The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-04

or wealth.. O0e or The other must be
sole masters of the Republic. The gen
GRAFTON of 1860 had not, like this, the
benefit of the lessons taught by four
terrible years of war, and hence the
issue of this day can be settled by bal
lots-not by bullets.
But it is well for US to comprehend
the intensity of the question now to be
settled and to understand, once for all,
that it will not and cannot be settled
till there is a complete triumph for one
side and a crushing, hopeless defeat
for the other, a catastrophe 80 full and
utter that whatever way it fall out,
the victory will be engraved in pro-
found notifications upon our organic
law.
Be it understood that I come not be
fore you to express or to advocate any
views of my own, or of any party, or
of any section. It would be an insult
to you and unworthy of myself to use
this occasion for such a purpose, but l
accept the great thought of Terence,
the Latin poet, which st. Augustine
tells us was received with thunders Of
applause by q r oman audience: "HOmO
sum, humani nihiI O me Glieum putO.'
Il am a man, and whatever concerns
the welfareo of my fellowmen cAn never
be without interest to me-" Called
upon to address educated, talented
young men who are to go out and be
come captains of Thought and leaders
in the hosts of our Israel, I should be
unmindful of the duties and opportu
mites of the occasion if 1 were to
waste it in rhetorical platitudes or well
rounded sentences signifying nothing.
The situation is too grave,
THE ISSUES TOO IMPORTANT,
the impending conflict toe certain and
the results too great and lasting. If I
can say ought TO impress upon your in
geniuous minds that q great struggle,
more important far than that of 1861,
and as inevitable, Though, we trust to
be settled in q different FORUM is before
you and that you will be factors Of
conssq IenCe in that contest, then per
haps not altogether il vain shall have
stood before you At Waterloo, when
for hours the corf ct for the master
ship Of Europe had hung in nearly
even balances, and at last as the sun
was bending low, victory seemed to in
cline to the French, q body of troops
was seen far off towards the North
marching towards the field Of battle.
On and on they came. Every glass
was leveled upon them. Leaders and
generals strained their vision to dis
cover to which side the reinforcement
belonged, for it would be cast into the
scales. like the sword of Brennus. II
they were the columns of Grouchy,
then once more, and brighter than yer
before, the star of Napoleon would
beam upon a field lost and won. II
they were the leading files of Butcher.
then the Empire would pass away like
troubled dream and England, Eng
land would be the cry. On they came,
with strides as steady as fate, as IRE
sistlble as destiny, They proved to be
Bulow's division of Blucher's corps and
fortune fed forever her spoiled and
favorite child. The present genera,
ton is engaged IN q like momentOus
struggle, not on the narrow battlefield
of a Belgian plain, but % an amphi-
theatre that reaches to the silent
oceans. In the press, on the hU1tings,
in close converse OF neigh5or with
neighbor the conflict Of ideas is going
on. It is becoming more and more in
tense. The forces are nearly evenly
divided and both sides, like the con
tending armies at Waterloo, ere look
for re enforcement to the generation
that is arriving at manhood, for your
weight will decide the issue. The ar
rival Of your generation upon the bat
tlefield Will decisively end the struggle.
What are these contending forces
and what is the true issu87 Is it the
tariffs That is a party issue over
either side predicts beneficial re-
suits if it wins, and disastrous conse-
quences If it tails-end alternately one
or the other wins and with better or
conditions the country goes on.
Is 1t the silver issue, the financial ques-
tion9 That is nearer the mark, yet that
question is rather an incident, a symp-
ton, a phase with suggested remedies
and not the disease itselt. Nor yet is
it the conflict between labor and CAPT
nor the old, old struggle between
Rights and the central ling ten
denotes of the federal government.
THE VITAL QUESTION LIES DEEPER