The Washington times., 1907-04-26

frOwning continent Moreover, as men
ever find, whether in the tiniesJ IRON
tier community or in the vastest ana
most highly organized and complex CIV
iliZed society, their worst foes were IN
their own bOsoms. Dissension, distrust
the inability of some TO work and Jhe
unwillngness Of others, jealousy, AFRO
ganc6, and envy. folly and ldZlneSS-lu
short all the shortcomings with Wnlcn
we have TO grapple now, were faced
by those pioneers, and at moments
threatened their whole enterprise with
absolute ruin. 1t was some time before
the ground on which they had landed
supported them, in spite OF its potential
ferullty' and q ey looked across 'iie
sea for supplies. At one moment so
hopeless did they become that the whole
colony embarked. and was only saved
from abandoning the country by the op-
perfume arrival of help from abroad.
At last they took root in the land, and
were already prospecting when the Pill
grims landed at Plymouth In a rev
years a great inflow OF settlers began.
-Four Of the present states Of New Eng
land were founded. Virginia waNed
apace. The Carolinas grew up to the
south OF it. and Maryland to the north
Of H. The DGtch colonies between,
which had already absorbed the Swed-
fish, were in their turn absorbed by the
English. Pennsylvania was founded,
and later still. Georgia There were
many wars with the Indians and with
the dauntless captains whose banners
bore The lilies of France. At last the
British flag few without a rival in al
eastern North America Then came the
successful struggle for national indie
pendence.
Tide of Immigration.
For half a century after we became a
separate nation there was comparatively
little immigration TO this country. Then
the tide once again set thither and has
flowed in ever-increasing size until in
each Of the last three years a greater
number OF people came TO these shores
than had landed on them during the
entire colonial period. Generation by
generation these people have been alb
sorbed into the national life. Generally
their sons, almost always their grand
sons, are indistinguishable from one
another and from their fellow Americans
descended from the colonial stock. For
all alike the problems OF our existence
are fundamentally the same, and for 81
alike these problems change from gen.
Grafton 10 generation
In the colonial period, and Tor at LEAST
a century after It's close. the conquest
of the continent, the expansion Of our
people westward. 10 the AlleghenleSs
then TO the Mississippi then 10 the Pa
cine. was always one OF the most I'M
pOTtant tasks, and sometimes the most
l important. in our national life. Behind
the first settlers the conditions grew
easier, and in the Older-settled regions
Of all the colonies life speedily assumed
much OF comfort and scs1ething OF lux
ury. and though generally L was on
a much more democratic basis than life
I in the Old World. IL was by no means
democratic when judged by our modern
standards: and here and there, as in the
ude-Water regions Of Virginia, gen
uiue aristocracy grew and hourished.
. lrrw Wha ma NIB N FrwG# Il
the virgin wilderness, whether on the
1 Atlantic coast, or in the interior, fought
hard for mere life. In the early stages
the frOntierSman had to do battle with
! the savage, and when the savage was
vanduished there remained the harder
strain Of war with the hostile forces OF
soil and climate. with food, fever, and
famine. There was sickness, ana Dltter
3 weather: there were no ROADS; there was
a complete lack OF 6ll but the very
q toughest and most absolute neCessaries.
/ Under such circumstances the men and
women who made ready the continent
1 for civilization were able themselves 10
! spend but little time in dOiTg aught but
the rough work which was to make
/ In consequence observers whose insight
was spoiled by lack of sympathy al
ways found both the settlers and their
! lives unattractiye and repellent.
/ In Martin ChuZZlewit the description
4 of America, eliminating in the descrip-
lion Of the frontier town OF Eden, was
true and nfelike from the standpoint
of one content to look merely at the
outer shell; ana yet It was a community
like Eden that gave birth to Abraham
/ Lincoln; IL was men such as were there
I in described from whose lOinS Andrew
/ Jackson sprang.
Each Generation Has Had It's Task.
| Hitherto each generation among us
has had its allotted task, now heavier
now lighter. In the Revolutionary war
the business was to achieve indepen'
! dence. Immediately afterwards there
was an even more momentous task
that to achieve the national unity and
the capacity for orderly development
/ without which our liberty, our indie
pendence. would have been curse and
not a blessing. In each OF these two
| contests, while there were many great
| leaders from many different States, II