic expedition
through Florida in search of the
fabulous fountain Of perpetual youth
But from these voyages the civilized
world has gained much, and as we
contemplate our marvellous growth
and history, we should ever revere
the name of Columbus.
I sometimes think we do not re.
slize the grandeur of our institutions;
the extent of our influence and pow
er. We fail to contemplate the di-
vine purpose SO plainly manifested
in the discovery of America, and her
growth in wealth, in christian civil
cation, in Republican principles,
Our father builded wiser than they
dreamed. Profiting BY the ruins on
the banks of the Euphrates, the Nile
and the Tigris, they laid the founds
ton of Government, which has
revolutionized the world. The fame
OF American independence, the purl.
| ty Of our patriotism and the threft
| of our citizens are known through
out the civilized world, and when we
think OF our marvellous grogth and
the changes wrought within the past
century,it seems but natural for the
mind to divertsitsel from the real
and to wander amid the realms Of
nction. And the influences for good
we have exerted are not limited to
America, but every observant nation
Of the world has profted by our his
tory.
! It would be a delightful opportu-
nifty to trace the rise of this nation,
to show the wisdom of our institu-
tions, to point out the few dangers
that confront Us, and direct these
young minds to the consideration Of