Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-03-21
NUMBER 33

people envied them their good fortune,
and yet the humblest day laborer in all
this broad land is happier than Con-
gressman Snrague, with his millions.
Vanity of vanity" saith the preacher;
''all is vanity" May these two ex-
representatives be speedily restored to
reasonl
The Louisiana Purchase Fair.
When Thomas Jefferson came to die,
he wrote his own epitaph in these
words: Here lies Thomas jefferson,
author of the Declaration of American
independence and of yirginia's STAT
ute for religious freedom and father Of
the University of Virginia" Those
were great and noble deeds, for which
we are all his debtors; but by one of
those strange accidents which puzzle
mankind the immortal statesman neg
lected to enumerate in his epitaph the
greatest of all his deeds-the making
of the Louisiana purchase. That per-
formance made US q world power.
Those gentlemen who suddenly awoke
at the close of the Spanish war. rubbed
their eyes in astonishment and ex-
claimed, 1--WE have become a world
powerv' as though they had made a
great discovery. were precisely 80
years behind the times. What they
thought had been done in 1898 Jefer-
son accomplished April 80. 1903. Con-
sequently it was eminently fitting and
proper that congress should make pro-
vision for celebrating the hundredth
anniversary of that momentous event.
1t will be done on a magnificent scale.
The whole world will be our guests,
and the celebration will give our re-
sources such a vast advertisement as
to largely increase our wealth.
NapoIeon's Mistake.
When Napoleon sold the Louisiana
territory to Jefferson for a song, he.
parted with the most valuable asset
ever owned by France. He would
have done better part by the French
people had he abandoned la belle
France to her enemies and moved the
French, with their Lares and Penates,
to the Louisiana territory and there
have established new. larger, bet
ter, a richer and a more beautiful
nor moved to it himself with all his
i subjects, England would have gobbled
it in a short time. when it would have
been gone from US and our heirs for
| ever and forever With England to the
| north and west of us we would have
had tough job maintaining our inde-
! pendence Even if we had remained
free and independent, we would have
been so cribbed. cabined and confined
| that we never could have become even
continental power, much less world
power. What a blessing it was that
Jefferson defeated John Adams in 1890,
| for the New Englanders were bitterly
| opposed to the acquisition OF the
Louisiana territory, some of them
| going so far as to declare that by that
| magnificent achievement Jefferson had
! oyerthrown the constitution and dis
solved the Union. Jefferson bought it
| at the only time possible for such a
/ transaction. so that If Adams had de-
| feated him the purchase would not
| have been then made. and today the
Mississippi river would be our western
border. The $5.000.000 appropriated by
| congress to celebrate this benefcent
event is not the fiftieth part of the
taxes paid in one year in one way and
another by the citizens of the Louisi-
ana purchase. One good purpose which
the celebration will serve is to start a
Jeffersonian revival. thing very much
needed just now. for his principles are
those of wisdom. truth and justice. No
other man that ever lived did so much
to make the idea of representative gov
ernment popular and to make its prac-
tiee a success The Hamiltonian school
of writer's and orators may sneer all
they choose at Jefferson and his the
ories. but after they all molder in for
gotten graves his principles will sur
rive to animate and bless mankind.