The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-07-19
Eternal Vigilance Is the Price
of Liberty"
A FOURTH OF JULY GRAFTON
Captain LOmia, of the Fifth Ar
tillery at Fort Candy, Makes
q Decided Hit.

CAT THE request of number who were
e fortunate enough to hear the mastery
address delivered on the Fourth at For
Candy by Captain l.. Lom-a, of the 6tf
United States ARTILLERY, the Astor1aI
publishes a full report Of his orltion.-
Editor.)
Fellow Citizens: No regular or sci
, speech is necessary to commemorate the
: grandest event in modern history, the
Declaration of Independence by the
American colonies on the Fourth OF July
/ 1776.
What can we say with our feeble voice
of that declaration, which made IL pos
sfble-as by single stroke OF uhe ma
gician's wand-for the world to be ad-
Vanced one Thousand years in Its onward
progress of moral, physical and INTEL
lectuaa development; OF THAT declaration
which. shaking every despot on his
throne. proclaimed, as from the throat
of "a cannon, THAT a new era was already
born and dawned upon the globe; that
tyranny and rigid laws, injustice and
oppression, were no longer the bulwarks
of nations; that the teachings OF Hobbs,
Macciavelli, M.rabeau, Rousseau or VOL
taire, were to be forever buried in the
| -BnOInlulOuS LOlIlD vi ODANlOh
No American citizen, indeed, is worthy
of THE name, whose bosom is not fired at
the perusal of the brilliant exploits of
that memorable struggle, which made 1t
possible for the grand Old heroes OF '76
to affix their names to that document
which was forever Ito break and annih-l-
| ate the chains Of the slave and down.
| trodden, and make of every man power
| unto himself, "a potentate and king.
But surprisingly glorious as were the
achievements of the immortal Washing
| ton and of the revolutionary fathers:
extremely grand though be our heritage,
we can never hope Ito keep this splendid
edifce of independence, thus constructed,
intact, unless we constantly bear in mind
| the wise and time-honored maxim:
"Dternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
Especially so, as with increasing pros
| perity, nations, all history teaches, be-
come more and more an easy prey to the
| softening, enervatlng influences OF lux"
| ury and of great wealth.
Thus, is it not with feelings of sorrow
and repugnanec that we follow the career
of nations, which, once powerful and
resplendant, have fallen from their
thrones ITO grovel in misery and degra-
dation? The written story of the world
Is fun of such examples. In melancholy
array and bold relief thus stand forth
Ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Garth
age and Rome. Why did these nations
fall? Let us mot be deluded Let us not
be too full of the present, nor too eager
of what the morrow may bring forth!
Let us profit, rather, by the teachings of
the past. While countries are yet fresh
in their vigor and youth, rugged and
simple justice and THE manly virtues
seem naturally Ito take root and flour
ish; there is nothing now which they may
dread; there wiz be found generosity,
magnanmity, heroism, dn plenty; no
danger, no dire distress, nor calamity VII
threaten
Now They may accomplish the work of
giants; no herculean task but what may
be successfully undertaken. XerXes
can make no impression on Grec.an free
dom; Hannibal cannot annBhilajte Rome
in spite Of his terrible oath before the
altar. These are times when the latent
valor of the citizens is fused, as 1t were
into the efficiency and patriotism of the
soldier. Under conditions such as these
have sprung into life, as by a miracle,
the efficient cohor, the legion and the
army, which have so often rendered
frutless and baffled every effort of the
oppressor.
Do we look for examples? The victor
ious forces of an English Edward, with
their laurels still fresh upon their brow
from the burning sands of Palestine, are |
swept off the face of THE earth by the |
powerful blows of a Wallace and Bruce. |
A handful of determined mownta,neers, |
fired by the magic breath OF Tell, suffices |
to prostralte the might and insolence of |
the domineering Hapsburgh.
YeGs q 1naltiOn Oam G II ha tT11Stad 90 |
long as Cher sons are still the shepherds, !
the fishermen, the hunters; so long us |
they are only the tillers of the SOL, or
but follow the path of needed industries, |
so long as their homely recreatons are |
at their firesides, from their brides lips |
or from the songs of their bards and MN
strels.
The jungle, the tangled forest and the
ferocious beast will disappear; single
handed NOW can they make successful |
war on the elements, even, and conquer
them.
A body of heroes, tns gnlfcent in num-
bers, scattered far and wide upon a
narrow strip of land, washed by a stormy
sea, is more than enough to paralyze
the vltals of that great ''northern Aus
trla," caMed England, and the oppressed
of an nations rejoice, aye, and their en-
bhuShSm for the love of liberty is en-
kindled anew, as waGted to their ears in
melodLous cadence, come the welcome
sounds of Lexington, Saratoga and Bum
ker Hin.
Dt has not been thus, however when by
conquest, aggrandizement, or the inor-
dinate accumulation OF riches, vice has
glided in, IN all its meretr.cious tinsel
and dazzling spleudors, Not so, however,
when the rude hut and the rustic home,
which once enriched within their walls,
alR was known of virtue, honor and p.ety,
have gwen way to the palace and marble
hall. with their intrlgues, their lies and
hypocrlsies, and men have drunk their
fin f-'Dm the enchanted cup OF prosperity,
offered them by the destroying angel on
the highway Ito exterminat.on and death.
The past teaches that 1T is only too
true, that without some restraining in
fluences, wlthout wholesome checks, this
very prosperity will surely lead to ruin,
and tlalt, as already stated, we cannot
put away from us, even for a moment
the maxim: Eternal vigilance Is the
price of Eberty." While the virtues of
a AIiltiades, a Marius, a Cincinnatus,
permeate the countries honored by them;
whise a king of Bpirus is compelled to
eNclaim Of a typscal Roman general, that
1t is easier to turn the sun from its
Course tIlsln pilat general from the path
Of honor-such nations are safe. There
can be no grave apprehension as long
as the sublime purity of Washington,
an Adams and a Patrick Henry, is st.l
reverred and emulated. 1t is only when
sord.d passions have seized the souls of
men, when ARMIES can be overawed and
bought, when the sceptre of Roman en-
pire, itself, can be knocked down to the
highest bh1ier, that we begin to inquire
for the causss OF these Disasters. Greece
and Rome, in the midst OF a wonderful
civilization, radiant among the vineyards
and flower beds of the rosy south. almost
vanish from view, as, falling under the
baneful sway OF Mammon. they rapidly
tegenerpke into the very bowling wilder
nessl The adder here hsses where the
swees birds once sang their songs of
JOY and freedom; the muttering monk
and his monotonous chant have sup
pfnIted the thundering eiOquence OF a
Doufossaones and \ Cicero; devastation