Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1897-11-05
Some Rambling Thoughts.
BY MEMO.

VI country anu write 10 Il ndtlUn uOh
lacking in it. We believe to the pos
/ sibility of real devotion to an adopted
country by those who come from
other shores, and | write To a nation
/ largely made up of emigrants. We
believe there are more healthy people
+ than sick, more sane than insane,
more honest than criminal, and |
write to Il nation whose unseltish
citizens outnumber by five to one all
who find their pleasure and their
profit in perverting the peoples will
So you and | are filled with
healthy sort of hopefulness. Like
those dear lovable people who insist
on seeing always the bright side OF
trouble, or those logical sufferers who
insist on the existence of the sun no
matter how black the cloud, we be-
/ lieve in our country, we dare to inn
agine for it is greater destiny than
has yet been attained; in short, we
are proud of it. But let us stop
moment to analyze our pride; for
s:pride goeth befort a fall'' unless 1t
be carefully selected and we'll
grounded pride, that has no stiffneck-
edness about it.
What is there about the United
States TO make us proud?
/ Territory Yes, that is something
extraordinarily vast and compact
but the Roman Empire had that and
yet went to pieces. The character OF
people has something TO do with
the retention OF territory.
Population! That indeed increases
by leaps and bounds. Each census
piles up further millions, but the
Chinese Empire has that fact to meet
in even greater measure. and as Il
nation it is tottering TO disruption.
In population, quality is more inn
portant than quality.
Wealth. The total wealth OF the
nation climbs up into figures that
are beyond comprehension. But
Spain and India were, during their
prime, richer than your most golden
dream; the former is now narrowed
down TO mere nothingness among
the powers, and the latter has for
generations been trodden by the foot
of the conqueror. The true wealth
of nation is manhood, and the lack
OF that ruined the two mentioned.
Products. grant the remarkable
range from tropical fruits to arctic
pines, and from pottery clays to vir-
gin gold. but these things are here by
the gift of Nature. We may be wise
and take or eat or we may dispense
of our plenty to others need; but
the sun shines on other nations be-
side ours, and il we may be proud,
much more such nation as England
who makes up for insular lack by
getting qnotas from every habitable
portion Of the globe.
Political Institutions. Then the
pride must be largely ascribed to
those broad plans of our fathers,
rather than to any certainty in rela-
tion to the future; unless we come to
realize that institutions and rights
are not perpetual motion machines.
They do not run themselves. For
example, if progressive plans and
broad culture could go on without
great men to carry them forward, we
should have been spared the sight Of
Greece, 50 decadent from grand his
torical traditions as to be an easy con-
quest by the polygamous Turk.
~
No country stretching far,
No pomp OF civic state,
Can make you truly great
America
No gain from cruel war,
No cannon echoing loud
Can make you really proud
America,
No golde, stone or bar
Filched from it's darksome ditch,
Can make you truly rich
AMERICA
Only the guiding star
OF honesty and truth
Can keep your glorious youth
America
No. Territory, population, wealth,
products, formal declarations. are
not the things that fill us most with
pride. This nation thrown together
hap-hazard, is nevertheless so per-
meated by ideas of the eternal right
and Justice of things, that in NOM
ents of grave national testing the pull
stations of the mighty heart of the
great common people have always
beaten steadily. That is our pride.
After all moral idea is greater and
1ononr lived than material fhir,.rc ~