Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-06-21

ana was admirably delivered and was as
follows
Mr.. Chairman, Teachers, Comrades
with the muSket and the school book, Ladies
and Gentlemen believe that the nine
teenth century can boast of no greater
glory than the success of this republic.
Look back to the year eighteen hundred,
and what do we see? Less than six mil
lion people void of education, working
from twelve to sixteen hours day for
livelihood, dwelling in miserable houses,
miserably furnished and calling them
selves the people of the United States of
America. We close our eyes in sympa-
thetic pity for this great, but poor and
careworn people. AS we open them
again, there flashes before us the glori-
ous United States of to-day, exalted
among the nations of the earth. filled
with palaces and luxury, crowned with
knowledge and radiant with culture.
Indeed the same name, the same irrev-
ocable determination to succeed remain;
but all else has been improved beyond
recognition. The flame of the tallow
candle has gone out; the rattle of the
mail coach has died away; the spinning
wheel has long since ceased to hum; now
the river and mountain stream, harnessed
to the mill wheel do the saving and the
grinding, the spinning and the weaving.
The steam cooped up in the lungs of the
iron horse rushes along and carries the
mail and Cargoes from shore to shore
The lightning has been captured and
made to light the travellers pathway and
to carry messages to all the remote parts
of the globe. The farmer no longer sows
his grain, he no longer mOws and pitches;
but now the horses not only pillow and
harrow the ground, but they SOW the
grain, NOW the grass, spread it, rake it,
pitch it on to the wagon and pitch it off
again, and the farmer simply oversees
the job. By the use of modern machines
the farm, that fifty years ago was a slave
pen is now almost play ground. A few
men with locomotive can transport as
much grain from Troy to Boston in one
day, as team could in three years; the
mills of our town manufacture more
goods each day with their machines than
their operatives could make by hand in
months. We see the results of modern
machines; what conclusions do we draw?
The time for performing work on an av-
erage has diminished by more than one
half in the past century. Consequently
people have to work only half the hours
for living that they did then; the other
hours are used at their option, but being
Americans they are mostly used in the
pursuit of wealth, luxury and knowledge.
This, together with the physical features
of our territory and the ideal form of our
government, accounts for the wonderful
prosperity of this nation. With respect
toher success to what shall l compare
this American republic? l would COM
pare her to Greece in her golden age,
but the success of Greece as a whole com
pared with that of the United States as a
whole, is like drop of water compared
with the sea. | would compare her to
the Roman Empire, but hardly a great
Roman died natural death; the famous
deeds of that mighty nation were ever
stained with human blood, (while the
triumphs of our country are illustrious
with the sunshine of peace). l would
compare her to England, but the glory Of
England is the glory of the few while the
progress of America is the glory of its
every citizen; SO, since there is no oil
garchy large enough, no empire grand
enough, no kingdom free enough, let us
compare her to the mighty Amazon. Let
us compare her to that because the Anna
zon is among rivers what the United
States is among nations, and because
both are composed of many branches and
grow larger as they proceed onward.
The South American Amazon rises in
the Andes and is augmented by the Negro
and the Madir and empties into the At
lantic ocean. The AmizOnian republic of
the North rises in the hearts of her citi-
zens, is augmented by the flow of elo-
quent wisdom from the stateSmen's lips,
by the flow of mineral wealth from the
land of Pennsylvania, by the flow of ag-
ricultural wealth from the great central
plain and by the flow of the precious mil
lions from the golden gate and flows in
to the ocean of bliss, the millennium.
The Amazon of the southern cline is
sometimes affected by droughts; the
Amazon north of the isthmus also, has
an occasional drought The greatest
one she has had for many years we are
just passing through, the drought of
practical management and common sense
on the part of the late Democratic party.
AS we, the Glass of '95, look upon this
glorious nation, bought by the lives of
thousands of patriotic martyrs, purified
and cleansed by the blood of five hun
bred thousand federal soldiers, country
unrivaled in success, unparalleled in JUS
tice, proudly can we exclaim, the land of
our birth and the stage for our action is
the United States of america.
This was followed by the address to '06
by Mr., Carroll Partridge. 1t was in the