The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1895-07-04
By WILLIAM ROssER coBBE.

They were brave men who emitted
the Declaration of Independence, be-
cause every word in it constituted trea-
son against great and powerful mon
archy. Wise men, too, were they, in
that they might interpret the genius
of the age and the spirit of the coming
generations. They dared an ignomini-
GUS death, and in the act set the foun-
dations of the republic so firmly that
the gates of hell have not been able to
prevail against it.
There was nothing new in the as
sumption that men were created equal,
but there was something sublime in
the prophecy of equality before the
law and in the power of men to gov
ern themselves by statutes of their own
enactment. The ancient republics
made no such promises, and the doc
trine was Q new one to the world.
the forming Of caste or the recognition
OF privileged classes when tho time
came for adopting . constitution. Tho
declaration declares ~ plainly as words
may declare anything that the repub-
lie then announced should be . 'gov-
ernment Of the people, for the people,
by the people" :~s..
How much these fathers of the ma
ton foresaw might happen is not
known. They could not fail to know
that misdirected ambition and bound
ing passion are always sources Of
danger; yet their faith in the strong
common sense Of the people was SUI
preme. Provision may have revealed
to some Of them, at least, the dangers
that threatened from opposing views
and interests, yet calmly and confident
ly they gave nation to the world, CIV
ing no token of doubt or fear as to the
results.
The task of the critic is always an
easy one, because his determination
of the merits of things follows the act,
SO that he can Judge by results. Be-
sides, it is easy enough for anyone to
find fault. The trainers Of the declare
ton were originators, designers and
creators Had they blundered they
would but have evidenced their human.
ity. In that they made no mistake, as
time has shown, and have afforded
critics nothing about which to carp,
they demonstrated the greatness OF
their spirits and all the merit CRATE
full people has accorded to them.
Such document conveys the same
lesson to each succeeding generation
1t teaches the duty of sacredly guard.
ing the liberties of all the people, the
avoidance of all measures that may be
proposed for the elevation of one elias:
beyond another, the crushing of sec
tional differences, and the perpetuatio1
of the union as it was handed dow1
from the fathers. The glory of the re
public is, and should ever be, not onl,,
that it has survived dangers from with
out and greater dangers from within
but also that it has emerged from eacl
succeeding peril greater and NOR
glorious than before. The problem O
self-government becomes more Difficult
as the number Of people multiply, ant
safety lies in holding Loyalty to tn
teachings of the fathers, who learned
in most trying school of adversely
Experiments are by no means safe, es
pecially when time has demonstrate,
the wisdom of what already is. Crate
full to the founders of American liberty
each patriots heart, proud of tn
achievements of the nation and tn
right of citizenship, should seek to con
form itself to the spirit of the declare
ton and to the constitution of which
was the precursor.