The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1908-06-04

stitution.
Governor John A. Johnson Of Mime.
sata delivered at the dedication of the
lMinneSota monument on Shiloh battle
field an address that will rank as one
of the ablest public deliverances of re-
cent times. Spoken on battlefield
that may be taken as the symbol Of the
great war for the Union. the governor
took occasion to tell of the peril that
threatens our federal form of govern
ment. This peril was emphasized by
the recent decision of the supreme
court in the railway cases going up
from Minnesota and North Carolina.
which practically makes the state gov
ernments subservient to the inferior
federal courts. The significance OF
these decisions is widely understood.
and they have given rise to a general
discussion OF the question Of the rights
of the states. and Governor Johnson's
speech will rank as an important con-
tribution to that discussion. The dedi-
catory address in part follows:
Representing the people Of the COM
monwealth Of Minnesota. We are as
sembled on one Of the historic battle
fields Of the civil war to pay our trib-
ute Of respect and affection to the
memory Of the sons Of Minnesota who
here yielded up their lives that this
might continue to be united nation.
Their sacrifice was not for personal
gain. but was in response to duty and
a contribution to the civilization Of the
age and for the purpose Of perpetual
ing the institution Of human liberty.
+ appreciate that nothing which l
can say will add to or detract from
the glory of their achievement. which
in itself is an enduring monument to
the patriotism and heroism OF the
American soldier. Their sacrifice. how
ever. was not different from that which
has been made throughout all OF the
ages by those lovers Of liberty who be-
lieve in a government which might
give to all the people the right to life.
liberty and property. The love of
liberty was not born in this country o.
ours. 1t was Graded along the Danube
and about the shores Of the Baltic.
even when Rome had reached the limit
Of her imperial grandeur. Increasing
in intensity with the passing Of the
centuries. it found its highest express
Ssion in the older countries in the great
English charter Of civil rights, which
forever guaranteed to the people OF
that land immunity from the despotism
Of those who claimed to rule by virtue
Of Divine right
One hundred and thirty-two years
ago the great contest of humanity was
transferred from the old world to the
new. and here. because of the isola-
ton of this country. because Of the
high character of the man who es-
poused the cause Of liberty and be-
cause of the signal victory achieved
by them In that struggle. an opportu-
nifty was afforded TO crystalline into
written law the aspirations Of the pa
triots of all the ages. The men who
built the foundations Of this govern
ment were those who had submitted
to the supreme test Of patriotism, for
those who inspired the constitution of
the United States were the same who
had pledged their lives. their proper
ties and their sacred honor to the cause
Of independence.
While the primary object Of a writ
ten constitution Is to define govern
mental powers and to limit govern
mental departments, the overwhelming
necessity for such an instrument Is to
prevent ipsidious encros chments upon
the rights Of the individual citizen,
both from those in Office and from
those who by reason Of their wealth
and power have an influence far great.
er than that possessed by the average
citizen. And so the constitution Of the
United States was regarded by its
trainers as an instrument Of the most
sacred import, an alteration Of which
could only be made by the people them
selves, in whom all ultimate power Is
vested, and then only after the fullest
discussion and widest publicity.
Under the benehcent government so
established the nation has prospered
and the people are happy. One great
cloud came upon the nation 10 the
form Of an awful civil war, in which
two sections Of the country were in
conflict with each other. The heroes
who rest here gave their lives that this
nation might be maintained as 1t came
from our forefathers. On another bat
tlefeld of that war Abraham Lincoln
said: ut Is for US, the living, rather to
Se dedicated to the unfinished work
L. [@I