The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-05


New York. and almost every man you meet
In any one OF our great cities has either a
ss nope future Tor himself or hoped future
for his children. Why? Because the doors
are open; his child may become whatever
ne has the power to become, and he either
clearly knows il or dmly perceiyes it. / do
not say we have equal Justice to all men
in America, but ! say there are fewer OBJ
stacles and more opportunities than in any
other country On the globe.
PROVISION FOR EDUCATION.
And along with this free field and fair
chance there is in this country more sys-
tematic, more thorough, and more. richly
endowed provision for the education of all
the people than in any other country. Our
public school system is far from perfect. We
lament and hang our heads with shame and
sorrow because there are to-day thousands
of children roaming the streets of Brooklyn
and the streets of New York for whom we
nave no school room but, after all, these
thousands of children are the exceptions anc
In other countries they have been for the
most part the rule. do not forget the pub
lie school system of Germany: / do NOT for
get that of late Great Britain has started
something like public school system of her
own; L do not forget Switzerland and
whose public school system perhaps EQUALS
our own, perhaps is superior to it'll do NOT
know, nevertheless, do venture the affirma
uon that there is no nation under the sun
which has made SO thorough so systematic
an endeavor by itself, by its own appropria-
tions. to provide education for the poor the
lsnoraht, those that could not educate them
serves, broadening 1t out until it has pro-
Voed vast system of Self-education be-
ginning at the kindergarten and not ending
un M you are graduated from the university.
along with the razing of all walls and
barriers that prevent the free development
o OF men has been a systematic .endeavor,
costing unnumbered millions of dollars to
give men that kind of education which will
promote their Northumberland with
iiats is alstinctiye religious system. be-
country on the globe which has not a state
church, or which does not give some favor
IN one direction or another to one form of
Tehelon or to certain forms of religion
Inere are Two features about the RELIGIOUS
lie OF the United States. One that it puts
no obstacle in the way of any mans relig-
ION ion or frenglon. A man may advocate Wor-
snip or he may denounce worship. he NAV
preach Christianity or he may villify Chris
tlanityi ne may lecture against it in halls
10 applauding thousands or he may preach
IN support of it in the church to unappaud-
ing hundreds; the law does not interfere
l, on the whole, am not sorry for the incl
dental and unintentional service which Rob
ert lngersoll has done: for the VERY fact
tnat he has Travelled throughout this country
and no man has attempted to say him ma v
IS a splehdld witness to the truth that we
believe in America that religion and irrelig-
ION are absolutely free. AS result we have
on the one hand no obstacle put upon anv
mans worship or no worship and on the
other hand no worship that is not the frank
expression of the life of the people Our
drais of England, of France. Of Germany
and of Italy. but there is not brick nor a
timber nor shingle nor pane of glass that
Is not the witness either to the free religion
of the people who built the church, or to the
vanity. the pride. and the f-glorifcation
nat nat apes and assumes the habits of religion.
our religious institutions in America are
every one of them the free-will Offering
OF free people. l love to preach TO college
Conversations where the service is optional
: ana always dread to preach in a chapel
into which the students are driven at the
point of the pencil of a monitor
FREE TO ALL.
We have in this country with it's broad
acres, its great wealth, its free institutions.
Its open chance, its public school system. it's
free unpurchased religion, and we have not
Kept it for ourselves; we have invited other
peoples, of the earth to come and share il
with US. ] do not think there is any other
nation that has thrown as wide open its
gates. that has sent out so urgent invitation.
that has said to the foreigner in other lands,
Come. we have a good thing; come and
snare with US. And they have come. Irish
ana German and Pole and Hungarian and
italian, they have come, until we hardly
KNOW whether we are an Anglo-SaXon peo-
PIE or not And we have not only invited
them to come. but we have invited them to
come and share in all we have. We have
sald. our churches are for you. our public
schools are for you, our privileges and our
npertes are for. you, and you shall come
and share with us the responsibilities of our
country. We have invited them to partner
snip. some of you have thought it was too
audacious thing to do; some of YOU have
thought the period before naturaliza ton
ought to be longer. Whether it has been
wise or /unwise, right or wrong. this is what
the country has done, and no other country
has done it. 1t has been a distinguishing
characteristic of the American people that
1t has said, we have such faith in men
that we will ask them to come and provided
the man has been here long enough, to
make Gear that he wants to stay, and evil
dence that he is man of good moral char
acter, we let him share with us in the gov
eminent; he shall help to elect our Presi-
dents and senators, our MAYORS and Judges:
he shall not only govern himself: he shall
help to govern us Wise. perhaps: foolish
p0ssibly-no matter, it is distinguishing.
show what are the distinguishing charac-
teristics of American civilization: and one
of them is a faith in humanity that is al
most if not absolutely audacious. certainly
unparalleled. in the worlds history.
That is not all. We had millions of acres
of land We could have held to them until
they rose in value and sold them and helped
to pay our taxes with them. What did we
do? Gave them away We said to men in
Norway. in Sweoen. in Ireland, in Germany,
Come. you are welcome; our doors open;
come. you shall share with us in our govern
ment: come. you SHALL go into our public
schools; come, you shall enter into our
churches: come and if you will come we will
give you a part Of our wealth. We made
law-and we have carried ii out, until now
who will settle down on farm and cultivate
ii may have it for nothing. There has been
nothing like it in the history of the world.
You may say it is wise policy-I think it
has BEEN you may say it has enriched the
nation-I think it has: you may agree with
me that one strong. industrious household is
worth more than 100 acres of land to ma
toni think it is ] think it has been
wise, shrewd national policy. 1t has been
q generous. a liberal one-a policy Of giving
away; and you may search the annals of
history for parallel to it.
OUR STRONG POINTS.
mot drunkenness. which is bad enough:
nor corruption. which is bad enough; nor
lawlessness, which is bad enough-all of
which are to be seen in other nations and in
other peoples--not these are the distinguish
ing characteristics of America but faith
in righteousness and a reason ready to de-
termine questions between communities as
between man and man. faith in conscience
as power that will itself enforce righteous
laws; a faith in humanity that declares
every man shall have fair chance; kind
ness and a mercy that offers to every
a fair education; a generosity that offers
these not merely to the citizens of our own
Nation but to the citizens of all others:
faith in them so transce ndently audacious
that we ask them TO help govern and to rule
US and this faith long continued, with a gen.
erosity which gives to them a part of