Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-26

that had been inherited from the colonies.
and that for economic reasons had drifted
into one section of the Union. was forever
abolished as a result of the civil war.
How, it may be asked, could there come
out of the dead carcass of so much slaugh-
ter the sweet honey of reunion? The an
swer is not far to seek. True courage,
willingness to die for ones convictions, the
noblest of human virtues, is akin the world
over. and, as every true soldier saw at
once, it could not be that all the heroism
and manhood displayed on the one side
were the promptings of wicked desire to
destroy free institutions. or, on the other,
of lust of power. Freemen had been sac
ritcing life and fortune, not for the sake
of any newly sprung ideas of liberty, but
all for the institutions of the fathers.
Delusion DispelIed.
Grant, the great soldier of the Union,
had begun to appoint former confederates
to office, Hayes took a confederate into his
cabinet Arthur was the first President to
treat the war as ended by making no allu-
sion in his message to the late confederacy,
Cleveland, who succeeded him, drew no dis
tinctions; he appointed federal soldiers and
former confederates alike as cabinet Off
GERS. as judges, as foreign ministers The
deuson that former confederates could not
be trusted was diSpeled, and the demd-
gogue who lived by appeals to the passions
and prejudices of the war began to dlsap-
pear from public life When Mr.. Cleveland
sent in his celebrated Venezuelan message,
in which it was believed the honor of the
country was concerned, every vote in the
House and Senate sustained him When
more recently President Mckinley called
for an appropriation TO prepare, II need be,
for war with Spain, the vote in both
branches of Congress was unanimous.
When war was declared against Spain the
vote was unanimous
Never in the history of our country was
there such unanimity of sentiment among
all classes of our people as now on all ques-
tons affecting the honor and glory of our
government.
When questions confront us affecting
our honor there no parties-democrats
and republicans all are for the country.
We are all for our country because Vigor-
GUS heaithful Americansm has come to
perVade our whole land. Our minds natural
ly revert today to him who was the first
ana greatest American, to him who piloted
our ship of state in the beginning of it's
voyage through the rocks and shoals that
lay in the untried waters before it. The
new government was beset by dangerous
foreign complications; it was still a weak
ing among nations, and was seriously
threatened. by Internal dissensions, when
washington passed away 100 years ago,
leaving to US his example, his teachings and
his benedction. IT do not mean to indulge
any spirit of boasting even on this jubilee
occasion, but sure the representatives
OF the great powers of the earth who are
seated on this platform will concur with
me when | say that we have taken our
place side by SIDE with them in the front
rank of nations .
Power of the Republic.
Senator Shelby M Cullom was the last
speaker. He opened by touching upon the
immense power of this great republic On
this he said: =. }!
We'll can Uncle Sam, as he proudly calls
to mis- side his stalwatt champions on land
and sea, and marshals them in their prop
er places to receive the salutation and &C.
claim of admitting nations announce:
Ihese are American soldiers and sailors.
These are mine, and in their hands my
honor rests secure There have been pre-
dictions of an alliance between the United
states and certain European powers, which
II is claimed would tend to add to the
prestige of America, in the rivalry between
the great powers of the earth. The history
OF the United States has shown to the
world how unnecessary such alliances have
been to our welfare and progress in the
past, Our fathers deprecated vigorously
from the very beginning all ideas of enter
ing into an alliance with any European
power. even when this country was in its
INFANCY. 1t has always been cardinal
principle of American policy to oppose
leagues and political partnerships with
other countries, and under this rule we
nave grown from small nation of thir-
teen colonies, numbering but two or three
millions of people. to be great continental
empire, comprising half a hundred separate
commemorative with eighty millions Of