The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-23

or necessity. While a war of material
necessity may be righteous war;, yet
one waged for an abstract principle is of
its very nature righteous, for it involves
no element of self-interest.. nor is it be-
cause waged for an abstract principle a
useless sacrifice Of life and energy. 1t is
an evidence of the inherent desire for
liberty and progress that man has ever
been willing to make a sacrifice that can
bring to him no advantage as an in
dividual. Such, in fact is the character
of nearly all the sacrifices which man
has made in the struggle for liberty.
Few of those who have offered them
selves as a. possible sacrifice In that
struggle could, in their widest dreams,
have seen a possible personal advantage.
The benefits that were to flow from their
sacrifice was a heritage which they be-
queathed to posterity
The historic causes Of the. American
revolution, while serving as the rallying
point Of thought and sentiment, were aft
er all Of little material Importance to
that generation. All human government
however free, must of necessity involve
the surrender of certain rights. must of
necessity involve the assumption of Ger
tain burdens.
1865 and the various stamp acts since
then is not SO much the difference in
the weight of the burden as in the fact
that the first was imposed against the
Will OF the great majority of the people,
while the latter were imposed against the
will of a minority. 1t was not the meas
3r &C, of the burden, but the manner of
ciple involved in the assertion of the
right to impose the burden. That it was
masked behind the subterfuge of revenue
for defense of the. colonies made no diff
ference. The colonists had already shown
their capacity to bear their burdens, and
their ability to create the power of their
defense In vain was the act repealed:
reserved power of the crown government
to tax without representation. It was
this ABSTRACT idea that lay at the foun-
may, the great. basic fact remains that
they We're fighting for a principle, large
ly abstract as to themselves and their
living reality to their posterity.
In 1861, inspired by patriotism, nourish-
ed by the traditions of heroic achieve
ment. the best manhood of America
sprang to the defense OF the Union. This,
too was largely war of abstract prin-
ciple, 1t did not even embody that Spirit
Of self-defense which was aroused In the
cause of the American Revolution, but
their lives to perpetuate institutions and
to maintain the integrity of the nation
While America could never have attain
ed her present greatness. nor have work
ed out her manifest destiny divided into
petty republics, yet to the men who sleep
beneath the Southern sun. to the men
bivouac of immortal achievement, there
could be no compensation for their sac
rifice. Even those who survived the
struggle gained nothing compared to the
they. assumed Like the heroism and
patriotism of the Revolutionary days.
their sacrifice was the free-will offering
of exalted patriotism to the cause of hui
man progress.
In 1898 came the third great historic
struggle. Viewed in the light of the
forces employed and the great disparity
of power, the war with Spain hardly de-
serves a place in the category Of great
struggles. but measured by the motive
that prompted the sacrifice. it takes its
human progress. Nations have reached
out their arm in defense of weaker pow
ers. inspired by a policy of diplomacy or
that by succoring some weaker power
they could strike a blow to some hated
rival The war with Spain stands upon
plane peculiar and exclusive in itself
Amsrica had nothing to fear from Span
ish power, we could cripple no rival in
breaking down her colonial system, and
for young vigorous nation like ours,
fame held no added honor In the over
throw Of a decaying remnant of medieval
tyranny. To the youth who responded to
that call there could come no dream of
glory, even the institutions under whose
protecting Aegis he was entering upon
| the problems of an advanced civilization,
| were not imperiled. but he added to the
ed by a motive which even transcends
patriotism itself, for over and beyond
| love of country, his inspiration was
| deep, broadening love of humanity.
The statesman stands more in the
background of history A truly great
statesman cannot be known to his own
| age and generation. He either stands lift
| ing warning voice amid the evidences
| of wreck and decay, and finds himself
| buried beneath the ridicule that seems in
all ages to have been the fate Of those
| who retained the vigorous purpose Of an
earlier citizenship. amid the fastening
/ Tendency Of national decay or. with a
| broad grasp Of historic fact, linking eff
| feet to cause. he stands with almost
prophetic vision, lifting the vail Of fu-
1 turity, but he Is then so far In advance
| Of the great consensus Of thought as to
| be regarded as a dreamer
The statesman can therefore do little