The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-09-10

Mr. President, and You, my fellow citi-
zens, men and women of Vermont Il am
glad to be here in your beautiful State and
am especially glad to come here, Mr.
Proctor, as the guest of the society OF
which you are president, the Society OF
the Sons of the American Revolution. 1t
is great thing to have had forefathers
who did their work we'll in the world, al
ways providing that the fact of having
had them drives us onward to try to do
our part in the world now, instead of being
seized as an excuse for refusing to do our
own share.
like to see man who is good citi-
zen, who comes from a line of good citi-
zens, but am sure we all feel nothing but
an added contempt for the wretched
creature who makes worthy ancestors an
excuse for his own failure to do what he
should do. But when | came up here to
Vermont when see you people do not
feel as though | could teach you anything
but hope | can give expression to GER
tain thoughts that you and have.
Now, gentlemen and ladies, the men
the greatest republic upon which the SIM
has ever shone, who not only fought but
planned and acted Alright in civil life, did
not devise any new scheme of human con-
duct, they acted according to the well
tried truths in accordance with which all
success worth having has been obtained
from generation to generation through the
ages. Just this afternoon ! was reading
a wonderful old poem of "Piers Plowman"
of the 18th century in England and it is
curious to see how closely the poet speak
ing to his fellow Countrymen, adheres to
the plain, common sense rules of morality
to which we must adhere now if we are to
win.
There is a text in the Bible which con-
tains two rules of conduct where too many
people are apt only to take one, sometimes
this one, sometimes that one. You need
both. The text is one which teaches us
to be both as wise as serpents and as
harmless as doves. Now to be only harm
less is not really to deserve much praise,
nor, on the other hand to possess all the
wisdom and all the power that can come to
man shall avail nothing if with it does not
come the lift towards righteousness, the
lift towards decency. Now that rule means
that we have got to be both decent and
efhcient. | can point out, fortunately,
here, from your own State, just what
mean.
want first to illustrate what mean by
the two men whom Vermont, this inland
State, contributed to the navy of the Uni
ted States and to the glory of the whole
nation in the Spanish war, Admiral Dewey
and our friend here whom do not have
to'name. (Great applause),
Now gentleman, Admirals Dewey and
Clark had to have in them the courage,
that desire to do 6ecently but it would
not have done them any good if they had
not learned their trade as the chances
came Admiral Dewey went into Manila
bay, Admiral Clark took the Oregon
around through Magellan straits and then
into the fight at Santiago and there bore
himself with signal valor They did that
not only because they had in them the raw
material that made them able to do it. but
because they had made the most of that
raw material so they could meet the de-
mands made upon them. Dewey could
not have begun to go into Manila bay if
he had not been trained year in and year
out at his profession.
If Dewey or Clark had sat down during
the long years of peace, as ! have known
pretty good men to sit down and say "oh,
well, there is not anything to be done.