Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1903-05-09

of tho western country can be without
heed to the part played by soldiers, mis-.
their work for the honor of France and
CASTLE. While settlers of English, Dutch.
German and Scandinavian origin Were
still olinging to the eastern seaboard, the
pioneers OF Spain and France had pene-
trated deep into the west and wandered
wide. The cities themselves-St. Louis,
witness by their titles the ~nationalities
of their founders. 1t was not until the
revolution that the English speaking set.
tiers pushed across the Alleghenies. and
not until a century ago that they entered
In to possess the land upon which we no"
stand.
crate the hundredth anniversary Of the
event which determined that we should be
a great expanding nation instead or small
and stationary.
or course il was not with the Louisiana
purchase that our expansion began. In
the middle Of the revolutionary war the
Illinois region was added by force Of arms,
as a sequel to the expedition OF Clarke
and his rifemen. Later the treaties OF
Jay and Pinckney extended our real
boundaries to the west. But none of these
agination. The old thirteen colonies had
always claimed westward to the Missis-
sippi. But there could be no illusion about
the acquisition Of the vast territory be
yond the Mississippi to the Pacific: This
was admittedly the territory Of a Euro
pean kingdom. None of our people had
ever laid claim to IT. Whep we ACQUIRED
on expansion, that we had taken our
place among those nations who risk much
with the hope OF winning high position.
Work Of Two Generations.
This expansion was by far the great
between the adoption OF the constitution
and the civil war. There were other ques-
tons of moment, but the, greatest feat
men who pushed the frontier ever west
ward across the continent.
Never before had the world seen this
landmark in it was the Louisiana pur-
chase. Our triumph in this expansion
was bound up with the success OF our
peculiar kind OF federal government: and
this success has been SO complete that we
now sometimes fail to appreciate the diff
ficulty Of the problem with which our ma
ton was originally faced.
When our forefathers called into being
this nation, they undertook a task for
which there was little Encouraging pre-
cedent. The development of civilization
from the earliest period seemed to show
the truth OF two propositions: First, IT
had always proved difficult to secure both
freedom and strength in any government;
and. second, II had always proved we'll
nigh impossible for a nation to expand
without either breaking up or becoming a
centralized tyranny. With the success of
our effort for a strong and efficient ma
tional union, l have not now to deal. This
success was all-important, but not I'M
precedented as our expansion was I'M
precedented. The history of Rome and Of
Greece illustrates we'll the two types of
expansion which had taken place In an
cient time, and which had been univer-
sally accepted as the only possible ones.
The Grecian states performed remarkable
feats of colonization, but each colony be-
came independent. Local self-Government
was secured by the sacrifice of national
unity. In consequence, the Greek world
was unable to Withstand a formidable
foreign foe, save spasmodically. AS soon
as powerful, permanent empires arose on
its outskirts, the Greek states fell. Ma
tional power and greatness were sacrificed
to local liberty.
The Power of Rome.
With Rome the opposite occurred. The
imperial city rose to absolute dominion
world by a process which kept the nation
strong, but gave no room for local liberty.
All other cities and countries were sub
ject to Rome. In consequence this race
of warriors, rulers, road builders and ad-
ministrators stamped their impress upon
ali the after life of our race, and yet let
of their empire until 1t became an empty
she'll; so that when the barbarians came
they destroyed only what had already be-
come worthless to the world.
The ~ViclouSness OF each type of eXpan=
sion was plain and the remedy seems sim
pie enough. But when the fathers OF the
republic formulated the constitution this
remedy was untried. They began the eX-
pertinent by adding new states. Excel
lent people in the east viewed this expan-
sion with great alarm. Exactly as dur
ing the colonial period many good people
in the mother country. thought settlers
should be kept out Of the Ohio valley in
the interest of the fur companies, so after
we had become a nation many people on
the coast felt apprehension lest they
might be hurt by the westward growth.
These good people shook their heads over
the formation of states In the Ohio vail
ley, now the heart of our nation: and
declared the destruction of the republic
had been accomplished when the Louisiana
purchase acquired nearly half the re
unnatural. Only the adventurous and far
seeing can be expected heartily TO welcome
expansion, for the nation that expands
is entering upon a great career, and with
greatness there must come pertls which
daunt all ave the stout-hearted
We expanded by carving the wilderness
into territories and out of these terrltor-
les building new states. Being a practical
nation we have never tried to force on
any section an unsuitable government. OF
the Louisiana purchase a portion was
given statehood within a few years. An
other portion has not yet been admitted
to statehood, though doubtless 1t soon
will be. In each case we showed govern
mental genius by devising methods to
meet the needs.
Carving Out New States.
over the major part of the territory our
people spread in such numbers during
the nineteenth century that we built up
state aIter state, with the same lOttl IL
dependence as the original thirteen; each
owing the same fealty to the union and
each having the same share In shaping
the common policy.
This now seems part Of the natural or
der, but It was unknown until our people
devised it. 1t seems to us a mere matter
Of right that the representatives or a
state which came INTO the union yester-
day stand on a footing Of equality with
those whose sons signed the declaration.
But this is purely modern and purely
American. When Washington saw new
states come in on a footing of equality,
every European nation which had colon
les still administered them as d~ependen-
cies, not as self-government but as sub
jects.
The process has been followed by all the
great peoples capable both OF expansion
and self-government, and now the world
accepts II as natural; but q century and /
quarter ago 1T was unknown.
This. then, is the significance of the eX-
pansion In which the Louisiana purchase
was the striking achievement. 1t stands
out in relief even among the feats of a
nation Of pioneers. The acquisition Of the
territory is a credit to the craftsmanship
OF the statesmen to whom 1t was due, and
to the character Of the pioneers to whose
energy these statesmen gave expression
and direction. The history of the pur-
chase Is an epitome Of the history or our
people. Within these limits we have built
up state after state until now they many
times over surpass In wealth, In popu-
lation, and In many-sided development, the
original thirteen. These states have shown
themselves mighty In war and In strength
to tame wilderness. They, could not
thus have conquered forest and prairie,
mountain and desert, had they not pos
sessed the qualities which enable a peo-
pie to overcome. They could not have
used Alright their conquest had they not
possessed self-mastery n self-restraint
Courage and hardihood are indispensable
virtues, but the people which possess no
7 others car never rise high. Great peoples
must have the governmental capacity
which comes only when individuals fully
recognize their duties to one another and
to the whole body polite, and are able to
join in constructive craftsmanship and
effective administration.
Duties of the Future.
The old pioneer days are gone, with their
-o,-~A-a,a noI thafn har1GhIn fhpir in