The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-09-26


which | am speaking love to think that
| the flag OF our sovereignty not only sur.
/ passes the emblems OF all other nations In
its pure beauty and wonderful simplicity,
| but wherever Il rests or wherever It streams
II breathes the most marvellous history that
! ever fell upon the eyes Of mankind 1t
tells Of a patient. patriotic, courageous
struggle for liberty. Its tells Of an in.
telligent and prophecy almost divine. which
constructed a new government fit for CEN
turtles OF growth and betterment. 1t tells
| Of an expansion in which the genius of
craftsmanship and the enterprise Of indus
/ try went hand in hand, seeking the lakes of
the North, the Gulf Of the South, and the
ocean on the West filing as they went,
/ this unsurpassed empire with a life so help
| full, so active, and so efficient, that the leg
ends Of the Orient fade into obscurity be-
fore the actual events of the Western Hem
/ isphere. 1t tells of civil war unparalleled
| in all the wars of the world, the final, the
supreme test Of the Republic in which pa
triotism reached Its climax and held "Old
| Glory up with every star blazing from its
azure field aud every stripe fluttered in the
air. 1t tells of a period of unexampled
| development and magical prosperity in
which ships were launched, railroads were
built, mines were opened, factories were
established and cities founded.
In which prairies became farms and des-
erts became gardens In which wealth in
creased in which the population doubled :;
in which education was universally dlffus-
| ed in which Christianity spread; in which
| Uncle Sam" grew to manhood, strlding
81
til this giant Of the new world was leading
all the earth toward the high destiny of
| the human race. The same old flag tells
| Of a time when it was again carried at the
| head of an American army and tiuttered on
| the masts of an American navy in a cru
SADIE or humanity. time full of honor
and full Of lory, for when it was furled
again in peace, the lash that we had laid
upon theback Of the tryant had drawn the
line of American territory along the fur
thermost shores of the Philippines.
Il love the flag for what it has been.
and for what it is l love it for its vic
tories. would love it in defeat, but
thank God it has never seen defeat.
love it for what it means in the reconstruc
ton and upbuilding of the world. l love
it because it is the sign Of liberty, the
symbol of equality, the bow of promise, of
all that is best in humanity, and above ALL
and embracing all, because it is the flag
of the United States, the most perfect gov
eminent ever founded and maintained by
men. There is no phase of political opin-
ion, however wild and visionary that
should not be discussed with entire amity
and good feeling, but | cannot abide the
skeptic who prophecies the ruin Of his own
country and the destruction of her insti-
tutons and l have the profoundest pity
for him who constantly shivers before the
problems of the future. If there be such
man before me, he will be offended for
| will be singing the songs of victory and
hope while he is chanting the dirges Of de-
spair These pessimists, if any stlll re
main, can find congenial souls only in that
rapidly fading remnant Of religious fanatics
who find in happiness and joy only an evil
dence of mortal n and who know they are
wholly good because they are wholly
miserable.
Mr.. CumminS then turned to the political
issues which are Of interest to the otter
this year, and as his address was Of full
two and a half hours duration, it is i'm
possible to give in a single newspaper ar
tlcle, more than a brief synopsis Of his
remarks. At the outset he directed atten-
tIon TO the Importance Of eleCting two re
publican United States Senators, which
could only be done by the election of a re-
publican legislature. This he said was Of
more Importance than the election Of a re
publican governor. On the silver question
he said in part:
The Kansas City platform IS gross
libel, and did not believe that conven-
tion Of Iowa men would ever repubIish it.
While from a selfish point of view, it was
Of advantage to me as a candidate be
Iieve that | was patriotic enough to hope
that its exploded heresies would never
again be endorsed by a responsible con
vention. As citizen of Iowa l shared the
humiliation experienced by the strong min
GRITTY which 50 cDurage0usly resisted the de-
termination to pledge the Iowa democracy
to the seditlons promulgated at Kansas
city a year ago. I am not thinking alone
Of the demand for the free coinage Of sill
yer. However honest its advocates origin
ally were. and / doubt not they were per
frctly sincere. the history of the last tive
years has stricken down every argument
raised to sustain it, and those who really
expect or desire to the doctrine become
a part Of our financial system are hardly
more numerous than the disciples Of in
FAINT damnaton in religion or of unlimited
and irredeemable paper money in politics
1t is no surprise thar substantially half the
members Of the democratic party openly re
pudiate the platform, and l congratulate
fI.t hal
and their patriotism. As to the other half
| still have faith enough In them as men
who love their country, to believe that they
would shiver all over with fear IL they
thought that the principles for which they
stand would ever become the controlling
forces Of national administration. Re
sp"cting the reiterated demand for the free
and unlimited coinage Of silver there Is
menace in it which should not reappear in
every campaign and at every election. There
will be in the future In the very nature Of
things there must be, periods Of industrial
and commercial depression. There are con
dtions now existing in the abnormal value
Of stocks, bonds and other commodities
which give concern to every intelligent
observer. Let US not aggraYate the situa-
tion as It is now or as 1t may be next year
by the remotest suspicion that our money
our standard Of value-can be juggled with.
1t was the fear that a dollar might become
so cents that made the panic OF 1898 the
most destructive that ever ravaged the
business Of America. When the citadel Of
honor and sefety is assalled, disaster
spreads TO every home in the land. In such
storm no man is secure. An Industrial
depression can be Guarantined A financial
panic growing out Of fear for the standard