The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-06
cAdoo on National PeriIs.


Assistant Secretary McAdoo of the
Navy Department delivered an abb e
and eloquent address at Newark on
Tuesday. 1t differed from the ordi-
nary Fourth of July grafton in that
it dealt rather in the dangers and
weakness of the Republic than with
its glories and triumphs. This was
perhaps a more patriotic way OF talk
ing to his fellow citizens than that of
merely putting up their national
vanity; it was certainly a more inter
esting way. We are all sufficiently
well acquainted with the wealth,
strength, progressiveness and indie
pendence Of our country, and it is
more braeing to have shown US with
the clear vision of craftsmanship the
microscopic germinal points from
which decay may spread through
civilization, honeycombing and de-
stroyins our institutions.
Mr.. McAdoo Gems to see our great
est National peril in the complete ex-
tinction of the military spirit of our
people by the growth of commercial
greed. More than any war, lie seemed
TO think, we ought to fear the ''baser
products OF peace" He went on
thus:
The soldier has always been to the fore from t
of ctylIlzatiou and freedom. aud the worst
vissa o. 4 natlon nave not sprung up under tie
hard rip{lr1 nf GA III fy4tDftS hIfr N m lP1Af RnSa
anc rich ccntentmeut. Ii our PATRIOTISM mas
dege:.erated INTO q mere mercaatLs commodity,
made sEery where suosersloI6 - tile fu;s of
three. TO carter. to tra'ie. to gain. and 70 riches;
if he who lights for tbs Isepubtic does not do 50
for the love of what the nag represents, but
because he carries IN his pocket u SnylocK oond
made with the patton itself, then it Is time TO
question The gefiuiaeaess OF our patriotism, OF
love Of country. Ii sordid gain Is the sole OBJ
ject OF our existence we cannot claim the spirit
u The ancient anu coDqaeriug natIols.
Ii Mr.. McAdoo We're right, we
would entirely agree with him. Free
peoples can sustain no worse disaster
than the loss of the military impulse
and the military habit. The spirit of
the soldier is not important for the
guardianship of the frontier against
foreign invaders one half SO much as
for the preservation OF the native,
domestic liberties Of the people
against internal aggression. But, in
truth, we see in this country no de-
cline of the martial tradition or the
love of arms. 1t is true that in this
generation it has not been tested in
actual war; but the evidences OF its
life and ardor are perceptible, we be-
lieve, ven in the peaceful sports of
the rising youth. Our army and our
navy are more than eyer. today, a
national pride; III National Guard
keeps the manhood of the people
active in the art of bearing arms, and
in a hundred minor ways we see the
soldierly instinct, which animates
every people deserving of freedom,
assert and develop itself in all classes
of the community.
The dangers which We see hanging
over the country are of a much more
occult and insidious character. We
see q certain drift away from old
theories of law and government, the
Importance OF which a majority of the
people do not appear to grasp. Some
OF these are the produces of mistaken
zeal; some, we fear, are the deliberate
product OF selfishness taking advan-
a q Of the confidence produced by
peace and prosperity. Some of the
things are triiing in themselves, but
are dangerous as tending to build up
q mass of precedents and traditions
unfavorable to political liberty and
restrictive of personal rights. There
is, in our judgment, a tendency IN h
people to pass with far too little
scrutiny the acts Of our civil officers,
both administrative aud judicial, to
condone Them on the ground OF
MIRA error. OF good intentions,