The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1895-06-12
THE UNI YERS Dali Y.
COLUMBIAN GRAFTON
The Mission of Our Nation.
! BY ~. 4. BAKER

the army OF generations IIley never
break ranks; they never ground arms;
they never pitch tents; they never
halt; and they never ask furlough.
They came out of the eternities OF the
past, and they move ON to the eterni-
ties of the future. Out Of the dark
ness of the past, ii the dim light Of
the present, into the deeper darkness
Of the future such has been their
march, and such will 1t ever be.
But amid all the mists and clouds
Of obscurity thatenvelop their course,
facts ofeternal moment may pc CLEAN
ed, and truths AS everlasting Is the
universe may be learned. Standing
out in bold relief among these Is the
fact Of theeyer-p ervading idea III man
that the source of the power by which
he is governed should lie only in him
self and that divine, Ruler isacommon
10 all his kind. And SO, ever and anon,
all along the great march Of hnmani-
ty, there have been the spasmodic out
{ bursts of this spiritlof independence,
urging the human family ever onward
towards that great camping ground OF
political equality. But SO firm, so
strong, SO unyieldlng have been the
shackles of custom, caste, and priyi-
lege that progress has ever been
tardy.
Gradually these outbursts took on
the features of a permanent and re-
lentless struggle for political rights
upon the part Of the masses, and for
political power and authority upon
the part Of the classes. Thus was
formed the political epoch in history
in which the question Of the proper
distribution Of authority and power be-
tween the people and their rulers was in
issue. Against that abominable, but
long cherished, doctrine of the divine
right Of kings this contest was waged.
Treasures Of gold were spent, seas Of
blood were shed, armies were amassed
and battles fought at the nod of kings
or the sanctioning smile of princes.
Tenaciously did the rulers adhere to
the doctrine that it was the right of
the king to command and the duty:of
I the people to obey. Long, bitter and
cruel was the struggle that ultimately
terminated in ayictory for, the people
as against the k1ng-in atriumph OF
right over might, Of liberty over OPP
preston, Of the peoples government
over q governments people, King
doins rose aid fell; empires fioutished
ANA vanished wars followed wars: yet5
the people would net give They
persisted in the struggle until finally.
atthe close of our own American Rev
olution, the Waterloo Of the world
was won, and the first government
with a written constitution, setting
forth the rights Of the people and the
duties Of the rulers was established.
This was the crowning triumph of
forty centuries of incessant toll, the
victory purchased by the political
martyrdo1n Of 200 generations. 1t
marked the close of the epoch in which
the people were considered the sery-
ants Of the kings, and the beginning
of the epoch in which the kings are
considered the servants of the people.
But away back at the beginning Of
the Dark Ages, began another strlg-
gle none the less violent or sanguin-
airy. 1T was the contest for suprema-
cy between church andstate, looking to
the operdistribution Of power and au-
thority between them For more than
ten centuries this contest ragged with
undated fury. Wars Of persecution,
I the most cruel, inhuman, and impla-
cable OF all contentious, were Waged
on every side. All Europe was satur-
ated with innocent blood. But vim
dictiye vengeance cannot always tri-
umph; tyranny and oppression cannot
always rule. God created men for a
nobler purpose than to be fuel for the