Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-07-05

Marching Through Georgia" by a
little girls chorus, the invocation by
Rev. Waerman, the song America"
and the reading of the Declaration of
Independence by b. F. Ballard.
and music, the whole affair being in
charge of Messrs. j. G. Britton and
Alex Hayes.
The Grafton.
The Grafton was delivered by B. ID.
Connolly, of Rock Island, and it
proved magnificent patriotic effort.
In setting out, Mr. Connolly said:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:-A ming
led feeling of pleasure and patriotic
pride comes DER me at being allowed
to address you on this, our nations
birthday.
just one hundred and eighteen
wears ago to-day was Matched the
greatest bird that ever spread its
pinions to the light of day. the Amer
lean eagle, in the form of an infant
republic. That bird was Matched
from thirteen eggs; its ezra was dis
covered one beautiful October morn
tu0u lOul SluCc
by that bold and fearless navigator,
to whose memory in the past few
months the nations of the world,
civilized and uncivilized, have been
paving homage, through that mag
nificent triumph of human intellect.
skill and genius, the Magic city,
even now disappearing from view.
In the early part OF the seventeenth
century there was laid in that ezra
an egg in the shape of band of
pioneers from beyond the trackless
ocean seeking liberty at all hazards;
Soon another, and another. and an
other, until the number reached
thirteen. Yet they all combined
produced but one offspring. The
vital warmth nourishing this embryo
republic was produced by a friction
of tyrrany, oppression and injustice
engendered on the part of the mother
country, England. Truly ID was an
unlucky number for proud old Eng
land when on the 4th day of July,
1875, this same young eagle stepping
forth tledgling, inhaled the air of
freedom, expanded its lungs. gave
utterance to mighty scream, the
voice of 100000 people, and tri-
umphantly sailed into the upper
ether. breaking for once and for all
the restraining bonds of England.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, that
eagle screams with the voice of Co.,
900, 600 people in the proudest, the
greatest and the grandest common
wealth of time-our country. Our
country is theme that awakens in
the heart of every true American
feelings that must find utterance. In
that elder day, to be a Roman was
greater than to be king. In this
latter day, the Roman of old would
fade into insignificance beside the
American citizen.
Search the world over, from the
time of Adam to the present; search
history through, from her earliesr
page to her last, and you will not find
a nation but that would be to the
United States even as the river to the
sea.
l believe the young Englishmar
was about right when he wrote back
home that this is wonderful coun-
try; the United States is bounded or
the north by the Aurora borealis. or
the south by the equator, on the east
by the rising sun, and on the west by
the day of judgment"
Ladies and gentlemen we know We
are a great nation and we have :
right to feel proud of it. We would
| ta Mt 70 ho IF fnr
fathers did we not appreciate theil
efforts in our behalf-..to secure tn,
blessings of liberty to ourselves anC
our posterity." What a noble senti
ment breathes in those words. They
secured the blessings of liberty fol
themselves and their posterity. i
remains for us to see that those bles
sings are held inviolate for our pos
terity. Our forefathers secured
those blessings at terrible price
Sacrifices, hardships. burdens almos
uncomfortable were thrown into thu
scale with liberty against oppres
sion, and expressions scale went up
and up, and up. and liberty's scal'
went down, and down, and down
and to this day the balance remain
in liberty's favor. May it be eve
thus.
Having secured our independence
we were just embarking on tina
stormy sea of national existence
Many and many time have we beef
beset by dangers that threatened t.
swamp our staunch old vessel, bu
she rides the wave in safety, needles
of the storms that gather around her
The breath of liberty fills her sails
and with liberty as an impellins
force. woe bctide the hapless Graf
that dares to cross her bow.
There is magic in that word, lib
: erty. 1t has no synonym. yet it ha
f hundred meanings. Time an,
again have those memorable word
of Patrick Henry REQUIRED to me: &"
care not what course others ma,
take, but as for me, give me liberty
: or give me death" That is the sen
timent that gave us freedom; that i
the sentiment that will preserve it