Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-05-30

, tide Of time, we shall see that Il 9
one universal condition, if not tie
prime agent of civil progress, has
been war. Not step has civiliza-
ton advanced which has not been
contested with arms and purchased
with blood. Periods of peace. in the
history of nations have been but
temporary breathing places. Society
advances from conflict to conflict.
and the best hearts that beat, pour
out the streams of their lives, and
form a deep, wide channel, which
has upborne and carried forward
the ark Of humanity from the dawn
of time to this day. On every lofty
path, where man treads securely
now, naked feet have bled as the
forerunners leavel their head in a
charge? Even Jesus had to hang
on a cross to redeem men. Yet it is
not sad to give away life for grand
and noble purpose.
Whether on the scaffold high
VI III GA0 DdUUl0S Vaus
The fttest place for man to die,
Is where he!dies for man.
Length of life is not so important
as how the life is spent. One year
of struggle against wrong, for the
sake of the right, and then death
gives more to progressive life than
so years of cowardly compromise
with wrong, or mere timid alIegi-
ance to right.
We ought to fight for our prins
ciples, for our country. and for life's
deeper sanctities. If this earth were
paradise, war would be unknown.
But it is tenanted by many unprin-
cipled men, and ambitious nations
who for the greed of gain, and love
of. empire, are ready to cry:
Havoc" and let sliplIthe dogs Of
war, hurrying each ot1ler to bloody
death and a premature grave. In
the present condition of the world,
we might as we'll agitate for the
abolition of thunder storms, as for
the abolition of war. The one is
not only as impossible, but, as
things are, as undesirable as the
other. just as electricity will al
ways accumulate in the atmos-
phere, SO from time to time circum-
stances that lead to war will &C
cummulate IN nations. Let us not
deceive ourselves, the love of power
dies hard, dies onlY0on conpulsion.
Whoever dreams that the wrongs of
the world will right themselves,
knows little of the laws of history
or the nature of man. We do not love
contention, and take no delight in
the clash Of conflict, but would re-
joice if the wrongs of life would
pass into the sight, as quietly as the
darkness of the night melts into the
radiance of the day. But what
power have our wishes to mould
facts2
Any nation that is not able to as
sert and defend itself, will soon be-
come skeleton of its former great
ness, then crumbled into ruin, then
pass away, without hardly leaving
a trace of it's existence behind. To
those who advise US to disband our
army and navy, and then nobody
would have any disposition to me-
lest us, let US say. Go and try it
in your own country"
In our desire for national glory,
let US see that we are not thinking
of ourselves chiefly. There is no
national progress when each
scrambles only for himself. A
greedy is not necessarily growing
nation.
We have in charge the grandest
heritage that was ever committed to
any people. TO serve a republic
like this is worthy of the loftiest
ambition or man. And since the
ballot is with us the ruin or glory of
our nation, we shouldsonly grant it
to those who can intelligently use it.
10 guy or Sell vote ought to be
regarded as treason, and the buyer
or seller be DISTINGUISHED. Few Of
the crimes for which men are sent
to the penitentiary are so dangerous
to the public welfare. Official
position is for the benefit of the
country, not for party, or the
person who gets it. We are not
true patriots if we are so faithless
as to be willing to injure the nation
for the sake of success. Let us be
noble and true that we shall win
the honor of having others look
upon us as fortunate in being
Americans.
'What constitutes nation9
Men! high minded men