The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-23


great and unexpected danger. He may
pass his life amid ordinary scenes and
what ne is or does but few viii ever
know. But when the crash comes OF
the flames break out. 9. moments time
Will single out the hero in the crowd
A flash of lightning in the night viii
reveal what years Of daylight have not
discovered to the eye And so the hash
of the Spanish war revealed that loIty
courage and devotion which the Amer
lean heart so loves and which you have
met again to decorate and recognize
None Better Known.
His qualities do not need to be re
told. for no man in that exalted place
since Lincoln has been better known
in every household in the land. He is
means waiting until it is too late. He
is not wise if wisdom is to count a
thing a hundred times when once viii
do. There is no regret so keen. in
man or country, as that which follows
an opportunity unem braced- 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 opportunities to the
ground. He does not always listen
while all the SageS speak, but every
day at nightfau behOlds some record
which if not complete has been at
least pursued with conscience and in
I
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. ne grOpes but
little in the past. He believes in go
ing ahead. He believes that in shap-
ing the destfnies of this great republic
hope is a higher impulse than regret.
He believes that preparation for fu-
ture triumphs is more important
duty than an inventory of past mis-
takes.
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 quail
tiles which fit him 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 orderly tribunals and learned
] the gentle praises OF the quiet life: you
may strike from your books the last
I note of every martial anthem, and yet
/ out in the smoke and thunder viii 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
.
I the destinies of men. Events are num-
berless and mighty, and no man can
tell which wire runs around the world
The nation hasking today in the quiet
of contentment and repose may still be
on the deadly circuit and tomorrow
writhing in the tolls of war.
Great Figures to the Front.
This is the time when great figures
must be kept in front. If the pres
sure is great the material to resist it
must be granite and iron. Whether we
wish it or not America is abroad in
this world. Her interests are in every
street. her name as on every tongue,
Those interests so sacred and stupen-
! dous should be trusted only TO the
/ care of those whose power. skill and
| courage have been tested and ap-
l proved And in the man whom you
I will choose, the highest sense of every
nation in the world behOlds q man
who typifies as no other living Amer
/ lean does. the spirit and the purposes
/ of the twentieth 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 for progress,
/ courage and fair play, which are the
! synonyms of the American name.
There are times when great fitness
/ is hardly less than destiny. when the
/ elements so come together that they
select the agent they will use. Events
i sometimes select the strongest man.
as lightning goes down the highest
+ rod. And so il is with those events
which for many months with un-
I erring sight have led YOU to a single
! name which I am chosen only to pro-
/ nounce: Gentlemen. 1 nominate for
| president OF the United States the
| highest living type Of the youth. the