The Washington herald., 1907-04-27

Tiers and their lives unattractive and re-
pellent. In Martin Chuzzlewit.n the de-
scriptOn of America, eliminating IN the
description OF the frontier town of Eden.
was true and lifelike from the standpoint
Of one content to lock merely al the out
er shell; and yet il was a community
like Eden that gave birth to Abraham
Lincoln, it was men such as We're there
in described from whose loins Andrew
Jackson sprang.
Achieving National Union.
Hitherto each generation among US has
had its allotted task. now heavier. nov
lighter. IN the Revolutionary war the
business was to achieve independence. I'm
mediately afterward there was an even
more momentous task; that TO achieve
the national unity and the capacity for
orderly development. without which our
liberty our independence, would have
been a curse and not blessing. In each
of these two contests. while there were
many great leaders from many different
States it is but fair 10 say that the
foremost place was taken by the soldiers
and the statesmen OF Virginia; ana TO
ducing the hero Of both movements. tire
hero of the war. and of the peace that
made good the results Of the ware Gorge
Washington, while the two great p9.iti-
cal tendencies OF the time can be SYM
bOiized by the names of two other great
Firginians-Jeffers and MaTshali-from
one of whom We inherit the abiding trust
IN the people which Is the foundation
stone Of democracy, and from the other
the power to develop on behalf OF the
people a coherent and powerful govern
ment a genuine and representative ma
tionality.
Two generations passed before the sec
ond great crisis Of our history had %
be faced. Then came the civil war. ter
Tible and bitter in itself and in its after
math, but "a struggle from which the ma
ton finally emerged united in fact as
we'll as in name, united forever. Oh, my
hearers. my felloW-countrymen, great IN
deed has been our good fortune; for as
time clears away the mists that once
shroUded brother from brother and made
each look ''as through "a glass darkly'
at the other, We can all feel the same
pride IN the valor, the devotion, and the
fealty toward the right as it was given
TO each 10 see the right. shown alike By
the men who wore the blue and by the
men who wore the gray. Rich and pros
porous though We are a. a people, the
prOudest heritage that each OF us has
no matter where he may dwell North on
South, East or West Is the immaterlal
heritage of feeling the right TO claim as
his own all the valOr and all the stead
fast devotion 10 duty shown by the men
OF both the great armies, OF the soldiers
whose leader was Grant and the soldiers
whose leader was Lee The men and the
women OF the civil war did their duty
bravely and well in the days that were
dark and terrible and splendid We, their
descendants. who pay proud homage e
their memories. and glory In the feats OF
might of one side no less than Of the
other. need to keep steadily IN mind that
the homage which counts is the homage
of heart and Of hand. and not OF the
lips, the homage Of deeds and not OF
words only We too in our turn, must
prove our truth by our endeavor. We
must show ourselves worthy sons Of the
men of the mighty days by the way in
which we meet the problems OF our own
time We carry our heads high because
our fathers did well IN the years that
tried mems souls; and We must In our
turn so bear ourselves that the children
who come after us may feel that We toe
have done our duty.
Dangers which Threaten.
We cannot afford TO forget the maxim
upon which Washington insisted. that
the surest way to avert war is TO be
prepared TO meet it, Nevertheless. tho
duties that most concern US OF this gen.
Grafton are not military, but social ans
industrial Each community must always
dread the evils which spring up as at
tendant upon the very qualities which give
it success. We of this mighty Western
Republic have TO grapple with the dan
gers that spring from popular self-gov-
eminent tried on a scale incOmparahly
vaster than ever before in the history OF
mankind, and from an Astounding
terial prosperity greater also than any
thing which the world has Hitherto seen
As regards the first set of dangers. II
behOOveS US to remember that men car
never escape being governed. Either They
must govern themselves or they must
submit to being governed by others. II
from Iawlessness or hckIeness. from fol.
ly or self-indulgence, they refuse to gov.
ern themselves, then most assuredly In
the end they viii have TO be governed
from the outside. They can prevent the
itcNu Oh hpftluLitnL from without only
by showing that they possess the power
OF government from within. A sovereign
canC0t make excuses for his failures: a
sovereign must accept the responsibility
for the exercise of the power that in
heres In him; and where, as is true in our
Republic, the people are sovereign. Their
the people must show a sober understand,
ing and sane and steadfsst purpose il
they are 10 preserve that orderly liberty
upon which as a foundation every repub.
lie must rest
PrOsDerity's Attending Evils,
In industrial matters our enormous
prosperity has brought with it certain
grave evils, It is our duty to try to cut
out these evils without at the Same
time destroying our weiI-being itself. This
IS an era of combination alike in the
world OF capital and in the world OF
labor. Each kind of combination can dc
good, and yet each. however powerful
must be opposed when it does III. Al
the moment the greatest problem before
US IS how TO exercise such control over
the business use Of vast wealth. individ.
ual. but especially corporate, as will in.
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