The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-03-07

Hope maketh not ashamed The
prophets of evil were not the build
ers of the republic, nor in its crisis
since have they saved or served it.
The faith of the fathers was mighty
force in its creation and the faith of
their descendants has wrought its
progress and furnished its defenders.
They are obstructionists who despair
and who would destroy confidence in
the ability of our people to solve
wisely and for civilization the mighty
problems resting upon them. The
American people, entrenched in free
dom at home, take their love for it
with them wherever they go, and
they reject as mistaken and unworthy
the doctrine that we lose our own
liberties by securing the enduring
foundation of liberty to others. Our
institutions will not deteriorate by
extension and our sense of Justice will
not abate under tropic suns in dis
tant seas. As heretofore, so hereaf-
ter, will the nation demonstrate it's
fitness to administer any new esta tie
which events devolve upon it, and in
the fear of God will take occasion by
the hand and make the bounds of
freedom wider yet If there are those
among us who would make our way
more difficult, we must not be dis
heartened, but the more earnestly
dedicate ourselves to the task upon
which we have rightly entered. The
path of progress is seldom smoothe.
New things are often found hard to
do. Our fathers found them so. We
find them SO. They are inconvenient t.
They cost us something. But are we
not made better for the effort and
sacrifice, and are not those we serve
lifted up and blessed?
We will be consoled, too, with the
fact that opposition has confronte d
every onward movement of the re-
public from its opening hour until
now, but without success. The re-
public has marched on and on, and
its every step has exalted freedom
and humanity. We are undergoing
the same ordeal as did our predec es-
sors nearly a century ago. We are
following the course they blazed.
They triumphed. Will their success
sors falter and plead organic impo-
tency in the nation? Surely after 1875
years of achievement for mankind we
will not surrender our equality with
other powers on matters fundam entail
and essential to nationality. With no
such purpose was the nation created.
In no such spirit has it developed its
full and independent sovereignty. We
adhere to the principles of equality
among ourselves, and by no act of
ours will we assign to ourselves a
subordinate rank in the family of
nations.
MY fellow citizens, the public
events of the past four years have
gone into history. They are too near
to Justify recital. Some of them were
unforeseen many Of them momentous
and farreaching in their consequences
to ourselves and our relations with
the rest of the world. The part which
the United States bore so honorably
in the thrilling scenes in China, viii lie
new to American life, has been in
harmony with it's true spirit and best
traditions, and in dealing with the
results it's policy will be that of mod
GRAFTON and fairness.
1--WE face at this moment a most
important question-that of the
future relations of the United States
and Cuba. With our near neig hbors
we must remain close friends. The
declaration of the purposes of this
government in the resolutions of
April 20, 1898, must be made good.
Ever since the evacuation of the
island by the army of Spain the ex-
ecutive with all practicable speed has
been assisting its people in the sue
cessive steps necessary to the estab-
lishment of a free and independent
government prepared to assume and
perform the obligations of interna-
tional law which now rests upon the
United States under the treaty of
Paris. The convention elected by the
people to frame constitution is ap-
preaching the completion of it's la
bors. The transfer of American con-
troll to the new government is of such
great Importance, involving an obli-
CATION resulting from our interven-
ton and the treaty of peace, that am
glad to be advised by the recent act
of Congress of the policy which the
legislative branch of the government
deems essential to the best interests
of Cuba and the United States. The
principles which led to our interven-
ton require that the fundamental
law upon which the government rests
should be adapted to secure a govern
ment capable of performing the du-
ties and discharging the functions of