The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1902-05-30
FROM FAME TO lNFAMy."
Title of Grafton Delivered by G. D
Hardy at Oratorical Contest
at Huron = hursday.,


/ Two memorable graves in the cem-
/ etery of Princeton college contain
all that is mortal of two memorable
'men Peacefully entombed here lie
the ashes of Il father and grand
father. Imposing headstones record
their deeds Of virtue. love and pa
triotism. At the foot of these two
graves is a third. No epitaph re-
counts the mighty deeds of its silent
sleeper; no loving hands decorate
that obscure sepulche-; no friend
fingers to drop tear Of fond remem-
brance; that home of dearh is de-
serted, unmarked and desolate. Here
rest the remains of Aaron Burr.
The early life of this remarkable
man was spent amid circumstances
: the most favorable for culture and
intellectual growth. Naught was
lacking that the most ambitious
youth could desire. The refnements
of home and nature shed their be-
7 neticent influences about him in child
I hood; wealth, opportunity, and the
2 best advantages of school ..and COL
: lege blessed him in young manhood.
/, He possessed dignified presence, a
4 fascinating personality, and bril-
( liant intellect, that served him we'll
+ in all his relations to society. These
: God-given powers won him honors at
: Princeton, glory on the battlefield,
n leadership in the senate, and nation
: al fame as president of the
d United States. In this high Office
d we see him rise to majestic greatness,
the idol of an admiring people.
: From Maine to the Carolinas, from
!. the Mississippi to the Atlantic
o Aaron Burr was trusted and honored.
n But this man of colossal genius, the
Organizer and leader of democracy
p falls from his position of power, the
is object of universal hatred and execra
20 tion.
While yet vice president, he be
n came an independent candidate fol
lc governor of New York, using tht
!, political methods of an infamou!
in party organizer and an unscrupulou
le demagogue. Denounced as such b.
fy Hamilton, he quickly revealed hi
Ell hatred and enmity by challenging hi
re rival to mortal combat. Hamilton
sought to avoid this extremity, bu
er in vain; Burr would try honor upol
is the field of death.
7u Behold these men on the mornin
le of the eleventh OF July, eightee
hundred and four, standing on tn
ne heights of Weelawken, awaiting th
lu moment for action. The mind {
y, one longs for home. wife and happ
vi children; that of the other dwell
lle only on the present moment an
~ qualification of revenge. In tn
d. heart of one throbs the kingly spiri
ail of a patriot; in that of the othe
he burns the fiendish desires Of an Iagt
lle The countenance of one is call
,s and serene, rejecting the thought
lll and purposes of a guiltless soul: thf
III of the other is black with passion
~. revealing the hatred of years, tt
~ soul of a satan. Here, upon thes
ne heights, under the clear blue Of IL
n- morning sky, the evil genus Of Blu.
ell assaults the holy spirit of patrit
iu and wins two victims-the soul
'Cy Burr, the life Of Hamilton. A ma
VI of principle is slain on the altar
lay folly, revenge, ambition. The spir
w. of passion confronts the spirit
'ay patriotism; the latter loses a d
'ne fender that the former may win {
nc' ally. This tragedy was more thu
a struggle between man and MAJ
am between politician and politician
. it was mighty combat of passit
loil and principle,-a combat typical
lea the eternal warfare waged wherev
rs humanity exists. In the hearts
es- men, in political parties, in the gre
nations of the earth, the battle
ceaseless.
1t is inherent in man to respe
" the rule of law and abhor the. S
premacy of passion. Burr vlolat
this sense of justice, and is reject
by friends, despised by opponen
lole branded as murderer. Hencefor
flee whittier he will Burr shall r
nd, escape the crushing burden Of
go nations righteous wrath. To t
north, to the south, to the east,
+ ,, the west, it shall follow him fore'
and ever.
.an- Driven from his palace on Rio
mond Hill, he sought the west,
to his evil ambition was ever with hi
Aaron Burr saw painless forests a
untracked prairies stretching tows
hool the sunset; cleaning lakes studdi
the landscape and shimmering riv
kip, winding lazily toward the seas. w
de- all this Wealth Of opportunity bef
him, his active brain plotted a
schemed until the possibility OF
mighty kingdom captivated hi