The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-07-21
Resigns His Berth of Assistant
Secretary Of Interior.
ELOQUENT CHAMPION OF THE BoRRs
His Appearance at Kansas City
Hailed with Enthusiasm.

Webster Davis, late assistant secre-
tary of the interior in McKinley's cabi-
net, delivered the following eloquent ad-
dress before the Kansas City conven-
ton:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of tile
Conventions: I appreciate very highly
the honor conferred upon me by invit-
ing me to say word at this time, and /
shall detain you but moment. l have
been honored highly by another party in
the past I have served that party we'll,
and have rendered services as good as
the honor received and the account is
balanced now. (Great applause)
Life, human life, is but narrow span
between two great unknown eternities,
and life is too short for a man to sacri-
fee his principles or his love of country
for money or for office i'll this republic.
have never yet read or heard plat
form that was so intensely American
as the platform read here in this con-
vention. Old questions have passed
away, and a great many new questions
arc now before the American people.
care not the snap OF my finger for party
or private criticism. care nothing for
office, because l gave up one volun-
tarily better than any you can give me.
The man or newspaper that makes the
statement that was forced to leave
the administration against my will, alb
solutely, unquali6edly and maliciously
lies.
love liberty, l love equality of
rights, and love justice. When the party
that belong to has been too cowardly
to take stand for liberty, to represent
popular government against British
aristocracy and monarchy, leave it and
leave it for good.
In every part of Europe and Africa
the charge is made by the British press
and the British officials that there is a
secret alliance between this country and
Great Britain, to the effect that in case
of any foreign nation attempting to in
tervene in behalf of the poor Beers, that
this republic will stand by Great Brit
ain with its army and navy. I have yet
to hear of the administration denying
this report. l defended the American
administration in every address I made
in behalf of the Beers since my unfor-
tunate visit to that country-I say un-
fortunate, for it was unfortunate, frlan-
cially and politically. I say now I will
never defend it again, because it has
taken the chance at its national conven-
ton to tell the American people that we
are not for liberty and Republican
forms of government.
Liberty! We all love the splendid
word-the sweetest word that ever bios
somed upon the tongue of man, and, as
one great Republican senator said in
the United States senate, it has come
to pass that we must whisper the word
liberty in Washington. Is it fact that
liberty is to become obsolete in the
American lexicon? Is it true that this
great republic must chain itself to the
chariot wheels of British empire in its
mad race for land and gold?
sympathize with people struggling
for liberty everywhere, 1 sympathized
with them as they struggled for liberty
in Greece and when war broke out with
Spain we said that it was not war for
conquest, not for glory, but for carrying
liberty to people who were crying for
help at our feet.
And the soldiers marched from the
northland whose fathers once marched
in tattered blue, with song their ia
theirs loved, "My Country, 'Tis OF Thee"
and the boys came from the southland,
they whose fathers once marched in rag
ged gray to the music of "Way Down
South in Dixie" and they followed the
men who at once led the Northern ar
mics to Cuba and into other lands, and
into islands of the sea.
They marched under one flag in be-
half OF one country to the music of one
splendid melody, as they felt in their
hearts the music that inspired the men
in days gone by.
"In the beauty OF the lilies,
Christ was born across the sea,
+. AS He died to make men holy,
Let Us die to make men free"