The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-05-30
memorial ADDRESS.
,coNr1NUED FROM FOURTH PAGE. ]

common possession. our AaUnoi0
dreamed of these privileges; with a
great price they purchased them ana
made possible these days,
And now what do we find? On all
sides and by all classes of people,
liberty is questioned and men are as
trustful of popular government. Thus
a we'll known American writer IN
we'll known review declares: 'Our
noe is befooled by democracy. Ii we
oould get rid of our notions about
liberty and equality, etc, and co14p
I as1y' aside this eighteenth century
philosophy, according to which human
society is to be brought into a STATE
of blessedness we might get some
insight into the might OF the soclesai
organization.
That such things are written ana
published indicates that they are
thought and said. Many things indl-
caTe -'- that IA We we are in danger of forget
ting some of the ideas OF our early
life, On all sides we hear peans sung
in Qualification of our greatness ana
prosperity; and these things are al
Tays construed in terms of commerce
ond dollars Once men came to
this land for liberty's sweet sake;
TODAY the immigrants are coming for
6ltbv luere's sake. No wonder the
quality of immigrants has fallen, SO
that now we receive little else than
the fiotsam of the world.
There are many people, natives
and foreigners, who tell us that n we
have lost the early enthusiams OF our
vouth and are now governed by the
sordid calculations of age. There are
those who declare that our whole
American life is so infiltrated with
the money getting idea, that we nave
scant interest in pure ideals. IL mas
nome to this that home and abroad we
are constituting our American great
ness in terms of trade prosperity ana
material wealth. The average man
who speaks of America today says
nothing about her great Ideals
America represents land wnere
great fortunes are made and where
prosperity reigns. Beyond questlon
we are in danger of forgetting many
of the ideals of our youth, and OF be-
ing dominated by material standard.
"Our age is befooled by democracy.
And have we come to this so early IN
our history? Have we outgrown the
ideals of our youth before we have at.
tanned or manhood? Men of America,
were our fathers wrong and are these
seduoing voices of today right? We're
the men of Plymouth colony and the
Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania
narrow minded fanatics who were
carried away by sentiment and
visions?
We're our fathers befooled and be-
witched when they pledged their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor in behalf of liberty and demo
crazy? We're the men in Blue ohas-
ing phantoms when they shouldered
muskets to preserve the union and
died to free the slave? Let who Will
make light of liberty and make mock
of democracy for myself / prefer to
believe that the fathers were right;
/ prefer their visions and Ideals to
our r. modern commercial material
ism aud sordid calculations. Is as
piration a mistake and mailing your
flag to the mast bit of delusive her
oics? Must we think whollyaof today
and not at all of tomorrow? Must we
dismiss convictions and sentiments
and study general consensus and
average opinion?
How can we explain this change in
our thought ? And what can we do
to save ouselves. If l mistake not
one reason for this change lies near
at hand.
This story of the birth and growth
of liberty is only one-half the story.
For liberty does not stand alone; IL
berty to be effective must have some
positive end. That is to say; liberty
by itself is negative thing, and
negatives never can satisfy the heart
of man. Liberty is glorious thing,
and we cannot sufficiently prize it;
but liberty is ten fold more glorious
when seen in the light of its positive
meaning and possibilities. Let me in
the little time that remains indicate
two or three things that enter into
what may be called the yea of our
American Idea that we may under
stand the unfinished task that con-
fronts u.s. The old aspirations of the
Nay of liberty have vanished and the
new aspirations of the yea of liberty
have not yet taken their place.
We have had the Nay of liberty; it is time
for us to have the Yea of liberty. The
struggle of men for liberty has often been
the struggle of the blind giant cropping for
light: but at heart there has been the recog-
nation of the worth of the human person
atty, with the desire of each man to serve
the common good out of his own self choos-
ing. In their love of liberty our fathers
threw fortune and life into the scale and
counted not their lives dear unto them
selves. They have indicated for us the
principles Of religious and civil liberty;