The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-30
matter how incongruous this application
might sometimes be. sssa1,@I, ;4s*y 4

So
Growth Of ! the. Nation.
Over by far the major part Of the terri
tory however, our, people have spread in
such numbers during the: course of the
nineteenth century that we were able to
build up state after state, each with ex-
actly the same complete local independ-
sence SinY all matters affecting: purely it's
own domestic interests as in any of the
original thirteen states----each owing the
same absolute fealty toEt the union of all
the states which each Of the original thir-
teen states also oWsszTand finally each
having the same proportional right to its
share in shaping and directing the COM
mon policy's Of ,@the uHion which is pos
original fhirteehh W Of hoa " "a :
This process now sseanfs : to sls part of
the natural yordef--of Things, but it~AWas
wholly unknown until our own people. de-
vised it. It seems.tos u.s. a mere matter
Of course, a matter Of elementary right
and justice that in the deliberations :3of
the national representative bodies the rep
resentatiNes of a state which came into
the union but yesterday stand on a foot
ing Of exact and entire equality with those
Of the commonwealths whose, sons once
signed the Declaration of Independence
But this way Of hooking AZ the matter
| is purely modern, and, in its origin purely
American. When Washington, during his
presidency, saw new states come into the
union on a footing of complete equality
with the old, every European nation which
had colonies till administered them as de-
pendencies, and every4other, mother coun-
try treated thes celonist not as a self-gov-
| erning equal but as a.subject. = S.,
| % Other Nations Followed.
| The process which we 'began3 has since
been followed by all the great peoples
lxx,1,N 1a
! of self government, and now the world
accepts, it. as the natural process, as the
Erule; but a century and a quarter ago 1T
was not merely EXCEPTIONAL; it was un-
known. z:g j 4 .,s .5s ) /. =. . ~ >.... .:....5
! This, then, is the great historic ;signit1-
cance Of the movement Of continental eX-
pansion in which the louisiana Purchase
was the most striking single achievement.
It stands out in marked relief even among
|, the feats, of a, nation Of pioneers, a nation
whose people have from the beginning
been picked out by a. process Of natural
selection from among the most enterpris-
| ing individuals of the nations of western
Europe. The acquisition Of the territory
is credit to the broad and far-sighted
craftsmanship of the great statesmen to
whom it was Immediately due, and above
all to the aggressive and masterful char
acter of the hardy pioneer folk to whose
| restless energy these statesmen gave ex-
preston and direction, whom they: fol-
lowed rather than led. Fhe history Of the
land comprised within the limits of the
purchase is an epitome of the entire his
tory of our people. Within these limits
we have gradually built up state after
state until now they many times over sur
| pass in wealth, in population, and in
many-sided development, the. original ,thir-
teen states as they were when their dele
gates met in the econtinental congress. The
people Of these states have shown them
selves mighty in war with their fellow
| man, and mighty in strength to tame the
rugged wilderness. They could not thus
| have conquered the forest and the prairie,
| the mountain and the desert, had they not
| possessed great fighting virtues, qualities
! which enable people to overcome the
| forces of hostile men and hostile nature.
! On the other hand. they could not have
| used Alright their conquest had they not
| in addition possessed the qualities Of self
mastery and sef-restrafnt. the power: of
acting in combination, with their fellows.
the power of yielding obedience to the law
and Of building up an orderly civilization.
/ Courage and hardihood are Indispensable
i virtues in a people; but the people which
possesses no others can never rise high in
the scale either of power or Of culture
Great peoples must have in addition the
i governmental capacity which comes only
i when individuals fully recognize their du-
/ ties to one another and to the whole body
polite, and are able to Join together II
/ feats of constructive craftsmanship and Of
honest and effective administration.
Present Day industrIaiIsm.
The old pioneer days are gone with
i their roughness and their hardship. their
Incredible toll and their wild. half -sav-
4 age romance. But the need for the
pioneer virtues remains the same as ever
The peculiar frontier conditions have van.
ished; but the manliness and stalwart
4 hardihood of the frontiersmen can be
Il given even freer scope under the condi-
4 tions surrounding the complex Industrial.
4 ism of the present day. In this greal
i region acquired for our people under the
i presidency of Jefferson, the material anc
Il social progress has been so vast that alike
4 for veal and for.woe its people now share
the opportunities and bear the burden,
q lsconmon to the entire civilized world. Thl
8 problems before us are fundamentally ths
4 same east and west Of the Mississippi ii
the new states and jn, the old, and exactl,