News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-06-05

neglect or become Indifferent to this
grateful duty, the flowers of that
spring-time will plead the extermin-
alton of a volupuous and embecile
people or else, again, drop with the
blood of patriots battling for their
heritage. Most earnestly do | say
to you, honor reward, beautify pa
triotism and thus preserve it from de-
cay. Suffer not this memorial to
pass unobserved or to become an
empty form if you would not have
patriotism become an empty name.
Fellow citlzensl Those whose SUI
preme sacrifice we this day honor
| fought armed rebellion. We must
combat other and more deadly, be-
cause more insiduous and widely diff
fused, evils. Ignorance, immortality,
irreligiOn, it is the same warfare of
self-preservatiOn as sacred now as
then; a bloOdless, but by no means a
dangerless and easy struggle. Then
the nation called for good soldiers;
thousands answered the call; now
she calls for good citizens. God
grant other thousands may answer
this call.
Our government must, of necessity,
trust either in good bayoDets or in
good ballots in the hands of her citi-
zen electors; may they never tail her.
The Richmond Of this conflict with
ignorance, immortality, irrelgion,
with industrial, social, political evils,
is the ballot box. At the polls we
must yet fight some of the most i'm
portant battles with the enemies of
good government that have yet been
fought; shall good ballots and in
sufficient numbers be wanting? With
them we have nothing to fear; with
out them nothing to hope.
Popular sovereignty has both pecu-
liar advantages and disadvantages,
the ballot is at once a priceless and
dangerous boon. 1t is the mightiest
and most effective weapon against
tyranny and corruption when in the
hand of intelligent and conscientious
citizens, but in the hands of the OPP
pOsite class it is a terrible weapon of
destruction. Both classes have it
and it has become q case of absolute
necessity that the intelligent and
conscientious should be able to out
rate the opposite class. 1t will not
do for US to drift along in easy Sc
curity, we must bestir ourselves,
must meet this danger in the old war
time spirit. No personal preferences
or party sympathies whatever must
be suffered to come between US and
the full preservation of the intelli-
gence and integrity of the ballot.
We must throw around it every pos
sible safeguard, must plant schools,
colleges, and institutions of learning
and support them literally and earn
estly. We must demand and reward
honesty and efficiency in all public
servants, and one and all of us,
whatever our party proclivities, set
our faces as flint against any and
every form of political corruption
and shickanery. Every man of us
must thoughtlully, honestly and
prayerfully exercise bis elective fran
chise; let there be no skulking. The
: man who skulked in the rear in time
of battle was not one whit more de-
, serving of a towards drumming out
J of ranks than is the electOr who
skulks from the polls deserving Of
, being drummed from his party and
| deprived of his right to vote.
/ We honor the dead to benefit the
} living, to keep alive in their breasts
| all holy passions all skyward aspira,
| tions. We are divinely called to com
| panonship with the men and women
7 of the twentieth century, who are the
! boys and girls of to-day. | bid you
{ believe in the infinite possibilities o.
2 tomorrow, but achieve them to-day
7 for to-day is the matrix of tomorrow
The ages past and the peoples gone
) have property in and rightful claim
= upon us, for countless generations
} have Travelled in pain and anguish il
z thought, speculation, discovery, In
3 veutiOn; in love, hate, passion anC
/ play to produce the men and womeE
g of to-day.
Every SlcdU ulSCONelyJ eNOlullDl
! resolution, reformation, in short
every advance of every sort is tribu
4 tary to our greatness and our tree
) dom and so, all the generations o
: the vanished ages, call upon US il
e grateful recognition OF our indebted
= ness to them and in humble recogni
] ton of our obligation to the genera
e tions unborn, to pour all these con
i fluent strains OF heredity, these vast
t accumulations of practical wisdom
e these splendid conquests of human
! liberty with great volume into the
channels of tomorrow. Nor is this
C all. 10 the manifest providence o
u God this nation is destined hence
r forth, for longer or shorter term o
= years, to play a leading role in TIT
e drama of international life. All thu
s signs of the times Enthusiastically poin
J. that way. America is the country O
C destiny. as she goes so will tn
e world go.
e We are then, fellow citizens, calleC
}, upon to do our part toward achiev
e ing the coming perfection of America
L /