The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1904-05-30


dierly duty nobly done, TO supreme
self-sacrifloe freely rendered. Tue
names of the chiefs who served In the
two armies form long honor roll
and the enlisted men werc worthy,
and even more than worthy, OF those
who led them. Every acre of this
ground has its own associations. We
see where the fight thundered through
and around the village Of Gettysburg
where the artillery formed on the
ridges: where the cavalry fought ;
where the hills were attacked and
defended; and where, finally, the
great charge surged up the Slope only
to break ON the summit in the bloody
spray OF gallant failure.
But the soldiers who won at Gettys'
burg, the soldiers who fought tos
finish the civil war and thereby made
their countrymen forever their debt
ors, have left us far more even than
the memories of the war itself. They
fought for four years in order that on
this continent those who came after
them, their children and THAR child
ren's children, might enjoy lasting
peace. They took arms not 10 destroy,
but TO save liberty; not 20 overthrow,
but to establish the supremacy Of the
law. The crisis which they faced
was 10 determine whether or not
this people was tit for self govern
ment and therefore at for liberty.
Freedom is not a gift which can be
enjoyed save by those who show
themselves worthy OF IL. In this
world no privilege can be perma-
nenily appropriated ~ men who
have not the power and the will
successfully 90 assume tho response
bility of using IL Alright In his
recent admirable little volume on
freedom and responsibility in Demo
cratic government. President Hadley
of Yale has pointed out that the fsce-
dom which j. worth anything - the
freedom which means self government
and not anarchy. Freedom thus con.
coived IL = constructive force. which
enables IN intelligent good man to 10
better things than he could do with
out il: which is in its essence the
substitution Of self.rcstrsint for oxter.
nal restraint-the substitution OF n
form OF restraint which promotes pro
grcss for the form which retards IT,
This Is the right view Of freedom but
/ IL can only be taken IL thore Is a full
recognition OF the close connection
between liberty and responsibility in
every domain Of human thought. II
was essentially the view taken by
Abraham Lincoln, and by all those
who. when the civil war broke out,
realized that 10 self governing Demo
cracy those who desire TO be cousid-
cred fit to enjoy liberty must show
that they know how TO use IL with
moderation and justice I'm peace. and
how TO fight for IL when IL Is jco-
parded by malice domestic or foreign
levy.
The lessons they taught rs are
lessons as applicable in our every day
lives not as in the rare times Of great
stress. The men who made this field
forever memorable did 80 because
they combined the power OF fealty
20 lofty ideal with the power OF
showing that fealty in hard, praoii-
cal, common sense fashion. They
stood for the life Of effort. lot the
life Of ease. They had that love OF
country, that love Of Justice. that love
of their fellow men, without which
power and rosourceful efficiency but
make a man n danger to his fellows.
Yet, In addition thereto, they likewise
possessed the power and the
efficiency; for otherwise their hiRh
purpose would have been barren OF
result They knew each how 20 act
for himself, and yet each how TO &c,
with his fellows. They learned. as
all the generation OF the civil wal
learned, that rare indeed is the chance
to do anything worth doing by one
sudden and violent effort. The mel
who believed that the civil war would
be ended in ninety days, tho men
who cried loudest "On to Richmond, D
IL they had the right stuff in them
speedily learned their error; and the