Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1904-01-27

musty odor In the atmosphere. Let "a
get ii out OF there every day in the
year and take it into the rooms we live
IN, where the plants and the flowers
and the children are, and let us teach
the children to love it and to cherish
it as they love and cherish the other
plants and flowers The tree In the
open spreads out its branches in order
to present its leaves to the sunlight.
The tree in the forest shoots ur
straight for the same purpose. The
tree derives as much vitality from the
sunshine and from the air as from the
earth, or more. Let us take lesson
from the tree; let us turn the leaves
OF our patriotism to the sunbeams
every day; then the roots will go down
deep, deep in the heart and throb with
every pulse beat. And let lis urge this
same in the schools every day of every
year from kindergarten to university
Counting Our Privileges.
Not buster, not swagger. not chip
on the shoulder for others. but an
every day deep-seated gratitude for the
privileges and opportunities of this
American civilization; a gratitude in
spired by and based upon every day
facts to be found in every voting pre-
cinct in the land; every day facts in
the life of every individual under the
folds of Old Glory; countless facts:
potent facts that go to the core of
things; facts that we have been born
to. brought up to, become accustomed
to and have come to take for granted
as if we ourselves had wrung them
from the wilds and barrens of primev-
alism by our own efforts.
But there is no time here for details,
so let us go back to the hilltop and in
another look at the typical American
city Of Marion find the one fact that
includes all the others. Here the eye
has tarried first at one place and then
at another, but all the while, of course.
the heart has rested upon one particu-
lar spot, an abode of peace and quiet
ude and love and hope. There it is.
hidden by that cIump of trees. The
building is not in sight. but feel that
it is there And then recall that but
a short time ago in the history of ma
tions to go wandering for an hour I'M
protected a thousand to one would be
never to return, or if to return then
only to find the home in ashes and the
loved ones among the embers. Then
why is it that today ore may wander
away with the assure nee of a safe re-
turn to that unprete1tious but home
like home?
What We Owe Uncle Sam.
Then look again, and see those
spires and those steeples and that
tower, and over yonder where the brok-
en- veterans are see that streaming
banner that I need not name for its
name is "as old as the glory of Cod
and this is the answer. This is why.
Here are institutions, not perfect, it is
true, but the best, nevertheless, that
have been wrung rom the centuries;
here are privileges and opportunities
that you ard l found awaiting US when
we came into this country; privileges
and opportunities that we would scale
mountains and cross seas for if they
were not already at hand; privileges
and opportunities that we could not
earn for ourselves and institutions
that we could not build for ourselves
in a score of 1ifetimes, and back of all
these-Uncle Sam. And this same
Uncle Sam, not a saint, not a Solomon,
but the best Uncle Sam nevertheless
that you or l or anybody ever had.
These things 1 think of with this same
Uncle Sam in mind, and then I say:
There is not much of me, but what
there is is his; what there is, is with
him and FOR him, heart and soul, to
the last breath against all the powers
Of darkness, If need be; against the
world, the flesh and the devil.
Let us make this our political re-
Iigion in this day OF rampant social
skepticisms, and let US preach it with
the zeal that is justified by the right
eousness of the cause. Then in this,
it seems to me. We shall ind not only
"The True Mission of the Party Press"
this day, but also the splendid oppor-
tunity and the glorious privilege.