The National tribune., 1903-09-24
A RINGING
PArmarlc ADDRESS.

President Roosevelt Speaks At Dedica.
ton Of New Jerseys Monument at
Antietam. - ID
y z!
The New JerseyI.mOnunent to soldiers
of that State who tonight at Antietam was
dedicated Sept. II. in the presence of the
President and his party. Gov. Murphy,
Senators Kean and Dryden. several prom
inent State officials, and the Governor
entire military staffsand nearly 1000 vet
eran soldiers of New Jersey. The monu-
ment is n fine Corinthian column about ~
feet high. surmOunted by a heroic bronze
statue of an officer with an appraised
sword. Leading his men. 1t is intended as
a representation of Capt. Hugh {. Irish,
of the Sd n. j., who was the only New
Jersey officer killed ut Antietam.
The meeting was held in the famous old
Dunkard Church, where James o. Smith,
representing the Monument Commission,
formally reported to Gov. Murphy the
completion of the work of the Commission.
Gov. Murphy. on the part of the State,
accepted the monument and turned IT over
to the United States. President Koose-
welt accepted the monument for the United
States. He made one of his brilliant
speeches, in which he stated that the bat
| tie of Antietam was of most decisive i'm.
portance, for it led to Lincoln's immortal
Proclamation of Emancipation. He con
i graduated Gov. Murphy because he had
the good fortune to serve in one of the
New Jersey regiments in the battle. He
said the battle of Antietam probably pre-
vented England and France from recOg
nizng the Southern Confederacy. He paid
this tribute to the Grand Army of the Re
public:
"YOu who fought here IL years age
have the profound satisfaction OF feeling
that you played well your part i'll one OF
those crises big with the fate of all man,
kind. You men of the Grand Army by
your victory not only rendered all Ameri,
cans your debtors fOreveranOre, but you
rendered all humanity your debtors. II
the Union had been dissolved, if the gre
edifce built with blood and sweat and
tears by mighty Washington and his com
peers had gone down i'll wreck and rum
the result would have been an incalculab,e
calamity, not only for our peOple-and
most of all, for those who in such event
would have seemingly triumphed-bit for
all mankind. The great American Repub-
| lie would have become memory of derl-
sion; and the failure of the experiment of
Self-gov ernment by great people on n
great scale would have delighted the heart
of every foe of republican institutions. Our
country, now SO great and so wonderful.
would have been split into little janging
rival natiOnalities, each with n history
both bloody and contemplate. 1t was be-
cause you, the men who wear the button
of the Grand Army, triumphed in those
dark years that every American now holds
his head high, proud in the knowledge that
he belongs to n Nation whose glorious past
and great present will be succeeded by an
even mightier future; whereas had you
failed we would, all of MS, North and
South, East and West, be now treated by
other nations at the best with contempt
nous tolerance: pat nhe worst with over
bearing insolencE in
Moreover, every friend of liberty, every
believer in self government, every idealist
who wished to seeshis ideals take practical
shape, wherever he might be in the world,
knew that the success of all in which Ire
most believed was bound up. with the sue
cess of the Union armies i'll this great
struggle. l confidently predict that when
the final judgment of history is recorded
it will. be said that in no other war of
which we have written record was it more
vitality essential for, the welfare of ui: IL
kind that victory should rest where it
finally rested. There have been other wars
for national greatness, But there has
never been another war in which the is
either standpoint We take just pride in
the great deeds of the men of 1776, but we
must keep in mind that the Revolutionary
War would have been shOrn of well-ngh
all its results had the side Of Union and
liberty been defeated in the civil war. In
such case we should merely have added
another to the lamentabIy long list of cases
in which peoples have shown that after
winning their liberty they are wholly I'M
able tn make good use of il .-. ,..
1T now rests with us in civil life to
make good by our deeds the deeds which
you who, wore the blue did in the great
years. from 81 to 60. The patriotism, the
courage. the untinching resolution Ii. and
steadfast endurance of the soldiers whose
triumph was crowned at AppOmattox must
he supplemented on our part by civic cour
age, civic honesty, cool sanity. and stead
fast adherence to the immutable laws of
You left us reunited
country; reunited in fact as well as in
name. You left us the right of brother
hood with your gallant foes who wore the
gray; the right to feel pride in their cOur-
age and their high fealty to an ideal. even
though they warred against the stars in
their courses. You left us also the most
splendid example Of what brotherhood
really means; for in your careers you
showed in practical fashion that the only
safety in our American life lies in spurn-
ing the accidental distinctions which sun
der one man from another. and in pay
ing homage to each man only because of
what lie essentially is; in stripping off
the husks of occupation, of position, of
accident, until the soul stands forth re-
vealed and we know the man only be-
cause of his worth as a man.
There was no patent device for secur-
ing victory by force of arms 40 years ago;
and there is no patent device for secur
ing victory for the forces of righteousness
in civil life now. In each case tae all
important factor was and is the character
of the individual man. Good laws in the
State. like a good organization in an army,
are the expressions of national character.
Leaders will be developed IN military and
in civil life alike; and weapons and tactics
change from generation to generation, as
methods of achieving good Government
change in civic affairs: but the fundamen-
tai qualities which make for good citizen
ship do not change any more than the fun
qualities which make good sol
diers In the long run in the civil war the
thing that counted for more than aught
else was the fact that the average Ameri-
can had the fighting edge; had within him
the spirit which spurred him on through
toll and danger, fatigue and hardship, to
the goal of the splendid ultimate triumph.
So in achieving good Government the fun
damental factor must be the character of
the average citizen: that average citizens
power of hatred afors what is mean and
base and unlOveiy Ibis fearless scorn of
cOwardice and his determination to war