Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-05-05
DEPEN ON GRANT.
Grafton Delivered by Hon. Chaun-
cey NJ. Depew
At the Laying of the Cornerstone of
the National Monument to Gen.
Ulysses =. Grant at Riverside
Park, New York.

NEW YORK. April 2s.-Yesterday. the
seventy-second anniversary of his birth.
was chosen as the occasion of laying
the corner stone of the beautiful monu-
ment to be erected to the memory of
Gen. L. 5. Grant, at Riverside park,
New York by his grateful and loving
countrymen. \ cloudless sky and a
moderate breeze made the weather all
that could be desired.
Many thousands of spectators. includ-
ing President Harrison. who placed
the stone in position and made a brief
address. and members of the ca binet
and other prominent men, were present.
Hon. Chauncey NJ. Depew delivered the
Grafton of the day. speaking as follows:
Mr. president AND FELLOW CITIZENS: The
predominant sentiment of Gen Grant was his
family and his home. As son. husband and IA
Their. his care AMI devotion were constant and
beautiful While visiting the capitals OF the
old world. he had seen the stately mausoleums
OF their great soldiers. or statesmen resting in
the gloom OF cathedra! crypts. or the solitude
of public places. far from the simpler graves of
their kindred. Under st. Pauls he saw thu
massive tomb which incloses the remains OF
the Iron Duke. He was impressed by the
grandeur of the Temple of the In
valides. the superb monument which France
erected with Inucl pride and tenderness over
the resting place Of -TapOaon- The perpetual
ceremonial the inhuman GOODNESS, of these
splendid tributes chilled and repelel shim. He
had shrunk all his life from display. and he d.
sired TO escape It alter death. To lie in the
churchyard where slept his father and mother
would have been more in accord with his mind.
But he appreciated that his cOuntTymen had
claim upon his memory and the lessons Of his
life and fame. He knew that where he was
buried there they would build a shrine for the
str dy and inspiration Of coming generations
He selected New York because it was the
metropolis of the continent and the capital OF
the country, but h. made condition No
spot must be chosen which did not permit his
wife to be by mis- side at the resurrection She
had been the love OF his youth. the companion
and COMPLIANT Of his maturer years. She had
made the humble cottage at Galena, the camp,
the White House. and the stately city residence,
all equally his home. He would have no monu-
1nent, however grand. which separated him
from her during the unaumbered years of the
hereafter. At Arlington. he would have lain
among the soldiers VINO had followed AMI
cred their great commander. bat at Riverside
he Will await the last trump with the partner
of his life and the mother of his children.
The memory of our heroes. our patriots. and
our men of genius is one of the strongest of
the bonds which hold together our Union. and
perpetuata our power. But the affairs. upon
which the fires of patriotism are ever burning.
are north. south. east and west Washington
is at Mount Vernon, Lincoln at Springfield.
Grant at New York Sherman at st. Louis. and
Jackson at Hermitage. jefferson is at 51onti-
cello. and Adams at Quincy. Irving rests
among the scenes immortalized by his pen at
Sleepy Hollow. and LongfellOw amidst the in
spirations of his muse at Cambridge. Every
state cherishes the remains of its citizens.
whose illustrious achievements are the giory of
the country and the pride of their common
wealth; whose works and lives living
lessons of love and devotion to the flag and
constitution of the United States.
y phenomenon Of our times. and one Of the
chief dangers to law and order, is the growth
of the school of despair. The concentrated con-
temptation Of accumulated wealth, and the
hopelessness of acquiring it. paralyzes indus
Jrial energies and true ambitions. and plants
the seeds of socialism ami anarchy. But Lin
com. from the poverty Of the Kentucky cabin.
and Grant from the narrow gifts of a log house
in the Ohio wilderness. became the central fig;
and the representative heroes Of our age
They types OF thu glory of American citi
zenship. The railsplitter of the backwoods,
the country lawyer, the president who
guided the ship of state with
equaled skill and courage through the
breakers which periled its life. was in
every position the same hopeful and dutiful
Abraham Lincoln. The young captain in the
Mexican war. the Missouri farmer, harvesting
and marketing himself the product Of his scant
acres the Gaena tanner, living happily on 500 a
year the victorious commander of million men.
the president of the United States. the hero &C
cepted the guest and peer of the kings and
emperors OF the world, was under conditions
humble as those of any OF the mass of his
fellow citizens who were striving for a living
and greater and grander than those which have
surrounded any of his countrymen, ever the
same simple and loyal Ulysses ;. Grant.
Only under free institutions are such exam
pies possible. The avenues of pref rment and
opportunity must be open alike Is all. These
great Americans illustrate the processes By
which mastarful men forge to the front. and
the less capable or Industrious fiud their places
in the ranks in every village and hamlet in the
land. They did their best wherever they were.
believing that their highest duty was to pre-
serve the liberty and the laws which barred
mans way and which protected and pun shed
alike the rich and the poor the strong and the
weak The secret of good citizenship and ear
nest effort is to be cOntented- but never salts
fed. All the presidents of the United States
since Gen. Washington have been poor men
This is singular i'll a nation 50 intent
upon the pursuit of wealth 1t demonstrates
that there other paths to power
distinction and happiness than the one upon
which pushing madly- 1t reduces /.
almost to axiom that the roads TO great
fortunes and to the presidency are not cDinci-
dent.
The schools cannot create heroes. They
train and discipline faculties which only oppor-
tunitv can reveal whether they ara the gifts OF
a great commander. We have learn d conf
IDENTIFY to rely upon the man appearing when
the emergency demands him But until then
he stands III the rear ranks.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The DARK unfathomed caves OF ocean bear:
Full Inary flower Is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
It Is the paradox of preparation for the mas
terry of great events, that those who have been
most conSpicuOusly in control of the govern
ment or the army. have rarely been equal TO
the demands OF revolution rebellion. Won
MoItke is almost alone among eminent soldiers
in having exhibited in you the promise
glOriously fulfilled in his prime Caesar was
dissipated dandy. Wellington was dull boy.
The only record OF Napoleon at st. Cyr beyond
the average was. that he was very healthy-
Grant preferred farming to the army and en-
tered West Point with reluctance. Standing
near the middle of his class, he neither secured
the attention of those above nor aroused the
envy OF the cadets below him in scholarship
Neither instructors nor fellow students saw IN
the sergeant. reduced to the ranks. the germs
of the first strategist of his time. As mighty
commissions of nature break channels and
bring sources of supply TO subterranean streams
converted by the earthquake into great rivers
80 the re serve powers and latent forces OF some
men are brought into action only by the s.rav-
est responsibilities, and granfieSt crises Sew
ard Chase and Sumner were the lead
ers Of the dominant opinion OF their
period They possessed lifelong expert
ence in public affairs, and had won and
deserved universal fame. Seward was great
senator and q greater foreign minister. lie has
had few equals adiploma. sincc Tall -yrand
Chase possessed rare Judgment, and a creative
intelligence OF the highest order. Sumner
added to unequaled learning and culture the
gifts Of superb oratory, fired by the profound
est convictions and emotions for human lib
erty. The calm retrospect OF the present