The Topeka state journal., 1898-12-16


Listening to the eloquent words Of Judge
Speer and Clark Howell we felt as We had
never felt before, that American patriot
made US know that it is not an idle senu-
ment, but a perVasive force, which is, in
Shakespeare's exquisite phrase, as proad
and general as the casing air 1t was
my fortune to be born in a harsher eli
yearly guests, often oUtstaying their vel
come But, gentlemen, the north star IS
not 50 cold as some nave Jhougnl, tH3 us
unchanginE light, from the days of Ulys-
ses has guided mariners through PeTllous
ends and sagas that tell how, centuries
ago, the Norsemen sailed on voyages to
the Atlantic's western rim We VINO are
of New England origin are, perhaps, of
kin to them for in our veins the dQmlnanT
do not think it counts for much whether
United States has little need or ancestry
and its own sufficient reason.
Nv Ss me raci4 sje f5 e'Is aI n balIads
the question of lineage need not trouble
US. Have you read how Englishmen fought
against each OtneF Tor req roses ana
white; and again. how some stood for the
when they looked back through the battle
mists to the days OF old they all saw
when some who are here tonight dld not
love each other Overmuch: and yet when
ed ready to consume, neither side gave up
its memory of Lexington and yorktown.
common interests make a nation; and
these are a thousand times stronger than
the sanctions OF written charters, or the
authority of blood.
The American flag is beautiful in itself,
ize the majesty, the power and the honor
of the American people Think of the past
year North and south lose their Sign1tl-
cance when Manila and Santiago tell their
story. Who cares from whence came the
lowed? Alabama shall not claim Wheeler.
nor Vermont assert that Dewey is hers
gia? They are great but only great be
cause they are parts of a greater nation.
state, but Of all the states; it was the war
of a nation, strong in its high sense Of
keeping the cause of justice and humanity.
American sovereignty follows the Aneri-
TO the east, or floats over the Oregon,
dashing the foam Of two oceans from her
the national spirit sails with it to the ut
To-day the new Union faces new duties.
Wars are never exactly what men fore
see. The dominion of the republic has
the lust of conquest that brought it about.
1t was the logic of events that were
we may trust the United States and
we may trust the deliberate judgment of
its people. Thinking of all that is past,
considering the present and its problems,
our look must yet be forward as is the
Who are fit to rule Hamlet is not the
true type Of American character In the
high policy and conduct of nations, what
they may, means often what they must.
Speaking in the presence of the presi-
for what he is and for what he represents,
We all unite in acknowledging his sincerity
of purpose. his wisdom and the high pa
triOtism which, by day and BY night has
expected emergencies know Of no duty
which can rest more SOlemnly upon the
American people than that of sustaining
and strengthening him in the great re-
spOnsibihties he is bearing so braVely and
we'll
''Statesmanship does not require abso-
Lutte fOreknOwledge. but it does require the
rare ability to meet conditions as they
arise When Dewey sailed into the bay,
he readjusted in an hour the policies and
ance and equilibrium of nations, and serv-
ed notice with every shot he fired that
hencefOrth the United States must be
counted We~haVe entered new fields, as
advancing nations always do; we have as
sumed new duties as living nations al
ways must It may, indeed. be true that
our fOrefathers did not write out on
parchment what must be done If, by the
fortunes of war, our flag should he car
Tied to Islands and seas remote But, gen
tlemen. the flag cannot come down. The
institutions and the policy of a free re-
public are equal to new conditions. or they
are worthless. a nation that cannot keep
pace with what its own arms have ac-
COmpHshed is already catalOgued with the
incapable and degenerate. The new
Union, which war has welded more firmly
together, summons us and leads US for
ward. 1t does not inYite responsibilities
nor shrink from them. History has been
busy. in these last eVentful months, inter-
fusing all the elements of our national
life, so that the parts forget that they are
parts and remember only an iadissOluble,
indiViSfbie. indeSUruCtiVe Union
Congressman Evan Settle of Kentucky
who spoke for JOspeh w. Bailey, and
Richmond P. HobsOn were the last speak
erS.