The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1904-06-23
8 aroused; when among All the eager

SO aroused; when among ali 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 pri-
vate obligation yet first to volunteer
at the sign of national peril; a leader
in civil life and yet so quick to COM
prehend the arts of war that he grew
almost in a day to meet the high exac
! tions of command. There is nothing
which SO tests a man as great and un
| expected 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 fash of the
Spanish War revealed that lofty cour-
age and devotion which the American
heart loves and which o a w met
again to decorate III recognize. His
qualities do not need to be retold. for
no man in that exalted place since
Lincoln has been better known in ev-
cry household in the land. He is not
-~--~~-4 " &-o
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 follows an
opportunity unembraced. Fortune
scars with high and rapid wing, and
whoever brings it down must shoot
with accuracy and speed. Only the
man with steady y and nerve and
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 nightfall beholds some record
which if not complete has been at
least pursued with conscience and in
trepid resolution. He is no slender
flower swaying in the wind, but that
heroic fibre which is best nurtured
by the mountains and the now He
spends little time in review, for that
he knows can be done by the schools.
A statesman graphing with the liv
ing 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 a higher impulse
than regret. He believes that prep
aration for future triumphs is a mora
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
to the last degree for those great
world currents now rushing past with
larger volume and more ~portentous
aspect than for many years before
The fate of nations is still decided
by their wars. You may talk of or
derby tribunals and learned referees
yon may sing in your schools the gen
tie praises of the quiet life; you may
strike from you 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 81
lent, rigid, upturned face. Men may
prophesy and women pray, but peace
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
1t the pressure is great the material
to resist it must be granite and iron.
Whether we wish it or not America
is abroad in the world. Her interests
are in every street, her name is on
every tongue. Those interests so sa-
cred and stupendous should be trust.
ed 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