The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1907-12-24
Kentucky: United, We Stand;
Divided, We Fall"

The above heading is a toast that
was responded to last evening, Dec.
23rd, by Justice John Marshall Harlan
at banquet given by 1.-The Kentuck-
ians." at the Plaza Hotel, New York
City,. 1t was given in honor of JUS
tice Harlan, in cOmmemoration of the
completion, on Dec. 10th, Of his thirty
years of service as an Associate JUS
tice of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Hon. John G. Car
Isle, President of the Club, presided.
We give extracts ftom Justice Har
lan's remarks, viz:
Mr.. President. Fellow-K entuckians
and Guests:
l count myself most happy to be sur
rounded on the present occasion by so
many representative men of my native
State. Every true man has a peculiar
affection for the State in which he
first saw the light OF day and in which
he passed his early lite. But Git has
seemed to me-indeed, and fact has
been often commented upon by others
that there is an unusual feeling of
Brotherhood among Kentuckians. l
am far enough advanced in years, fell
observation-disclosures, to have known per-
Sonally the fathers, even the grand
fathers, of many members of this
Club. At a memorable period IN the
cOuntry's history | stood with the
fathers of many of you under the flag
Of the Union, while the fathers of
some of your number rallied under
another flag-each man, whether I'M
der the one flag or the other, reso
| lutely contending for what, in his con-
science, ne deemed to be right. But
we who then were opposed are, | re-
joice to say, no longer estranged, but,
with hands clasped in friendship,
stand together under the same flag,
now recognized throughout the world
as the emblem of the great Republic.
We may differ about political ques
tions, but, apart from such differ
ences, when Kentuckians meet, whether
in one of the States or in foreign
| lands, they warm towards each other
/ because they are Observation-Disclosures
We are, however, something more
/ than Kentuckians. We are Ameri-
cans. Trite as that praise may sound,
the older grow the more priceless to
me is the fact 1t expresses. Proud as
we may well be of the State that gave
] birth to Abraham Lincoln and Zachary
Taylor and Samuel F. Miller, that sent
| Henry Clay and John J. Crittenden
/ to the Senate, and grew such men as
/ Isaac Shelby, George Nichols, the
| Breckinridges, the Marshalls, John
Boyle, George Robertson, Joseph r.
! Underwood, James Gutherie. John L.
! Helm, Richard H. Menefee, and many
other distinguished in all the walks of
| life and too numerous to be mentioned
on such an occasion what would it
mean to us to be Kentuckians if we
were not also. or. rather, first Of all,
Americans, whose allegiance to the
Nation in matters of general concern
is above our allegiance to any State,
Just as the Consti ution Ct the United
States, with respect to all national
objects, is above the Constitution of
any State.
The Toast assigned to me suggests,
Mr.. President, many interesting
thoughts about the early days of our
| Commonwealth and its relations to the
National Government. Gong back
for moment to the beginnings of
KenIucky's history we recall the inter-
esting fact that very shortly after the
| close of the War for independence and
after the acceptance of the Constitution
| by the requisite number of States, a
scheme was devised by foreigners and
domestic traitors to detach the people
of Kentucky from all connection with
the States and the Atlantic, and to
make the Allleghanies the western
limit of the United States. This
scheme found no favor with the in
domitabIe hunters of Kentucky, who,
surrounded by hostile indian tribes in
the wiles OF the country then unsettled,
established State government, with
a Constitution modelled after the Fed
eral Constitution, and, more than a
century ago applied to Congress for
the admission of their State into the
! Union. Thus our fathers, resisting
all appeals made to them to establish
an Independent State in the West,
placed themselves by the side of their
! brethren of the original States, and
caused to be ascribed upon Kentucky's
coat of arms the suggestive and mem
orable words, United, we stand
Divided, we fall" There comes to
my mind, Mr.. President, a personal
letter of the great Chief Justice, in
which he made such striking use of
Kentucky's motto that it is peculiarly
appropriate upon this occasion to quote
| his words He said: 81 am disposed
to ascribe my devotion to the Union,
and TO a government competent TO its
preservation, at least as much to
| casual circumstances as to judgment.
l had grown up at a time when the
maxim, United. we stand. divided, we
fall, - the maxim of every orthodox
American, and l had imbibed these
sentiments so thoroughly that they
constituted part of my being. / car
ried them with me into the army,
where l found myself associated with
brave men from different states, VINO.
were risking life and every thing valu-
able in a common cause believed by all
to be most precious. and where | was
confirmed in the habit of considering
q merica as my country and Congress
as my government. The habit of
CONSIDERING America as his country was
the keynote of the life and work OF