The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-18


been no hone. But the men and the
sons Of the men who had faced with un-
faltering front every alienation of good
and evil fortune from Manassas to APP
pomattox, and the women, their wives
and mothers, whose courage and endur-
ance had reached an even higher heroic
level-these men and these women set
themselves undauntedly to the great
task before them. For twenty years the
struggle was hard and at times doubt
full Then the splendid qualities of your
manhood and Womanhood told, as they
were bound to tell. and the wealth Of
your extraordinary natural resources
began to be shown. Now the teem1ng
riches of mine and field and faosory at
test the prosperity of those who are all
the stronger because of the trials and
struggles through which this prosperity
has come. You stand Loyalty to your
traditions and memories; you also stand
loyalty for our great common country
of today and for our common flag,
which symbolizes all that is brightest
and most hopeful for the future of man
kind; you face the new age in the
spirit of the age. Alike in your mater
ial and in your spiritual and intellect
uaf development you stand abreast OF
the foremost in the worlds progress.
"And now, my fellow citizens, my fell
low Americans, exactly as all Of US,
whether we live in the east or the west
/ in the north or the south. have the
AASnL MiCEEly AS americans 10 IGSi PAAQC
in every great deed done by any Ameri-
can in the past, and exactly as we are
! knit together by this common heritage
of memories, so we are knit together
| by the bond of our common duties in
the present, our common interests in
the future.
Great Problems Ahead.
/ MANY and great problems lie before
US. If we treat the mighty memories of
the past merely as excuses for sitting
/ lazily down in the present or for stand
/ ing aside from the rough work of the
/ world, then these memories will prove a
curse instead of a blessing. But if we
/ treat them as I believe we shall treat
4 them, not as excuses for inaction, but
! as incentives to make us show that we
| are worthy of our fathers and of our
| fathers fathers then in truth the deeds
1 Of the past will not have been wasted,
for they shall bring forth fruit hun
| dred fold in the present generation. We
/ of this nation, we the citizens of this
mighty and wonderful republic, stretch
| ing across a continent between the two
| greatest oceans, enjoy extraordinary
| privileges, and as our opportunity is
1 great, therefore our responsibility is
| great. We have duties to perform both
abroad and at home. and we can not
shirk either set of duties and fully re-
4 tain our Self-resDect.
In foreign affairs we must make
up our minds that whether we wish il
or not, we are a great people and
must play a great part in the world.
It is not open to us to choose whether
we will play that great part or not
! We have to play it; all we can decide
is whether We shall play it well or i'll
| And have too much confidence in my
countrymen to doubt what the decis-
ion win be. Our mission in the world
should be one of peace, but not the
peace of cravenS, the peace granted
contemptuOusly to those who purchase
it by surrendering the right. No! Oul
voice must be effective for peace be
cause it raised for Righteousness frs
and for peace only as the handualdeT
Of righteousness. We must be Scrup-
ulous in respecting the rights of the
weak, and no less careful to make il
evident that we do not act through
fear of the strong. We must be scrup-
ulous in doing justice to others anc
scrupulous in exacting justice for our
selves. We must beware equally OF
that sinister and cynical teaching
which would persuade US to disregard
ethical standards in International re-
lations, and OF the no less hurtful folly
which would stop the Whole work OF
civilization by well meant but silly
perSiSteney in trying to apply to peo-
pies untitled for them those theories
of government and of national action
which are only suited for the mos
advanced races. In particular we mus1
remember that in undertaking to builc
the Panama canal we have necessarily
undertaken to police the seas at eth
er end OF 1t. and this means thar we
have a peculiar interest in the preser-
Vation of order in the coasts and is
lands of the Caribbean. I finally be-
lieve that by a little wise and gener-
Gus aid we can help even the most
backward of the people in these coasts
and Islands forward along the path Of
orderly liberty so that they can stand
alone. If we decline to give them sucr
help the result will be bad both fol
I hon and for mr. Mil in
in all probability cause US to face hu-
initiation or bloOdshed.
An Age of Combination.
1.-THE problems that face US abroad
are important but the problems thai
face US at home are even more i'm.
portant. The extraordinary growth ol
linduStrialism during the last half cen
tury brings every civilized people face
to face with the gravest social and
economic questions. This is an age o!
combination among capitalists anC
mbination among workers. I
is idle to try to prevent such combi
nations. Our efforts should be to see
that they work for the good and no
for the harm of the body polite. New
devices of law are necessary from
time to time in order to meet the
changed and changing conditions
But after all we win do well to re
member that although the problems
to be solved change from generation
to generation, the spirit in which theil
solution must be attempted remain,
forever the same. It is IN peace a.
it is in war. Tactics change anC
weapons change. The continenta
troops in their blue and buff, whs
fought under washington and Green,
and Wayne, differed entirely in arm
and in training from those who il
blue and gray faced one another il
the armies of Grant and of Lee. O.
Sherman and Of Johnston. And nov
the sons. of these same union and
confederate veterans who serve in oul
gallant little army of today, wear
different uniform, carry a differen
weapon, and practice different tactics
But the soul of the soldier has re
mained the same throughout, and tn,
qualities which drove forward to vic
tory or to death the men Of '76 and