The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-01

life. Every stone is eloquent with
story. but never has this old hail well
coined a gathering more worthy of it
than when it's doors swung open at the
bidding of those who but few months
since left the quiet and accustomed
paths of peace to follow the flag to
foreign soil To become a part of an
army that has never known defeat of
an army that has won the admiration
Of a world; of an army that has taught
the armed camps Of Europe that the
volunteer soldier of America can fight
and Will fight for the
Honor of his country,
And the glory of his God"
That the soldiers of freedom and Of
civilization are all powerful and all
conquering; that human rights can
not be ignored upon our borders and
that the western hemisphere is free
dom's soil We Of Massachusetts are
apt to boast of one state, to recall that
it is indeed a commonwealth; that here
the citizen is king. We have an honest
pride in its splendid history and in it's
glorious achievements. We repeat the
names of those whose lives have
blessed the nation and mankind with
a sense of personal possession.
Every page of American history is
illumined by the genius of her sons. In
the realms of mechanics, of science. of
letters and of arts she holds acknowl-
edged place. Small and gray is Ply
mouth rock, but the white men who
first set foot upon il have reVolu-
tionized a world The influence Of their
example is co-existent with America s
domain. The spirit OF Massachusetts
lives and glows in every state of the
Union.
Every battlefield of the republic.
from Lexington to Appomatox, has
been hallowed by the blood of those
who left our fields and hills to fight for
manhoodS holy cause so when in
April last, the summons came, Massa-
chusetts answered Ready" and in
five days had as many regiments-with
another to follow-in camp. armed and
equipped for service. And what sol
diers they We're. Coming from the
peaceful walks of life, from the body
of a commonwealth that in % minutes
had appropriated half million of dol
lars for defense, inspired by the ex
ample of their fathers. animated by
the love of that humanity in whose
name they marched, these men left the
aVoca6ions of civic life to form a part
of an armed force that in six months
had changed the earth's map; freed
Cuba from her oppressors; brought
Porto Rico into the fellowship of states
and planted our flag upon Manila S
walls.
And the army that bore America S
flag abroad was not "a portion of a
mere machine. created for the trade
and purposes Of war, but each soldier
in the ranks was a citizen of the re-
public, with full appreciation of the
duties such citizenship entails, and
ready to defend and to extend by ballot
and by sword the political principles
upon which this nation rests
The flag that was unfurled for con
science sake had the benefit Of splendid
leadership for its arms and the in
spiration Of a righteous cause but ii
was the thinking bayonet in the ranks
on land, the man behind the guns"
afioat that made possible such quick
results, and perhaps the citizen sol
diery of Worcester fought with no less
fervor because the commander of the
armies of the United States was him
self citizen of Worcester county and
volunteer of the old army.
AS we rejoice in the heroisn and
triumphs of our personal friends, as
we recall the suffering our army en-
dured in the fever camps of Cuba, the
splendid lines at Santiago, and the al
most peaceful conquest of Porto Rico,
while we remember with gratitude the
magnificent discipline and indomitable
courage of the regular troops, no Mas
sachusetts man can for a moment for
get, no American soldier wishes to
overlook, the wonderful achievements
of our navy,
Since the first time the stars were
unfurled, the American sailor and the
American navy has won renown-
whether meeting gun for gun, or fac
ing fearful odds, they were never
known to fail. They have carried our
banner in triumph through many a
contest, and the annals of naval his
tory are luminous with the glory of
their deeds, but it remained for the
summer of '9S to reveal our navy in
all its majesty and power. When this
war commenced, apprehension was felt
concerning the strength of our sea
arms. Our white fleet had not been
tested in actual warfare
1t had been many years since we had
met foreign foe in open sea, and it
was feared that our navy, like our ar
my, had suffered from a parsimonious
national polioy-but deep in the hearts
Of the American people was an abid-
ing faith in the American sailor
largely drawn from the coasts and
fishing towns Of New England and
this faith was proven true when, on a
Sabbath morning, our flag was Infurled
in the harbor of Manila, and Dewey g
guns proclaimed that "our Coo was
marching on" There, and at Santia-
60 under Sampson and Schley a new
sea power was proclaimed and a ma
ton of ''shopkeepers and mechanics"
had changed the course Of empire. The
American seamen will never again be
spoken of with dfsrespect. The flag of
the Union now floats over navy that
the elder world will hesitate to chal-
lenge.
Aside from the interest that Massa-
chusetts has always had in sea SER
vice, and in naval development, aside
from the glory that upon the ocean
her sons have wrested from the hands
of fate, she had in this contest ar add
ed interest, for at the head OF this d.
vision of our arms was a man whom
Massachusetts knew and trusted, one
who quietly, and with skill, played the
pawns upon his cheSsboard and con-
tributed his full share to the wonder
full results. We rejoice in his renown.
We rejoice in the fact that from the
lips of sailor or of soldier, or of ell
william have fallen no words of criticism
upon the department he controls, and
that from the beginning to the end
John D. Long has never been compelled
either to apologize or to explain.
MY friends we are about to close a
wonderful war. History has never be-
fore recorded such results in such
space of time. 1T was not a war or
conquest, but of liberty and of pacifi
cation. 1t was entered upon in the
name of humanity; not for our glory,