The broad ax., 1898-04-23


eminent statesmen to become q
candidate for the third term, but
he declined promptly without the
least wavering. At the close of his
second term he had been IN public
life almost forty years. He re-
tired with q reputation and popu-
larity hardly inferior to that of
George Washington. He could
dictate the foreign and domestic
policy of seven million people sim
ply by virtue of the personal con-
tidence reposed in his integrity and
Judgment. No other American has
ever exerted so great and lasting
influence over the people Of this
nation as Thomas Jefferson. For
he believed in them; he. esteemed
their intelligence; he not only res
pected their power, but he desired
to see them use it, because he was
firmly convinced that they would
use it well.
Mr.. jefferson had a pro-
found and honest faith in
the fundamental principles of
Democracy, because he believed
in them with all his heart and soul.
He was q statesman in every sense
of the word, and from the time
when he began his great reforms
in the Virginia house of Burgesses,
he never permitted himself to falter
or to fall by the wsyside, but he
continued to press on and on, and
to illuminate the pathway of his
felloWmen who were less fortunate
than himself and who were strug-
Cling to reach higher goal. No
greater humanitarian has ever ap-
peared above the horizon than the
great Virginian.
The Usage of Monticello" was
one of Thomas Paine's most de-
voted friends; whose mind was as
broad as the universe and who
never hesitated in e1claiming chat
the world is my country aud to do
good is my religion" The philo-
sopher-statesman was therefore
most emphatically in favor of re-
ligious liberty. He believed in the
complete separation Of church and
state. He was not in favor of
taxing the people for the main
tehance of an idle priesthood. He
believed in the equality of all men.
He believed that religious duties
consists in doing justice, loving
mercy, and endeavoring to make
our fellow creatures happy. He
believed in one God and no more.
He was a disciple of Socrates, the
great Athenian philosopher, Who |
lost his life for instructing the
youth of Athens not to refrain from |
doing wrong with the expectation |
of receiving rewards in that un-
known realm which lies beyond our
earthly vision; nor. to refrain from
violating the moral laws from fear
of being hurled headlong into the I
yaWning depths below; but they
must refrain from injuring the
least among their fellow-creatures
because it is not conducive to the /
best interests of the entire human
race.
Friends, these are the last words /
which Mr.. Jefferson wrote to James /
Madison: "To myself you have
been a pillar of support through
life. Take care of me when dead"
We as American citizens, vene-
rate and celebrate the 4th of July
in honor of the nations birth; it is
a day dear to all; it is so closely
linked and associated with the
name OF Jefferson that when we
think of one we remember the
other. With peculiar fitness, on
the fftieth anniversary of the ma
tons life, Thomas Jefferson, the
hero of our remarks, at his
quiet home, Monticello, in the af-
of July a, 1926, gently
and peacefully passed from life to.
that unknown state of man from