St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-09-18

the dumping ground of even the criminal
classes for European countries. He
further said, LET all men come, and of
all these diverse and sometimes autago-
nistlc elements we will make a solvent
for tusing our own sectional differences,
and from the crucible of combination
there shall come forth,
=" The union of lakes the union of lands,
A union of states none can sever,
union OF hearts, the union of hands,
And the flag of our union forever"
With Others / applauded that speech,
but alas our mistake was in magnify
ing the power of the solvent generated
by our American institutions, and being
deceived as to the capacity of the cruel
BILE into which we were to put this COM
bination.
But why did we want them to come
We said, that they might be blessed with
liberty, and our nation enriched the lat
ter, imagine, being the chief motive.
With thousands of those who have come
we have succeeded in both particulars.
The country has been blessing to them,
and through their industry and economy
the nation has been enriched. But the
wide open door has admitted altogether
too many who have impoverished the
nation by despoiling our choicest Iiber-
ties. Now / believe that this nation has
pitched its tent toward Sodom in main
tanning wide open door to the nations
of the world, with an eye to it's own en-
richment, and without proper regard to
the evil consequences which result there
from.
Secondly, the direction in which the tent
is pitched is indicated by the Unsuitable
greed for wealth which is manifest among
the people of all classes in our country.
The nation pitching its tent, regardless
OF consequences, with an eve to it's en-
rlchment, has had an influence upon indi
vidual lite, until it has taken the form of
Unsuitable greed for wealth, which is one
ofthe bottom planks on the anarchyroad.
This has led our people to seek it with
out regard to the rights of Others Many
fail in their pursuit ofwealth. This leads
them to charge the course Of their fail
ure upon the present order of things in
civil affairs.
The steps are not long from sel6shness
to jealousy, from jealousy to envy, from
envy to hate from hate to murder.
When speak of this greed for
gain largely controlling our American
life, l do not forget the philanthropy of
the past quarter century, nor the philan-
thropists of today. But still, the philan-
thropist is an exception among the rich,
and philanthropy a rare jewel, when
ability and opportunity are considered.
But giving all credit where it is due on
these lines, | hesitate not to say that
there is greed for wealth prevailing in
many circles, among all classes, which is
a manifestation, in milder form, Of
the same spirit that nerved the hand
which sent the bullets into our President.
And believe that if we would stay the
hand that holds the pistol, we must stem
the tide OF greed for wealth, which is at
the bottom of much of the social disorder
in our land. l believe the way in which
the national tent is pitched is indicated
by its attitude toward and relation to
what are recognized as evils and only
evil. Take for illustration its partnership
with the liquor traffic.
AS nation we are in league with every
legalized rum shop in the land. And
what crimes, pray you, does not liquor
instigate? Every liquor dealer has the
good will and authority OF this govern
ment behind him in the form of
a United States license. And often
this licensed liquor shop is the breed
ing place for anarchy. Anarchist
leaders are frequently found to be liquor
dealers. The murderer of the President
was previously one. And when l hear
men speak of his boldness, can but re-
member, if reports are true, that his So
called boldness was inspired by the rea-
SON and misunderstanding drugs
freely imbibed in a United States licensed
liquor saloon. 1t is well for press, pulpit
and people to say, down with the an
archist," but how far have we, the PEG.
pie, been "particeps criminis" in the evil
which helps on this terrible crime. From
the revenue received from this source we
have largely an OVERLOOKING treasury,
but can it atone for low, evil.bred citi-
zenship.
Other things might be referred to as in
dicating the way in which the national
tent is pitched, but my time will not per-
NIT me to refer to them, much less to
dwell upon them. But it seems to me
in terms more emphatic than l can utter
the nation is being called to change about
and pitch its tent towards the uplands
of righteousness. But the nation as
such, nor the state, has never made any
great reform. Society can have no vir
tues not possessed by the individual. A
commonplace truth, but one not to
be forgotten. Society is made up of
individuals. Society is only the
name of all of us. We are all
mem ers of society whether we want to
be or not. The murderer of the Presi-
dent was as much member of society as
was President Mckinley.
Again, society is no stronger than its
weakest part"
Now while me are talking about the
need of social reform, and there is so
much said about making needed reforms,
remember, that no reform is possible
without a type of character pro-
portional to the work to be
done. To go a step further, and
still deeper, wish to say: That it
devolves upon the individual member of
the community to shape the ideals of
society or in other words, to set in
motion a train of ideas that shall come
to be accepted by the whole. This has
always been so, is now, and ever will be.
With these facts before us what must be
our conclusion. Is it not this? If the
tent Of this nation shall ever be pitched
away from Sodom, and toward Canaan
or Righteousness; if we are to have a
national life that will make anarchery
impossible; if we are to have the
national life conform to the highest