Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-04
At CAIRO
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the rugged worth of the rank and
file of the citizenship rendered pos
sible the deeds of the mighty men
who led in council and in battle.
This was the region that brought
forth mighty Abraham Lincoln, the
incarceration of all that is best in de-
mocratic life; and from the loins of
the same people, living only little
further south, sprang another of our
greatest presidents, Andrew Jackson,
"Old Hickory man who made
mistakes, like most strong men, but
a man of iron will and incorruptible
integrity, fearless, upright, devoted
to the welfare of his. countrymen,
bone of our bone and flesh of our
flesh, typical American if ever there
was one. -..
. Recommends "Martin chuzzIewit
recommend careful reading of
Martin Chuzzlewit to the pessimists
of today, to the men who, instead
of fighting hard to do away with
abuses while at the same time losing
no jot of their buoyant ghopefulness
for the country, insist that all our
people, socially and industrially, in
their private lives no less than as poll
iticians, newspaper men, and business
men are at a lower ebb than ever be-
fore. It ever any one of you feels
a little downcast over the peculiarly
gloomy view of the present taken by
some well-meaning pessimist of to-
day, you will find it real comfort
to read Martin Chuzzlewit, to see
what well-meaning pessimist Of the
past thought of our people sixty-five
years ago: and then think of the
extraordinary achievement the extra
ordinary gain, morally no less than
materially, Of those sixty-five years.
Dickens can be read now by US with
profit; Elijah Pogram, Hannibal
Chollop, Jefferson Brick and Scadder
have their representatives today,
plenty of them; and the wise thing
for us to do is to recognize that these
are still types of evil in politics, jour
nalism, business, and private life,
and to war against them with all our
hearts. But it is rank folly to re-
gard these as the only, or the chief
types in our national life. 1t was
not Of much consequence whether
Dickens made such an error or not,
but 1t would be OF great consequence
If we ourselves did; for foolish
pessimism Is an even greater foe OF
healthy national growth than fool
ish optimism. @ ..s
!. 1t would be foolish to ignore their
existence, or the existence of any
thing else that is bad in our national
life; but it would be even more fool
ish to ignore the vaster forces that
tell for Righteousness. Friends, there
is every reason why we should fight
whatever Is evil in the present. But
there is also every reason why we
should feel sturdy and confident
hope for the future. There are many
wrongs to right; there are many and
powerful wrong doors against whom
to war; and it would be base to shrink
from the contest, or to fail to age
it with a high, resolute will. But
/ am sure that we shall win in the
contest, because T know that the
heart of our people is sound. Il.
%%%%%%%%%%*% %%%%%A
& Our average men and women 9
:" are good men and women-and .
= this istrue in all sections of our =
= country and among all classes Of {.
= our cohntrymen. There is no 8
s other nation on earth with such &
& vast natural resources, or, with s
Z. such a high standard of living T.
8 and of industrial efficiency 8
8 among it's workers. tr =
*%%%@%%%%%%*%%%%~%
We have as a nation an era of I'M
exampled prosperity ahead of us; we
shall enjoy. it, and our children will
enjoy it after us. The trend of we'll
being in this country is upward, not
downward; and this is the trend in
the things of the soul as we'll as
in the thoughts of the body.
Government in its application is
oftena complicated i and delicate
work, but the principles of govern
nlent are, after all, fairly simple. In
a broad general way we should ap-
ply In the affairs Of the national adj
ministration, which deals with the
interests OF all our eighty-odd mil
lions OF people, Just the same rules
that are necessary In getting on with
our neighbors In our several neigh
borhoods; and the nation as whole
should show substantially the same
qualities that we would expect an
honorable man to show in dealing
with HIS fellows. TO illustrate this.
consider for moment to phases of
governmental action.