The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1903-04-30

risk much with the hope ana desire
OF winning high position among the
great powers of the earth. AS is 50
often the case in nature the law OF
development of a living organism
showed itself in it's actual workings
to be wiser than the wisdom OF the
wiscst.
This work Of expansion was by far
the greatest work Of our people dur
ing the years that intervened between
the adoption OF the Constitution and
the outbreak Of the Civil War. There
were other questions of real moment
and Importance. and there were many
which at the time seemed such TO
those engaged in answering them;
but the greatest feat OF our forefath.
ers of those generations was the deed
Of the men who, with pack train or
wagon train. ON horseback, on foot
or by boat upon the waters. pushed
the frontier ever westward across the
continent.
! Freedom With Strength.
NEVER BEFORE HAD THE
WORLD SEEN THE KIND OF MA.
ITIoNAL EXPANSION WHICH
GAVE OUR PEOPLE ALL THAT
PART OF THE AMERICAN CONT.
NENT LYING WEST OF THE
THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES;
THE GREATEST LANDMARK IN
| WHICH WAS THE LOUISIANA
PURCHASE. Our triumph in this
process of expansion was indissolu.
bly, bound up with the success OF our
peculiar kind OF government: and
this success has been so complete
that because Of its very completeness
wa now sometimes fail to appreciate
not only the all-importance but the
tremendous difficulty of the problem
with which our nation was originally
faced
When our forefathers joined to call
into being this Nation. they undertook
a task for which there was but little
encouraging precedent The develop.
ment OF civilization from the earliest
period seemed to show the truth Of
two propositions: In the first place.
il had always proved exceedingly DIFF. |
Gcult to secure both freedom and
strength in any government; and in /.
the second place. II had always |
proved well nigh impossible for a ma |
tion to expand without either break. |
ing up or becoming n centralized |
tyranny With the success OF our
effort TO combine a strong and efilci. |
ent national union, able TO put down
disorder at home and. TO maintain our
honor and interest abroad. have not
now To deal. This success was sig. !,
nal and allimportant. but II was by
no means unprecedented In the same
sense that our type OF expansion was
unprecedented The history OF Rome
and OF Greece illustrates very well
the two types OF expansion which had
taken place in ancient times and
which had been universally accepted
as the only possible types up to the
period when as a nation we ourselves
began to take possession OF this con.
tlnent
Compared TO Greece.
The Grecian states performed re-
markable fcats OF colonization. but
each colony as soon as created be-
came entirely Independent of the
mother state. and in after years was
almost as apt 10 prove its enemy as
Its friend. Local self.government. To-
cal independence. was secured, but
only by the absolute sacrifice OF any
thing resembling national unity. In
consequence, the Greek world for all
its wonderful brilliancy and the extra,
ordinary artistic, literary, and philo-
sophical development which has
made all mankind its debtor for the
ages, was yet wholly unable TO with.
stand a formidable foreign foe, save
spasmodically. AS soon as powerful,
permanent empires arose on It's out.
skirts, the Greek states In the neigh
borhood OF such empires fell under
their sway National power and {
greatness were completely sacrificed
10 local liberty
With Rome the exact opposite oc. s
'urred. The imperial city rose to alb.
'olute dominion over all the peoples {
II Italy and then expanded her rule
'ver the entire civilized world by
process which kept the nation strong
md united, but gave no room what.
'yer for local liberty and self-govern. v
nent All other cities and countries |
we're subject To Rome. In conse-
luenee this great and masterful race 7
4 warriors, rulers. road.builders. and c
stamped their indeli. 4
lie impree upon all the after life OF