The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1899-04-11

ne. and be content 20 rot by Hchas {
4. isnoble ease wlthm our borders. tsk'n
. no interest in what goes beyond them
sunk into a scrambllng commerciaism
needless Of the higher life, the life o
= aspiration. OF toll and risk; busying out
selves only with the wants OF our bodie
for the day until suddenly we find be
yond a shadow OF question. what Cniui
has already found that In this world
the nation that has trained itself to
, career of nuwarliks and isJlater ease Is
hound in The end TO go down before Other
nations which have not lost the manly
and adventurous qualities n we ere Cd
he a really great people. we must strlv,
In good faith 10 play a great part IN the
world. We cannot avoid meeting great
issues. All that We can determine for
ourselves Is, whether we shan meet them
well or ~. Last year we could not help
being brought face to face with the prob
lem OF the war with Spain. All we could
decide was whether we should shrink
like towards from the contest. or enter
Into It as bsseemed a brave and high
spirited people; and once IN whether
failure or success should crown our ban
ners SO it Is now. We cannot avoid the
|
wall, Cuna, Porto Rico and the Philip
pines. All we can decide Is whether we
shall meet them In a way that shall
r5doGad 20 the national credit. or wAeth
er we shall make our dealings with these
new problems a dark and shameful page
I'm our history To refuse 20 deal with
them at all merely amounts to dealing
with them badly. We have a given prob
lem TO solve II we undertake the gIu-
| ton, there Is, OF course. always danger
that We my not solve IL Alright: kit TO
refuse to undertake the solution ,s;Implv
renders II certain that We cannot poss-
| ibly solve IL Alright. The tlmid man. the
lazy man, u - man who distrusts his
country. De- .cI.aiviizeu ,aen gyhn has
lost the great fshtn ng masterfi Virtues
the ign1 ,a' uHH md the mau cf dun
mind w1H5s sou! IS incapable of feeling
the mighN ilt that thrills stern men
with empires in their bralns'-au these
Of course shrink from seeing the nation
build a navy and army adequate TO our
needs; shrink from seeing us do our
share of the work by bringing order
out of chaos in the great. fair troplc
Islands from which the valor Of our y1l-
diers has driven the Spanish fax. These
men are the men who fear the s<renuous
life, who fear the only national life
wnch is really worth leading They be-
lieve Ia that cloistered life which saps
the hardy virtues OF a nation as IL saps
them In the individual; or else they are
welded to that base spirit Of gain and
greed which recognizes In commerclalism
the be-all and end-all Of national life.
instead Of realizing that. though an in
dispensable element. II IS after all but |
one Of the many elements that go 10
make up true national greatness No
country can long endure ~ its foundation
is not deeply laid In the prosperity which
comes from thrift, from business encr-
KY and enterprise. from unsparlng effort
In the itlds OF national activity; ut
neither was any nation ever truly great
II II be left upon material prosperity
alone. All honor must be paid to the ar
chitects OF our material prosperity: to |
the great captains of industry who have |
built our industries and our raiiao IS. |
20 the strong man who tolls for wealth |
with brain and mind: for great IS the |
de't OF the nation to these and their /
kind But our debt Is yet greater 20 tho |
men whose highest type Is u be found
In a statesman-like Lincoln a soldier
ike Grant They showed by their lives
that they recognized the law Of work.
tine law OF strife; they toled 70 win a
competence for themselvs and those de-
pendent rpon them but they recognized
that there are YET other and loftier dut-
1es-duties TO the nation and duties to the
race
WELL-TO-DO HUCKsTERs
We cannot sit huddle- within our bor- |
ders and avow ourselves an Assem- bls &c |
of well-to-do huokstcrs who care nothing |
fer what happens bsyo1d Such n policy |
would defeat eve7 .ts own end; for as |
81 he nations grow to have wider 1nd WIDER |
interests and are brought into closer and |
closer contact. n we are to hold our own
IN the struggle for naval and commercial
supremacy, we must build up our power
within our borders. We must build the
lsthmian canal. and We must grasp the
points Of vantage which will enable us 10
have our say In deciding the destiny af
the oceans OF the east and west
So much for the comm ar9iaI sii, From,
the argument IS even stronger Tho guns
that thundered of Manila aud sandago
leftus echoes of glory ut they also Ieft
n
medieval tyranny, only TO make room
for savage tyranny. we had better not
have begun the task at al II IS worse
than idle TO say that we have no duty
70 perform ana can leave 10 their fates
the Islands we have conquered. Such "A
course would be course OF nfamv. IL
would q followed at once By utaer chaos
In thew retched islanls themselves.
Some stronger manliei power wound hava
70 step in and do the work and W would
have shown ourselves weaklings. unable
to carry to successful completion the la
bors that great and hlgh-spirlted nations
are eager to undertake.
WE CAN'T LET LOOSE.
The work must be done. We cannot es-
cape our responsibility. and n we are
worth our salt. we shall be glad Of Tho
chance 10 do the work-glad OF the
chance TO show ourselves equal to one
| OF the great tasks set modern clvlIiza.
tion. But let us not deceive ourselves
as TO the importance OF the task. Let as
not be misled by vain glory into under
estimating the strain II will put on our
powers. Above all. let US, as wo value
our own self-respect. face the responsl-
biiities Win prIper seriousness. courage
and high resolve. We must demand the
1 highest order OF integrity ana ability In
our public men who are to grapple with
these new proritn.s We must hold 10 +,
rigid accountability those public SER
wants who show unfaithfulness to the IN