The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-23
Grouer CleDeland Speaks
 in Chicago on Washington

Chicago, Feb. 22-Ex- President Gro- yer Cleveland was the orator of the day at the celebration Of the. .anniver- ! sary of the birth of George Washing ton, which Is annually held under the auspices of the Union League Club Of | this city.
 MT. Cleveland addressed an audience | that completely filled the great audi torium and his oration was greeted
 with every manifestation of approval. Americans are, as ruie, MT. Cleve-
 land declared, too prone to lose sight of the significance of the proper ob- servance of public holidays. The Fourth of July, he asserted, has "degener- ated to a revel of senseless noise and dangerous explosion which bears in It's train far more of mishap and accident
 than lessons of good citizenship or
 pride of country"
 The republic still has, he said, imper-
 ative need of Washington, and his ex-
 ample and teachings are as important to the present generation as his laoors
 and guidance were necessary In ms own time
 Mir. Cleveland said:
 "The American people are but little
 given to the observance of public holi-
 days. This statement cannot De ais
 posed of by the allegation that our
 national history is 100 brief to allow
 the accumulation of days deserving
 civic commemoration. Though It IS
 true that our life as a people, accoru- ing to the standard measuring the ex-
 istence of nations has been a short one,
 1t has been filled with glorious achieve.
 ments; and though 1t must be conceoeo
 that 1t is not given to us to see Tn the
 magnifying mirage Of antiquity ,tne
 exaggerated forms of American heroes, vet in the bright and normal light
 shed upon our beginning and growth, are seen grand and heroic men who
 have won imperishable honor and our everlasting remembrance.
 of commemorative inclination and a languid interest in recalling the 9ota- ble incidents of our countrys past uh- der the plea of a lack of conlmemora- tive material: nor can we in this way explain our neglect adequately to ob- serve days which have actually been set apart for the especial mani1esta- tion of our loving appreciation of the lives and the deeds of Americans, who in crises of our birth and development have suplimely wrought and nobly en- dured
 Patri Itis n of Forefathers. If we atc inclined to LOOK Tor other excuses, one may occur to us which, though by no means satisfying. may appear to gain somewhat fancliul plausibility by reason of its reference to the law of heredity. It rests upon
 the theory that those who secured for
 American nationality it's first foothold.
 and watched over its weak infancy, were so engrossed with the persistent and unacceptable labors that pressed upon them, and their hopes and aspira- tions led them so constantly to thoughts of the future that retrospection near Iy became with them an extinct tac- ulty, and that thus it may have hap pened that exclusive absorption in things pertaining to the present and future, became so embedded in their natures as to constitute trait of char acter descendible to their posterity even to the present generation.
 There is another reason which might be advanced in mitigation of
 our lack of commemorative enthusiasm
 which is so related to our pride Of Americanism, that if we could be cer- tain of it's sufficiency we would gladly accept 1t as conclusive. It has to do with the underlying qualities and mo- lives of our free institutions. Those institutions had their birth and nur- ture in unselfsh patriotism and unre- served consecration; and by a decree of Fate beyond recall or change their perpetuity and benefcence are condi- tioned on the constant devotion and single-h hearted loyalty of those to whom their blessings are vouchsafed. But after all why should we att l tempt to delude ourselves? l am con- hdent that I voice your convictions when I say that no play of ingenuity l and no amount of special pleading can | frame an absolutely creditable excuse | for our remissness in appropriate hol- l iday observance.
 Significance of Holidays. | The commemoration of the day on