The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-06-01
PR1NcEToN THURSDAY

the demand for relaxation, which we
find as q whole in the pleasant and
profitable observance Of our national |
holidays and social festivities, the.
Fourth Of July, Washing tons and
Lincoln's birth days, Thanksgiving
and Memorial days. For over a CEN
fury we have observed the Fourth Of /
July, in various manners, without
many Of us realizing the full import Of
its meaning. The event that trans
pired in old independence Hall, Phila
delphia, on July 18th, 1875, and was
proclaimed not only to that city, and
this nation, but to humanity around
the globe by the old liberty bell, --
which hung in the State House and on
which there was this portentious verse
OF scripture, Proclaim liberty
throughout all the land and to all the
inhabitants thereof That s'all men
are created free and equal should be
taught to every child in America with
the same studious care it is taught to ]
lisp its morning and evening prayer.
The sound of that old bell has been
heard in every city, along every valley,
across '' every mountain and over every
prairie in this land. Il has reverber-
ated around the world, has made many
throne totter and tyrant tremble.
It's echoes have penetrated into the
deepest recesses of the darkest lands,
and have caused the heart of humanity
to throb with hope and expectation
everywhere. It has broken the
shackles of .serf and slaves it has
emptied dungeons and opened prison
doors; it has reunited sundered families
and broken up the iniquitous traffic in
human beings; given suffrage to. mil
lions of men-only last month in Bel
GUM the demands Of labor compelled
the chamber Of deputies to reverse
their vote of a week previous to give
the ballot to the people, and mankind
everywhere is freer and better because
our fathers were imbued with the wis
dom and courage to proclaim that
doctrine of equality before the law.
That freedom which you and [ en-
joy was purchased at cost fearful to
contemplate, a seven years war of suf-
fering, privation, hardship and i'm
poverishment of which modern ex-
perience has no parallel, and of which
we can have but a faint conception.
The struggle was.worth all it. cost, for
it gave to the world the gsh test.sdia
dem in the constellation Of nations. and
produced the most aggressive, inven-
tive, intelligent and enterprising peo-
pie of which history has any record,
and established the right Of a people to
govern themselves The fact that they
were capable to do so was yet to be
proven. Many diverse interests of the
colonies were to be harmonized; many
compromises, all based on expediency,
were tried; but like every compromise
with wrong or evil they were only
temporary and futile. Underneath our
rapid advancement in population and
wealth, in commerce and manufacture
ing, in literature and art, remained the
fact OF conflicting sectional interests.
In one word slavery existed in a large
portion OF our country, and was con
/! tinually the disturbing element, which
eventually brought on the war in
which some Of us here assembled were
humble but earnest participants. It is
not my purpose to discuss the right or
wrong Of that great question which
occupied the minds Of the ablest states
men north and south from the birth OF
our republic without finding a peace
1 able solution. We of the north were
taught to believe slavery an evil. Our
4 brethren of the south were taught tc
1 consider it right. Each was as honest
and sincere in their belief as the other,
j and have no word of reflection or
4 epithet of offense to hurl at those who
were our enemies, but are now as truly
q loyal as we. They are Americans as
we are, and as such in point Of courage
3 and heroism are our equals. The four
3 years of bloody contest ablished that
I fact. To deny this is to detract from
s the glory of our victory. While ad-
I miring their courage and honoring
3 their willingness to endure and suffer
and die for what they believed to be
/ the right, we maintain with General
Sherman, They were eternally wrong
and we were eternally right & For q
8 century we had received the sturdy
q German with his persistent determine;
j, tion, the volatile Frenchman with his
Il light hearted gaiety;; the Scandinavian
. quiet, peaceable, honest and thorough
} going; the Irish, quick, witty, impetu
. Gus, never 50 happy as at wake or :
!, Denny brook fair. These, and those o
q other countries had come here, mar
j ried and intermarried with our ow1
8 people until they had become 50 in