Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-06-10
THE REPUBLIC IN PERIL,
GREATER THAN WHEN THE WAR
BROKE OUT.
General ButterwOrth Makes q sensat on.
al Speech in Philadelphia on Decora-
tiOn Day and POrtrays tho Future in
Darkest HueS; Uses Plain Language.

Philadelphia, Pa, May 31.-Gen. But
terworth's grafton at Laurel Hill was
a remarkable one. He was closely lis
tened to by many thousands of people
Gen, Butterworth was accorded a
hearty welcome when he rose to speak,
and seldom has memorial day orator
commanded such close attention.
"These exercises are not for the
dead" he said. "They are for the liv-
ing. We best honor the soldier dead
by an incorruptible purpose to keep
the republic they gave their lives to
save. 1t has been truly said that no
battlefield of the v orld showed more
gallant daring, more heroic devotion,
than our own. All this, however, re-
lates to a generation ago. The dead
we mourn are off duty forever. They
have kept their watch. To-day it is
with the living, and not with the dead,
we have to do. The dead heroes of the
republic worthily kept watch on the
walls and now the inquiry arises what
we, the survivors, are doing? Is our
conduct worthy of the dead and the
country for which they died? Merely
paying tribute in words to the dead is
but mockery.
"The course of all republics has been
towards the rocks. Our own is the
same and for the same reason. The
theory of our government is that men
will preserve that which they prize
most high, but they do not. 1t is said
that the people love liberty and home
above all else, and that it would be alb
surd to say that they would destroy
that which makes life worth living.
Theoretically, that is so. Practically,
it is not.
"Love of freedom and home is not
the outgrowth of reason or intelli-
gence, as is obvious from the fact that
the wolf will fight to the death for
either or both. The wolf doesn' t reason
much about it, and knows little about
repu blican ideas or philosophy. Solove
of freedom is an instinct. Wolves don't
have any organized society. No wolf
gives any part of his freedom to up
hold some artificial arrangement, some
social compact. But in a government
which is organized for the protection
of society and the members thereof we
do surrender part of our national
rights to promote the welfare of the
whole country.
'And there is the rub. In that So
cial compact we have to surrender a
certain natural right and observe GER
tain rules in order ia promote the good
of all and protect the rights of the in
diVidusl members. These rules are
supposed to be founded in Justice and
morality. And this is notion which
in theory is true, that men want JUS
tice and morality. To obtain that is
our hope. In that is our strength, and
in the departure from the principles of
morality we will find, and, in fact, are
finding our ruin. In actual practice,
every man wants every other man to
be good and true, while to himself he
wants some latitude along the moral
line and a certain free and easy rela-
ton with truth and honesty.
''In politics, he knows that it is of
the first Importance to be honest and
truthful. In practice, he doesn't think
1t will! win. And as temporary ad-
vantage is of greater account to him
than the permanent good of the multi
titude, he lies and corrupts everything
and everybody to the extent necessary
10 order to win. And this is taking
our country to the devil faster than 10
armies led by Lee and Longstreet could
possibly do.
81 propose to talk plain English, and
If anything else was expected l am not
the man you wanted for this occasion.
"Let me ask again, upon what hope
did our fathers build? Love of liberty,
supported by intelligence and virtue
among the people. They encouraged
religion. as essential to the well-being
of the people. They established sys-
tenn of universal education in order
that our people might become intelli-
gent Thus they provided for intelli-
gence to know what to do, and religi-
GUS sanction to compel the doing of
that which is right. They pointed to
heaven and pictured the horrors of hell
as means of inducing the people to do
well.
1--WE must not forget the precise re-
lation each citizen bears to the govern
ment that he is part of it. 1t is
strong in his intelligence and honesty.
1t is weak in his ignorance and dishon-
esty. The citizen writes the law from
his hearthstone.
philosophers and statesmen of the
old world who know and understand
the prejudices and passions of men,
who are familiar with the history of
every attempt of the people to govern