The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-10

Progress der e1opmentf and very ex--55
listence s0f orr goYenm entail fabric.
lidepends entirely upon til grow h@ and
developmentYof the indiyid ual chaTac-s
/ ter, for our nation is not only an ag-a
@regate of individuals, each one Of
;+tiom isa sovereign and a part=o of the
/. body polite; and the character of the
nation cannot be higher or stronger
than the average of the individuals
comprising the nation; and the Young
| Mems Christian Associations OF the
! country, and other like organizations,
| may well look to the establishment
Of the most liberal facilities for train
| ing, and the broadcast possible means
| of culture for the young men OF our
| land; for if our fathers before US have
| had problems to confront and solve,
| they are as trif1es. in comparison with
| those that will present themselves to
some of the young men who are in
| this audience here this afternoon: and
when they come they will demand So
| luton and We must meet them. and
| solve them. o.: fall far short of the
mission we were placed here to per-
| form, and suffer our beloved country
TO be swallowed up in the mae!strom
of revolution thai has overtaken and
crushed great and powerful nations in
| the past.
| Look If you dare, a short distance
| into the future, say twenty-five years,
| when most Of you young gentlemen
1 will be yet in the prime Of life, and i'm
agine if you can the conditions which
,,,in in this nitV-
when at the present rate Of increase in
| popula ton alone, and a most coslno-
| Dolitan one it will in all probability
be- you Will be able to travel by cleo
trio car from New York 70 Philadel-
| pha in one hour and never get out
side of the city limits: when the en-
| tire upper Monongahela, on both its
banks, will be perfect hive of in
slustry, and the lights of the City Of
| Fairmont will throw their rays on
some of the streets and alleys OF the
suburbs Of Clarksbllrg: with all the
transtormatio that will come IN our
modes of life and in our manner of
toll through the genius of the inventor,
and scientific discoveries which seem
10 have only fairly begun; with all the
! social evils Iudl llleN dlttllI cat
industrial developments; with all the
conflicts through which you must ere
that time pass; the trust problems.
the labor problems, the race prob
lens; with ranting demagogues
abroad in the land, ever ready in the
name and under the suise of some
pretended reform to appeal to the bas-
est human passions and class preju-
| dices; it would therefore seem that
the time is ripe for the young men OF
the country to take an inventory, to
be sure that The stock of assets on
hand is sufi GENTLY patriotic and con-
servatlve to meet any emergency call
that may be made upon the Treasury.
But while we may we'll look with
some trepidation upon the prospects
and responsibilities ahead of us, that
we may be prepared and not caught
unawares, yet for one l have the ut
most confidence in the patriotism and
| integrity of my fellow citizens, and
| cannot refrain from adding, in the
manifest destiny Of this nation; in ev-
cry emergency in our past history the
! gap has been filed, just at the oppor-
| tune time by men, stalwart, cOura-
geous incorruptible men, and it will
| be so; we are growing a fresh supply
! of them all the time but not more
| than we need, for in addition to the
high prerogative Of self government
which we must exercise, we are in
| yesting some of our assets abroad
and following the clearly defined
course Of duty, and destiny if l may
repeat the term. we have become
world pow er; an arbiter of the destiny
| of other nations; a guardian and pro-
| tector of the liberties of new repub-
lies; a leader in the worlds commerce
| and civiIiza ton: an intern atiOnal ben
| efactor, accomplishing for the benefit
of all the peoples of the earth, the cen
st1uction of a great interoceanic ca
nal; the realization of the dream of
four centuries: a missionary, carrying
from the abundance OF our assets, to
all countries and to the remOtest
! islands of the sea, some of the bless
| ings of liberty and the seeds of Chris
| tan civilizatiOn.
OUR TITLE IS CLEAR