The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-10-08
with rousing effect "The star spangled
CAPTAIN MAYS REMARKS.

Banner"
CAPTAIN MAYS REMARKS.
Captain w A. May was the next
speaker He accepted the flag on be-
half of the board of control He hoped
the beautiful emblem presented to the
high school would mean more to the
pupils than 1t ever meant before that
1t would teach us to remember the VIC
tories of peace which are no less great
than those of war The tendency with
us, he said, is to forget what is done
beneath the surface by those who are
heroes no less than those who lay down
their lives on the field of battle.
The immortal Washington was enti-
tied to $65.000 when he laid down his
sword at the end of the s years of rev.
olutionary strife, yet all he took was
what he had spent, and he kept an
itenized account of that The speaker
urged upon the board of control the
wisdom of emulating this example,
that they serve the public for the pub
lie good and not their own enrichment.
A quartette consisting of Ira Mitch.
ell. w. S. Bartlett, Robert Evans and
William Jones, sang two choruses.
superintendent Howells address came
next, and it commanded the closest at
tcntion from beginning to end. 1t was
a masterful address, delivered in true
oratorical style. 1t was as follows:
The word patriotism is a very old
word. The scholars of all ages have
delighted i'm it's use. We find it in the
lay of every minstrel. in the song of
every bard. in the theme of every poet.
II was Graded by the Greeks. then
nurtured and fostered by all the ma
tions of the earth. 1t is a strong word
with meaning most profound. 1t
reaches beyond material things. 1t
touches the spiritual nature of man
and directs his sentiment and thought
to the fountain source of god-like
power. This word has no local habita-
ton. 1t is not confined by natural
meets and bounds. 1t means more than
a love of land, it means a love of the
fathers, of their thoughts and hopes,
of their deeds and aspirations.
True, our sympathy with nature, our
attachment to place are very real. We
feel kinshiD with the stars of this
latitude and the flowers of this cline;
for the mountains that uplift us to a
higher plane of thought: for the rivers
which bear our burdens; for the oceans
that make commercial friends in for
egn worlds.
AWAKEN TENDER THOUGHTS.
Our spring. our autumn. our personal
associations awaken tender thoughts
and memories. They have for us a
meaning, a sacredness, a charm and
beauty which strange minds can not
feel which strange eyes can not see.
The physical features of the land color
the soul and enter the domain of feel
ing as the face of mother enters the
love of a child. The heart of the
adopted German swels with emotion
when he remembers the Rhine with its
vine-clad hills and feudal castles, old
in story. The pulse of the adopted
Welshman beats high when he recalls
Harlech and the grandeur of Snow
don. The blood of the adopted Irish
man quickens when the glories of
wicklow and Killarney are repainted
on memory's canvas.
All men are a part of their natural
environment. The rivers, mountains,
valleys enshrine their charms in the
human heart and help to make our
country dear. Even the ruins of what
our fathers built, the battlefieds. the
graves of patriots and their monuments
make sacred the land. But these at
tachments, these associations, holy and
sweet as they are, are not of the real
essence of patriotism. Patriotism
dwells in the soul, not in tabernacles
of clay. It's highest form is spiritual,
not material.
National consciousness is a senti-
ment, a divine abstraction, it is some
thing unfettered by physical laws. 1t
defies extinction.
Rivers may dry up, homes become
desOlate, friends desert us. civil strife
rend the land, but our love of country
burns with undiminished glow. Its
| ;TI,4 te-
as imperishable as religion, as immor-
tai as love.
We love our country not alone for
| its prosperity and protection. not so
| much for its commerce and it's fields
| of golden grain, we love il above all
for the richer. nobler human life il
makes possible it's generous freedom.
| its thought and mental endowments
which make national spirit and char
| acter.
WHAT EMERSON SAID.
Never, said Ralph Waldo Emerson
| never country had such a fortune in
| its geography its history, and in its
majestic possibilities. But because our
country is great let us not imagine
that we also are great. America is but
another name for opportunity. The
noblest patriot is the one who strives
| by day and night to make himself
worthy of the country that has chris
| tened him citizen.
| The best expression of patriotism is
| found in constant work; in duties wei
performed: in sacrifices emanatine
freely from the hearts desire to serve
mankind and lift US to a higher plane
of civilization.
Patriotism is generally associated
with heroism on the battlefield. but il
has a broader and a deeper meaning,
| 1t is an attribute of character which
grows noble and strong in the perform.
ance of civil as we'll as military duties
The immortal Webster, who eXpound.
ed our Constitution and crystalized its
spirit in living words. said: Patriot.
ism is a passion which aims to serve
ones country, especially in times o.
peace"
To associate patriotism at all times
| with belching cannon, smoking artil
lery, flashing sabers and cleaning
bayonets is a most serious mistake
Patriotism is not for the helmet anC
plume and tented field alone. 1t be