The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-24
DEpEw TO THE PATRIOTS.
He Addresses the Sons of the American
Revolutions

Montpelier, VT, Nov. 23.-The Yer
mont society of the Sons of the American
Revolution asscn bled at the State house
this afternoon and escorted Chaunccy NJ
Depcw, of New York, to Armory Hall,
where he delivered u lengthy address a
military band headed the line, which con
tanned about 900 members and guests
of the society including many ladies and
members of the legislature.
In the course of his remarks Mr. Depew
said that now, more than ut any other
time during the present generation, it is
important to teach the principles upon
which our government is founded. Pa
triOtic societies have before them Il most
important work. Their first duty is to
educate the people. Both those who have
landed Oh our shores from foreign coun-
tries and those of later generations which
have forgotten the revolution must be
taught the dangers of moving the repub-
lie from the safe moorngs of the past.
The hundred and seven years since
Wushington's Inauguration may be- the
speaker continued, divided into three
periods. We are now entering upon the
fourth. 1t is remarkable that each of
these began with Il threat against the re-
public rs created by the fathers The
nation has come safely out OF each trial
The first period was one of construction
and hero worship. In his review of this
period Mr.. Depew said our forfathers be-
licvcd that they should avoid European
entarglements. At the same time, in
the Jay treaty with Great Britain it laid
down the principles upon which, with
''skill, dignity and patriotism, ssSecrctary
Olney has ended the Venezuelan dispute =
The second period began with the null
LITIGATION of the federal revenue laws by
South Carolina. The hero worship of
the time gave tremendous authority to
living leaders, who possessed the peoples
love, and no men more conSpicuously
met this request than Andrew Jackson.
The generation which came upon the
stage between 1850 and 1860 knew little
or nothing of the revolutionary war.
Slavery, more rs an Investment and II
business than rs sentiment, had the re-
public by the throat and constantly
threatened its dissolution. Thus this
period, which had.forgotten the revolu
ton, which had become sordid and sur
rendered everything TO profit in its rude
awakening, sacrificed millions of lives
and billions of treasures to maintain the
Union upon the foundations where the
revolutionary fathers had placed it.
I'VE then entered upon II third
period, the speaker said. 1T was that
OF reconstruction. OF invention ana OF eN-
traorIlinary accumulation of national and
industrial wealth. But without our
scarcely knowing, and certainly not
recognizing, its extent and the possibility
of concentrating as IL political force, dis
content had seized upon the people as
never before. 1T assumed again the form
ofan assault upon the time-honorcd and
revolutionary principles of American
liberty"
In this connection Mr.. Depew declared
that the shifting standard of value is not
American, and every eiicrt to array the
people into classes, when employees and
employers are constantly changing places,
is not American, and an assault upon
the independence of the judiciary is not
American. lie spoke of what he said the
country OWED to the supreme court and
to its Interpretations of the law, and
closed with patriotic appeal TO learn
AMI tc'ch the principles upon which our
government has grown.