The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1904-06-23
NOMINATING SPEECH
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NOMINATING SPEECH
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course will provoke no outside in
reference now. for the republican
motto is that Of the great command
err, never interrupt the enemy while
he is making q mistake
But not alone upon the principles
of that party are it's members in ac-
cord. With the same devotion which
has ma rked 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
rs the honor Is, tho circumstances
which surround 1t make that honor
even more profound. You have come
from every state and territory In this
vast domain. The country and the
town have WED with each other in
sending here their contributions to
this splendid throng. Every highway
in the land is leading here and crowd
ed with the members of that great
party which sees in this splendid city
the symbol Of its rise and power.
Within this unexampled multitude is
every rank and condition Of free men.
livery creed and occupation. But to-
bay common purpose and desire
Nave engaged US all. and from every
kbok and corner Of the country rises
but a single choice to fill the most ex-
allied 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 con-
spicuous in the pursuits Of peace and
in the arduous stress of war. No man
now living will forget the spring Of
'9S, when the American mind was so
inflamed and American patriotism so
aroused; when among all the eager
citizens surging to the front as SOL
diers, 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; faithful to every
private obligation yet first to volun-
teer at the sign of national peril: a
leader in civil life and yet so quick
IN nd "a rte nf that
he grew almost in a day to meet the
high exactions of command. There
is nothing which so tests q man as
great and unexpected danger. He
may pass his life amid ordinary
scenes and what he Is or dies but few
will ever know. But when the crash
comes or the flames break out, a mo-
ment's time will single out the hero
in the crowd. A flash o. 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 re-
told, for no man in that exalted place
since Lincoln has been better known
not conservative, If conservatism
means waiting till it is too late. He
is not wise, if wisdom Is to count a
thing a hundred times when once
will do There is no regret so keen,
in man or country, as that which fol-
Fortune scars with high and rapid
wing, and whoever brings it down
must shoot with accuracy and speed.
Only the man with steady eye and
nerve and the courage to pull the
trigger brings the largest opportuni-
tAs to the ground. He does not al
ways listen while all the sages speak.
but every day at nightfall beholds
some record which if not complete
has been at least pursued with con-
science and intrepid resolution. He is
no slender flower swaying In the
wind, but that heroic fibre which is
best nurtured by the mountains and
the snow. He spends little time In
review, for that he knows can be
done by the schools. 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
higher impulse than regret. He
believes that preparation for future
triumphs is 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 fit him to the last de-
gree for those great world currents
now rushing past with larger volume
and more portentous aspect than for
many years before. The fate of ma
lions 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 always 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 destinies of men. Events
are numberless and mighty, and no
man can tell which wire runs around
the world. The nation basking today
in the quiet Of contentment and re-
pose may still be on the deadly cir
cult 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
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