The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-16

| that of self f-SatlSfaCtlOn Wnlch accepts
the high resolve and unbending effort of
the father as an excuse for effortless ease
or wrongly directed effort in the son. We
of the present, if we are true to the past,
must show by our lives that we have
learned Alright the lessons taught by the
men who did the mighty deeds of the
past We must have in us the spirit
which made the men of the civil war
what they were; the spirit which pro-
duced leaders such as Sherman; the spirit
which gave to the average soldier the
grim tenacity and resourcefulness that
made the armies of Grant and Sherman
as formidable fighting machines as this
world has ever seen. We need their rug
gedness of body, their keen and vigorous
minds, and above all their dominant
quality of forceful character Their lives
teach us in our own lives to strive after
not the thing which is merely pleasant
but the thing which it is our duty to do.
/ The life of duty, not the life of mere
ease or mere pleasure-that is the kind of
life which makes the great man as it
makes the great nation.
We can not afford to lose the virtues
which made the men of 81 to '65 great
in war. No man is warranted in feeling
| pride in the deeds of the Army and Navy
of the past if he does not back up the
Army and the Navy of the present. If
we are farsighted in our patriotism
there will be no let up in the work of
building and of keeping at the highest
point OF efficiency, navy suited to the
part the United States must hereafter
play in the world, and of making AMI
keeping cur small Regular Army, which
| in the event of great war can never
be anything but the nucleus around
which our volunteer armies must form
| themselves, the best army of its size to
| be found among the nations.
So much for our duties in keeping un-
stained the honor roll our fathers made
! IN war. 1t is of even more instant need
that we should show their spirit Of pa
| trlotism in the affairs of peace. The
duties of peace are with us always; those
of war are but occasional; and with
nation as with a man, the woYthiness of
| life depends upon the way IN which the
| everyday duties are done. The home
duties are the vital duties. The nation
Is nothing but the aggregate of the tami-
lies within its border; and if the average
man is not hard-working just, and fear
less in his dealings with those about him,
then our average of public life will in
| the end be low for the stream can rise
no higher than its source. But in addi-
| tion we need to remember that a pecu-
| liar responsibility rests upon the man in
public life. We meet in the capital OF
the nation, in the city which owes it's ex.
istence to the fact that it is the seat of
| the National Government. 1t is we'll for
US IN this place, and at this time, to re-
member that exactly as there are certain
| homely qualities the lack of which viii
prevent the most brilliant,man alive from
Being useful soldier to his country, so
there are certain homely qualities for
the lack of which in the public servant no
shrewdness or ability can atone The
greatest leaders, whether in war or in
peace, must of course show a peculiar
quality of genius: but the most redoubt-
able armies that have ever existed have
been redoubtable because the average
soldier, the average officer, possessed to a
high degree such comparatively simple
qualities as loyalty, courage, and hardi-
hood. And so the most successful gov
ernments are those in which the average
public servant possesses that variant OF
loyalty which we call patriotism, togeth-
er with common sense and honesty. We
can as little afford to tolerate dshon-
est man IN the public service as a coward
in the Army. The murderer takes a
single life; the corruptionist in public
lie, whether he be bribe giver or bribe
| taker, strikes at the heart of the COM
monWealth. In every public service, as-
In every army, there will be wrongdoers
| there VIII occur misdeedS. This can not
be avoided; but vigilant watch must be
Kept and as soon as discovered the
Wrongdong must be stopped and the
wrongdoers punished. Remember that in
popular government we must RELY on the
people themselves, alike for the pun
lshment and the reformation. Those
upon whom our institutions cast the
initial duty of bringing malefactors to the
bar of justice must be dligent in it's dis
charge; yet in the last resort the sue
cess of their efforts to purge the public
service OF corruption must depend unon
the attitude of the courts and of the
jures drawn from the people. Leader.
ship is of avail only so far as there is
wise and resolute public sentiment be-
| hind it.
| In the long run, then, it depends upon
US ourselves upon us the people as A
whole, whether this Government is or is
not to stand In the future as it has stood
| IN the past; and my faith that it will
show no falling off is based upon my
talth in the character of our average
citizenship. The one supreme duty is to
| try to keep this average high. To this
end it is we'll to keep alive the memory
OF those men who are fit to serve as ex
amples OF what is lofticst and best in
American citizenship. Such a man was
General Sherman. To very few in any
generation is it given to render such ser
vices as he rendered; but each of us in
his degree can try to show something oe
those qualities of character upon which
in their sum, the high worth of Sher-
man rested-his courage, his kindIiness
his clean and simple living, his sturdy
good sense, his manliness and tenderness
in the intimate relations of life. and
| finally, his infexible rectitude of soul
and his loyalty to all that in this free
Republic is hallowed and symbolized by
the national flag.
Dividend by Philadelphia and Rea1ing