Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-23

terprise have the American people failed.
and never in any crisis has the republican
party failed to express the conscience ana
intelligence of that people.
The public mind is awake both to Its OPP
portunities and its dangers Nowhere in the
world, in any era. did citizenship mean
more than 1t means today in America. Men
of courage and sturdy character are rang
ing themselves together with unanimlty
seldom seen. There is no excuse for CROP
Ing in the dark. for the light Is plain to
him who will but raise his eyes.
The American people believe in man or
party that has convictions and knows why.
They believe that what experience has
proved it Is idle to resist. A wise man is
dom which with good fortune may guide
the living and the strong. That wisdom
springs from reason, observation and ex-
perience. Guided by these. this thing Is
plain, and young men may rely upon 1t
that the history and purposes l have de-
scribed. rising even to the essence and as
pirations of patriotism. find their best con-
crete example in the career and doctrines
of the republican party.
Singled Out the Man.
But not alone upon the principles Of
that party are it's members in accord.
With the same devotion which has mark
ed their adherence to those principles,
magnificent and enduring as they are.
they have already singled out the man to
bear their standard and to lead the way.
No higher badge was ever yet conferred.
But great as the honor Is, the circum
stances which surround 1T make that
honor even more profound. You have
come from every state and territory in
this fast domain. The country and the
town have Wed with. each other In send
ing here their contributions to this SPLEEN
did throng.
Every highway In the land is leading
here and crowded with the members of
that great party which sees in this splen-
did city the symbol Of its rise and power.
Within this unexampled multitude is
every rank and condition Of free men.
every creed and occupation. But today a
common purpose and desire have engaged
US all. and from every nook and corner of
the country rises but single choice to
fill the most exalted Office In the world.
He Is no stranger waiting in the shade
to be called suddenly into public light.
The American people have seen him for
many years, and always where the fight
was thickest and the greatest need was
felt He has been alike conspicuous In
the pursuits of peace and In the arduous
stress of war. No man now living will
forget the spring of 90, when the Ameri-
can mind was so inflamed and American
patriotism so aroused; when among all
the eager citizens surging to the front as
soldiers the man whom this convention
has already in Its heart was among the
first to hear the call and answer to his
name.
Preferring peace but not afraid of war;
iui 10 every private obligation. yet
first to volunteer at the sign of national
peril; a leader in civil life and yet so
quick to comprehend the arts of war that
he grew almost in a day to meet the high
exactions of command.
That Which Tests a Man.
There is nothing which tests man
as great and unexpected danger. He may
pass his life amid ordinary scenes. and
what he is or does but few will ever
know. But when the crash comes or the
flames break out a moments time will
single out the hero in the crowd.
A flash of lightning in the night will
reveal what years of daylight have not
discovered to the eye. And so the flash of
the Spanish war revealed that lofty cOur-
age and devotion which the American
heart so loves and which you have met
again to decorate and recognize. His
qualities do not need to be retold, for no
man in that exalted place since Lincoln
las been better known in every house,
hold in the land. He is not conservative,
l. conservatism means waiting till 1t is
too late. He Is not wise If wisdom is to
count thing a hundred times when once
will do.
There is no regret so keen, in man or
country. as that which follows an oppor-
tunity unembraced. Fortune scars with
nigh and rapid wing, and whoever brings
1t down must shoot with accuracy and
speed. Only the man with steady eye and
nerve ana the courage to pull the trigger
brings the largest opportunities to the
ground He does not always listen while
all the sages speak. but every day at night
fall beholds some record which If not COM
piete has been at least pursued with con-
science and intrepid resolution. He is no
slender flower swaying in the wind, but
that heroic fiber which Is best nurtured by
the mountains and the snow. He spends
little time in review. for that he knows
can be dane by the schools
Grapples With Living Problems.
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 destinies of
this great republic. hope Is higher impulse
than regret. He believes that prepare ton
for future triumphs is a more important
duty than an inventory of past mistakes
A profound 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 tit him to the last
degree for those great world currents now
rushing past with larger volume and more
portentous aspect than for many years be-
fore.
The fate of nations Is still decided by
their wars. You may talk of orderly trf.
bunals and learned referees: you NAV 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 child
hood are the accepted charts to guide the
destinies Of men. Events are numberiess
and mighty. and no man can tell which
wire runs around the world The nation
baskfng today in the quiet OF contentment
and repose may still be on the deadly cir
| cult and tomorrow writhing Ia the tolls of
war.
Time for Great Figures Foremost.
! This - the time whan great figures must