The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-05-21
And heavens high arch resound again
With peace on earth, good will to men,

the gavels of our senate and house Of repre-
Sentatives and our political conventions
pound adjournment there ought to be passed
law or adopted plank OF intelligent help
funess for the great foreign populations
which are coming among us. 1t is too late
now to discuss whether we had better let
them come They are here. They are coming
this moment through the Narrows. They are
this moment taking the first full inhalation
of the free air of America. And they will
continue to come as long as this country is the
best place to live in.
You might as we'll pass a law prohibiting
summer bees from alighting on a field of
poisoning buckWheat; you might as we'll
prohibit the stays Of the m0unt4ins from
coming down to the deer lick. as to prohibit
the hunger bitten nations of Europe from
coming to this land of bread-as to prohibit
the people OF England, Ireland. Scotland.
Italy, Norway, Sweden and Germany work
ing themselves to death on small wages on
the other side the sea-from coming TO this
land where there are the largest cOmpensa-
tons under the sun. Why did God spread
out the prairies of the DakOtas and roll the
precious ore into Colorado? It was that all
the earth might come and pillow. and come
and dig. Just as long as the centrifugal
force of foreign despotisms throws them off
Just SO long will the centripetat force Of
American institutions draw them here. And
that is what is going to make this the
mightiest nation on the earth. Intermar-
riage of nationalties, not circle intermarry-
ing circle and nation intermarryinC nation.
But 1t is going to be Italian and Norwegian,
Russian and Celt, Scotch and French, Eng
llsh and American.
The American of 100 years from now is to be
different from the American of to-day. Ger
man brain. Irish wit, French civilitv, Scotch
trmness. English loyalty, Italian aesthetics
"a 4 n y nd hn
It is this intermarriage of nationalities that
is going to make the American nation the
greatest nation of the ages. But what are we
doing for the moral and intellectual culture
Of the 10000 foreigners who came in one
year, and the 600 900 who came in another
year. and the 100000 who came In another
year, and the 1000, 900 who are coming into
our various American ports? What are we
doing for them? Well. we are doing great
deal for them. We steal their baggage as
soon as they get here. We send them up to
boarding house. where the least they lose
is their money. We swindle them within ten
minutes after they get ashore. We are doing
a great deal for them. But what are we do
ing to introduce them into the duties of
good citizenship? Many of them never
saw ballot box. Many of them never heard
Of the constitution Of the United States.
Many OF them have no acquaintance with
our laws. Now, | say, LET the government of
the United States, 50 COMMANDED by one
political party or both political parties. give
to every immigrant who lands here volume,
in good type and we'll bound for long usage
a volume containing the Declaration of
Independence, the constitution of the United
States and q chapter on the spirit of our
government. Let there be such book on
the shelf of every free library in America
While the American Bible society puts into
the right hand of every immigrant copy Of
the Holy Scriptures, let the government Of
the United States, commanded by some po-
litical party, put into the left hand of every
immigrant volume instructng him in
the duties of good citizenship. There are
thousands Of foreigners in this land who
need to learn that the ballot box is not
footstOOl, but throne-not something to
put your foot on. but something to bow
before.
But whether members of the national leg
stature. or delegates to one of the national
conventions, or private citizens. let US cult
vate Christian patriotism. Oh, how good
God has been to us as a nation Just open
the map OF the continent and see how it is
shaped for Unreasonable properties Nav
cable rivers, more in number and greater
than OF any other land, rolling down Oh all
sides into the sea, prophesying large manu-
factories and easy commerce. Look at the
graf ranges Of mountains. timbered with
ou LILO tOp SUES dul neIdlleu
with wealth underneath. One hundred and
eighty thousand square miles of coal One
hundred and eighty thousand square miles
OF iron! The iron to pry out the coal. The
coal to forge and smelt the iron. The land
50 contoured that extreme weather hardly
ever lasts more than three days-extreme
heat or extreme cold. Climate for the
most part braelnS and favorable for
Drawn and brain. All fruits All min
erals. All harvests. Scenery displaying au-
tumnal pageantry that no land on earth pre-
tends to rival. No South American earth
ouakes. No Scotch msts. No English fogs.
No Egyptian plaques. The people of the
United States are happier than any people
on earth 1t is the testimony Of every man
that has travelled abroad. For the poor more
sympathy! For the industrious more oppor-
tunity! Oh, how good God was to our fathers
and how good God has been to US and our
children! To Him-bessed be His glorious
name. To Him of cross and triumph be con-
sccrated the United States of America
There are three great reasons why you and
l should do our best for this country-three
great reasons: Our fathers graves, our cradle,
oar chldren's birthright. When say your
fathers graves, your pulses run quickly.
Whether they sleep in city cemetery or coun-
try graveyard their dust is very precious to
YOU. think they lived we'll and that they
died right. Never submit to have any gov
ernment over their tombs other than that
government under which they lived and
died And then this country is our cradle.
1t may have rocked us very roughly. but it
was a good cradle 10 be rocked in. Oh, how
much we owe to it! Our boyhood and girl
hood, it was spent in this blessed country I
never have any patience with a man who
talks against this country. Glorious
place to be born in and a glorious
place to live in. 1t has been our
cradle. Aye! 1t is to be our children's
brthright You and l will soon be through.
We will perhaps see few more spring
blossoms, and we will perhaps see few
moro summer harvests, aud we wilt perhaps
gather few more autumnal fruits, but we
are to hand this government to our children
as it was handed to us-a free land, happy
land, Christian land They are not to be
trampled by despotism. They are not to be
frightened by anarchists. We must hand
this government to them over the ballot box,
over the school desk, over the church altar,
rs we have received it and charge them
solemniy to put their life between it and any
keen stroke that would destroy it.
And Thou, Lord God Almighty, we put,
with thousand armed prayer into Thy pro-
lection this nation. Remember our fathers
bleeding feet at Valley Forge. Remember
Marion and kOsciusko. Remember the cold,
and the hunger. and the long march, aud the
fever hospital. Remember the fearful charge
,,,,1 l. ,lDo-T