Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-07-27
Ex-senator Edmunds on the Need OF
the Time.

Ex-senator Edmunds ON the Need of
the Time.
The most notable of recent public
speeches was that made by ex-senator Geo.
F. Edmunds of Vermont at the banquet
given last Friday by the Squantum club of
Providence, r. l. The audience could not
restrain itself and again and again arose
and cheered. Mr. Edmunds said
~ have Just told your governor when he
asked me for a few remarks, that / would
respond to this call. | should have pre-
ferred to speak for a small portion of the
country-not a section. for hope that sec
tions in this country have disappeared.
Applause. ! should rather touch upon
the early memories of New England, of
Vermont, the child of Rhode Island and
Connecticut and partly of Massachusetts,
of its first settlers, who maintained its in
dependence in the face of the British on
the north, of the inSolent province of New
\ Ork on the west and reluctant Congress
in Philadelphia for IA long years. But.
since the governor has asked me to speak
on the country, and as the country is in a
condition that can speak of ii in five min
utes laughter and applause without
touching on the forbidden topics of the rea-
sons for this. | shall first ask everyone of
you, everyone of every variety OF character.
pursuit and political belief, not to despair
The movement of this country is like the
flow of a great river. ever onward as with
the stream; it has its eddles, floods and
drops, but it marches majestically to the
sea of the universal brotherhood of man.
Much applause. There is no need of de-
T Suqir This i only ona pf tho a1Jias
through which we are passing. and the
causes are only temporary and the march
of progress will 90 on.
What the country needs is not tariffs.
nor free trade nor currency law, but a larger
respect for the law, such as we New Eng
landers have been brought up to hold
| Great applause. have read within the
| past few weeks in the foreign papers much
/ somewhat pitiful, quasi. sorrowful comment
| on the recent disturbances in the West, as
/ merely what might be expected of a repub-
/ lie, | wish to say to all here today. to all
/ in New England. to all who may in any
/ way hear of this. and to Europeans espec-
] tally, that the trouble so much discussed is
an overdose of Europe. Enthusiastic APP
| plause which the speaker quelled with diff
/ ticulty, 1t is perfectly true and safe to
/ say of all mobs, which here and there
| through the West have been violating the
| right OF workingmen to labor as they will,
and destroying property and endangering
! life, fully % per cent of their lawless MEM
| bers are foreigners.
What we Democrats and Republicans
need and what is necessary if we care for
| the welfare OF our children, is that all par
ties should unite to preserve America for
! Americans. Another burst of enthu-
| sasm.
| $50 long as in our own six New England
! states our churches, schools, artisans, work
| shops and farms are perpetual fountains of
/ everything pertaining to patriotism do not
/ despair
| Mr.. Edmunds closed with an eloquent
! eulogy of our country and its institutions,
| predicting that five or ten years from the
| present time we shall wonder at what we
| daspaired of at this time, for he was conf
! dent that the future of the country was To
be as great as its noble past.
On behalf of the guests GOV. L. X. Full
Ter then warmly thanked the members of
the club for their splendid hospitality. He
spoke with all the pride of a Green Noun
tainer of Edmunds as the 'uncrowned
king of the United States Senate" and
voiced the regret of his people that the
great statesman had withdrawn from the
public arena.