Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-06-24

A statesman graphing with the living
problems of the hour he gropes but little
! In the past. He believes in going ahead.
He believes that In shaping the des-
| TIMES of this great republic. hope Is a
higher impulse than regret. He be-
lieves that preparation for future tri-
| umphs is a more important duty than
an inventory of past mistakes. A pro-
found student Of history. he is today the
greatest history maker in the world.
With the instincts of the scholar. he Is
yet forced from the scholars pursuits by
those superb qualities which fit him to
the last degree for those great world cur
rents now rushing past with larger vol
ume and more portentious aspect than for
many years before The fate Of nations
| is still decided by their wars. You may
talk of orderly tribunals and learned
referees; you may sing in your schools
the gentle praises of the quiet life; you
may strike from your books the last
| note of every martial anthem, and yet
out in the smoke and thunder will al
| ways be the tramp of horses and the
silent, rigid, upturned face. Men may
prophesy and women pray, but peace
will come here to abide forever on this
earth only when the dreams of childhood
are the accepted charts to guide the desti-
MES of men. Events are numberless and
mighty, and no man can tell which wire
runs around the world. The nation bask-
| ing today in the quiet Of contentment and
repose may still be on the deadly circuit
and tomorrow writhing in the tolls of
| war. This is the time when great figures
must be kept in front. If the pressure is
great the material to resist it must be
granite and iron. Whether we wish 1t or
not, America is abroad In this world
| Her interests are in every street. her
name is on every tongue. Those inter-
ests so sacred and stupendous should be
trusted only to the care of those whose
power, skill and courage have been tested
and approved. And in the man whom you
will choose, the highest sense of every ma
| ton in the world beholds a man who ty-
pifies as no other living American does,
| the spirit and the purposes of the twenti-
eth century He does not claim to be the
| Solomon of his time. There are many
things he may not know, but this is
sure, that above all things else he stands
i for progress, courage and fair play, which
Ii are the synonyms of the American name.
| There are times when great fitness is
hardly less than destiny, when the ele-
| ments so come together that they select
| the agent they will use Events some
times select the strongest man, as light
ming goes down the highest rod. And SO
it is with those events which for many
months with unerring sight have led you
to a single name which l am chosen only
| to pronounce: Gentlemen, l nominate for
| President of the United States the highest
living type of the YOUTH the vigor and
| the promise of a great country and a
great age, Theodore Roosevelt of New
| York.
| Gov. Black pronounced the nominat-
ing words at just 11.O6 o'clock. AS he
did so, he retired qtuickly from the
platform but the words Theodore
Roosevelt" had not left his lips when
| there was shout.
| The convention was on it's feet. Like
the crash of thunder that follows the
lightning the enthusiasm began. Flags
were in the air, hats were thrown up.
| men jumped on to their chairs and
| women stood and shouted. The air was
rent with one prolonged shout from
| thousands of Threats. So mighty was
the sound that nothing definite in the
way of articulate sound was distin-
guishable.
| At this point the band struck up. It's
strains. however, were only family dis
cernible in the mighty din. Then
chairman Cannon took Il hand. I'm
| furlng n silk flag he advanced to the
extreme edge of the platform and be-
gan to wave it. The flag is the prop
erty of the Lincoln Mckinley Associa-
ton of Missouri and it made it's first
appearance at Republican national
convention in 1860 when Lincoln was
nominated. 1t was then carried by the
| Missouri delegation and was waved
over the platform on that occasion as
| in this.
1t was fuel to the flame of enthusi-
asm, and the volume Of sound in
creased.
The front of the platform was next
occupied by an immense crayon bust
portrait of President Roosevelt, borne
aloft by three men.
| Again broke forth fresh impetus to
the continuous shout.
A small colored boy, James Blacin
Caslum of Georgia, with long curly
hair, was hoisted upon the platform
and he waved in frantic fashion a
small national flag. Louise Roberts,
the young girl who has created en-
thusiasm in the California delegation,
was next carried up and borne high
on the shoulders of a stalwart delegate
from Indiana. She created a new fu-
rore of enthusiasm as she tossed her
| flag to and fro. Little Naomi Dafoe of
IAlpena, Mich, followed for brief
period and when she had waved her
flag but a few minutes, Chairman Cam
ron pushed to the front and saying:
please let me in, my dear" he raped
vigorously for order. The applause
at this time had continued almost ex-
actly % minutes. 1t required fully five
minutes and several more raps by the
chairman and the strenuous work of
numerous police and sergeants-at-
arms to get the delegates once more
into their seats.
When Chairman Cannon had finally
secured order the secretary read his
tory of the flag which Mr. Cannon had
~,