Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-19
HE TOUCHED THE BUTTON
Continued From First Page.)

ontories which project into the Caspian Wharves. harbors, streets, palaces and fortresses were created at the will Of the despot, as if he npssessed the neeroman-
 tic lamp of the sAarabian story. Sald Noltaire: The whole was force upon
 nature@ Neither the inundation which razed his works, nor the sterility of the soil nor the ignorance sof the workmen
 nor even-t he mortality which carried orr about POO, n90 men in the beginning or the undertaking, could divert him from his firm resolution Thus the material vic tories of autoeracy have been won, with out regard to the agony inflicted upon its subjects. Thus St Petersburg was com pleted. But that stately abode of bureau cracy and despotism Is not more benefi- cent to the people whose simple ances-
 tors died under the knout for it's con
 struction than one of those fantastical palaces of ice which annually glitter on the wintry banks of the Neva.
 Not so with creations such as this of a free people. They are enlivened by the benevolence of great and generous men.
 They are encouraged by the fostering
 hand of sympathetic popular govern
 ment They are symptoms of vigorous
 national life They are attended with
 warm demonstrations of concern by people unpracticed in. the arts or dissin-
 ulation. Whether the sagaclous people of the British isles provide and perpet-
 nate the lucent glorles of the crystal palaes.z or. the brilliant Frenchmen, while the sofleof the republic is yet scared with hoof marks of the Prussian uhlans.
 by gigantic expositions demonstrate
 their unimpaired power, or sfatelui
 America laVishes her own bounty, ana
 becomes trustee for a willing tribute from mankind in reverence for that sail or philosopher, whose genius and con stancy discovered half the habitable globe, or these typical Georgians cohse- crate their disinterested lives to demon strate to all men the strength or south ern character, and the plentitude or southern resources and the adaptaplllty of our country as a home for unlmaglneu millions of prosperous and happy people, in any event, it is creation or the peo- ple's prophetic intelligence, or thelr re- eplendent public virtue nourished into generous activity by the kindly hand of popular constitutional government.
 Here the liberal and inspiring purpose is the advancement of our country. IL kindles the imagination of the protector when the bright conception daWns upon his teeming fancy. It reminds the capl- talist that economy in it's broadest sense is a distrbutiVe virtue. With free hand then he makes his wealth willing ser want of public honor. It animates the ge- nius of the architect and his airy fancies become a thing of beauty and joy for ever. It gives precision to the trained eye, and power to the nervous arms of the artificers. It unsteady rings in the trowels of the masons. It crackles like rifle fire in the hammers of the carpen- ters. Every detonation of the blast which swiftly sinks the foundations of
 the great buildings to the bed rock
 sweeping down from the mountains is salvo of triumph to the civilization of great people. Over the fair and mighty structures streams the ensign of a na- tions honor. Beautiful flag of the repub- lie. All the farest conceptions of gov
 ernment of social order, of human ac- complishment-all that promotes the per fectibility of man are typified by thee.
 Law and progress are thy color guard. Their reviving and assuring presence is
 borne on every zephyr that wops the
 mountain and tempers the vale. and
 brings life and strength to the increasing millions to whom thou art an inspiration and joy But not to them alone.
 Humanity with all it's fears
 With it's hopes for future years,
 Are all with thee are all with thee.'
 Here OCT the mountain waves of the ocean have been brought the treasures of other lands. From the Gulf of MeXi- co to the Straits of Magellan our sister republics proudly come bringing with
 willing hands of the bounty the God of nature has bestowed upon them. Comes the Argentine Republic, her territory greater than all central and western Eu- rope stretching from the Atlantic to the summits of the Andes. which guide the mariner who sails the distant Pacific, in latitude exceeding our own. whose beau tiful city is the Paris of South America, and whose gallant people have twice cap tured invading British armies larger than those surrendered by Burgoyne at Saratoga and Cornwallis at Yorktown.
 Venezuela comes. If she has not cap tured armies, has she not captured one more terrible than 'an army with ban
 ners?' From the Ilanos of the Orinoco,
 where the coffee and the cocoa are shad- ed by the scarlet erythrlnas, making a scene of brilliant beauty as entrancing
 as the garden Hesperides, she brings her rich and varied products. The average yield of her gold mines, &, 700 GOO per an-
 mum, has excited cupidity, but the integ- rity of her soil is the anxious concern of every American patriot.
 And Costa Rica, extending from Mic aragua, which holds the keys of the com merce of the world, to the undula ting savannas of Panama, from her gigantic forests may bring brazil wood, india rub Der, mahogany and ebony There may be found all the fruits of the tropical and temperate climes growing in luxu- l riant profusion. There the snowclad peaks of IraZa, Turrialva and Pico Blan- | co may reflect the tropical sun upon a | flora comprehending every growth from | the shrinking Alpine violet to the gor- | geous splendor of mighty forests, gay
 with birds of brilliant plumage, rich
 with priceless products and gently | stirred by the odor-laden breezes of the l Pacific ocean and the Caribbean sea. Salvador. the smallest but most | densely peopled of the republics of Cen | tral America, contributes her interesting 1 quota.
 And what shall we say of our gallant
 neighbor, the republic of Mexico. who in the same century overwhelmed the arm | ies of Spain and the imperial forces of | Napolean III. Indeed hers was a mar | velious civilization when Cortez landed | on her shores, and today thousands of l the original Aztec type may be seen | among her people. Her administration is | conducted in her beautiful capital, 75DQ l feer above the level of the sea- hard by l where the storied lakes, Tezcuco and | Chalco, mirror on their sparkling water | the surrounding mountains. Rich in all | the precious metals, and richest of any | in argentiferous products, in recent times | oyer half the silver of the world has been l supplied by Mexico. Up to 1880 she had l afforded to the world S2990 cod, ,000 of si-
 yer and S120,000, 900 of gold Her supply of conner md iron is Simplv inexhauSii- i-