Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-01-06
M.k,MLEy's ATLANTA SPEECH

found thanks for their hearty reception ana
the good will which they have shown me
been their guest. l thank them for the op::
%portunlty which this occasion gives me of
meeting and greeting them and for the
pleasure It affords me to participate With
to whose achievements We are indebted for
one of the most brilliant chapters OF Amer
lean history.
Other parts Of the country have had their
public Thanksgiving and jubilees In honor Of
historic events Of the past year, but no
where has there been greater rejoicing than
among the people here, the gathered repre-
sentatlves Of the South. congratulate
them upon their accurate observation OF
events which enabled them to nx q date
the first to celebrate the signing OF the
treaty Of peace by the American and Span
ish commissioners. Under hostile fire on a
foreign soil. fighting in a common cause. the
memory of old disagreements has faded into
history. From camp and campaign there
comes the magic healing which has closed
ancient wounds and effaced their scars. For
this result every American patriot will for
ever rejoice. 1t is no small indemnity for
This Government has proved itself irwin
chile in the recent war and out Of 1t has
come a nation which will remain indivisible
forevermore. No wOrthier contributions
have been made in patriotism and in men
Than by the people of these Southern States.
When at last the opportunity came they
were eager to meet 1t. and with promptness
responded to the call Of the country. In
trusted with the able leadership Of men dear
ers, under another flag. now fighting under
the old nag again. they have gloriously
helped to defend Its sp0tlcss folds and added
hew luster to its shining stars. That flag
has been planted in two h~emispheres. and
there 1t remains, the symbol Of liberty and
law, Of progress and peace. Who will with
draw from the people over whom 1t floats Its
protecting folds? Who will haul 1t down?
ruler. a President or a Congress, but Of the
people. The army, whose valor we admire;
the navy, whose achievements we applaud,
were not assembled by draft or conscrlptiOn.
but from voluntary enlistment. The heroes
came from civil as we'll ms military life.
Trained aud unframed soldiers wrought our
trlumphs.
The peace we have won ls not a selfish
truce Of arms. but one whose conditions
presage good to humanity. The domains
secured under the treaty yet to be acted
upon BY the Senate came TO us, not as the
result Of q crusade Of conquest, but as the
reward Of temperate. faithful and fearless
response to the call of conscience. which
and Christian people.
| We have so borne ourselves in the conflict
and In our Intercourse with the powers Of
the world as to escape complaint of compli-
C8tlOut 0hu 6tNC SOhhuGuSC VI OuE
high purpose and unselfsh sacrifices for
struggling peoples.
The task Is not fulfilled. Indeed, 1t is only
Just begun. The most serious work Is still
before us. and every energy Of heart and
| mind must be bent and the impulses of par.
tisanship subordinated to its faithful execu-
ton. This Is the time for earnest, not faint
hearts.
New occasions teach new duties. To this
nation and to every nation there comes
formative periods In Its life and history.
New conditions can be met only by new
methods. Meeting these conditions hopeful
" and facing them bravely and wisely is to
be the mightlest test of American virtue
and capacity. Without abandoning past linn
~itations. traditions and principles. but by
meeting present opportunities and obllga-
lions, We shall show ourselves worthy of
the great trust which civilization has i'm
posed upon US.
At Bunker Hill liberty was at stake: at
Gettysburg the Union was the issue; before
Manila and Santiago our armies fought, not
for gain or revenge, but for human rights.
They contended for the freedom Of the op.
pressed, for whose welfare the United States
has never failed to lend a helping hand to
establish and uphold. and, I believe, never
will. The 0lories Of the war cannet be
dimmed, but the result will be incomplete
and unworthy Of Us unless supplemented
By civil Victories, harder possibly to win, n