The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-09

concerns the rights Of the people, vote In
the interest of the favored few.
But, ladies and gentlemen. | am not
here to talk myself, but to present to
you others better qualified to address YOU
and l have the honor to introduce to you
as the first speaker, Brigham H. Roberts
Mr.. Roberts Address.
Mr.. Roberts then began his mastery
address on the application of the princi-
Piles of Thomas Jefferson to the admins
stration of present public affairs. He
| said
MIR. Chairman. Ladies and Gentlemen.
! On July A. 1896 occurred the death of
! Thomas jefferson, A few hours later on
| the same day John Adams, his lifelong
friend, and at the same time his bitter
est political opponent, passed away. Some
| hours after Jefferson had died and while
Adams was lingering on that border land
'twixt life and death. Adams cried out:
Jefferson still livesr
| Now / am not among those who credit
+, the superstition that men about to die
| are gifted with a supernatural vision of
| the future. Nevertheless i do believe that
| Adams spoke a great truth 1t is not i'm
words which were so prophetic the
thought came from his sub-conscious
mind conceived there because of the thor
| Ough knowledge Adams had of the char
acter of Jefferson and the worth of his
principles-the thought that jefferson
! though dead in the flesh, would continue
TO speak in the spirit so long as there
was government by the people,
| Eighty years have passed since the
| Sage of Monticello was called by death
| and, as the present generation turns back
to Jefferson and the history OF this great
| republic, 1t is not too much to saw that
! Adams on his deathbed spoke a great
| truth. Jefferson still lives, his spirit
walks the earth today and influences for
good the acts of the present generations
Patriotism and Craftsmanship.
! 'Of Jefferson's many noble qualities I
| purpose in this short talk to call atten-
ton briefly to only two of them-his
patriotism and his craftsmanship Those
| qualities of jefferson stand out so pre-
eminently and are so universally recog-
| niZed as to need no eulogy. In passing
let me say that if the Democrats have
| a leader in this year of grace who pos
| sesses the patriotism and The statesman
| ship of jefferson and who adheres close
| ly to Jefferson's principles of good gov
eminent, his election to the presidency is
| assured.
Those whose business it is to define our
words tell us that patriotism Is a love
| Of country. This simple definition of the
| quality seems adequate. Yet in Thomas
! Jefferson we find a special kind of pa
! triotism-a patriotism that put him above
| other patriots. His was patriotism that
encOmpassed all other Attitudes.
1T may be true that Jefferson did not
| originate truths. But it was Thomas JEFF
ferson who discovered the truths and who
| put them in form in which they will
| live through all ages so long as the in
| situations of freedom shall survive If he
| did not originate the principles upon
which cur government is founded he at
| least fashioned the phraseology by which
| the principles will always be known If
not the creator. he was the greatest of
expounders of these principles In that
| grand galaxy of men who founded this
republic he was the greatest
Ideals and Principles.
Jefferson had a large conception of
TINS great country of ours, of its great
ness as an asylum for the oppressed of
| the WOrld-a great land of freedom. In a
letter written from France, then consid-
cred one of the greatest of nations TO his
! friend Monroe, Jefferson urged that the
young man come TO France that he might
| better appreciate his own country it's re-
sources. its people. its government the
| hope OF humanity. The development of
this country has indicated his concep-
| tons. Its growth and its greatness prove
that his hopes for his country have been
| far more than realized.
"A statesman, as a man of sagacity
skilled in public affairs, his ability rest
| ing on right understanding of the prin-
| ciples on Which states are found; vet
| there was something more than that to
| the craftsmanship of jefferson some
! thing special that placed his ability above
that OF high craftsmanship. Statesman
ship is governed by high ideals and prin-
ciples. not by expediency. The circum-
stances may vary, but the principles re-
main. Some statesmen are great in abil-
ity and achievement; others are great in
! their ideals jefferson was both, In all
! history of all nations Jefferson stands out
preAeminently as the statesman of in
situations of freedom.
'It is true that Jefferson took no part
| in the framing of the constitution of the
| United States, inasmuch as he was not
| a member of the constitutional conven-
ton. Thomas Jefferson, however. wrote
the entire preface 20 the constitution, the
Declaration of Independence, containing
that splendid statement OF truth to the
| entire world:
| " All men are created equal and en-
| dowed by the Creator with unalienable
rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness
Safeguards to Liberty.
1t was this preface that governed the
| framing OF the constitution, and where
| the constitution did not provide for the
complete freedom of everyone in the
country il had to be amended to conform
| to this preface.
| Not alone in writing this preface did
Thomas Jefferson contribute to the
| framing of the constitution. BY his sug-
gestions he did more than anyone else to
establish our institutions as safeguards
| TO our liberty. In a letter written from
] France to a friend in America he said:
| Our government should be one in all
| foreign affairs and separate in affairs
InaI are purely domestic. The federal
government and that of the separate
states should consist of three branches
the legislative, executive and judicial. II
| IS absolutely necessary that the func-
tons of these branches be always kept
/ distinct
And 1t was from this suggestion of JEFF
| ferson, ladies and gentlemen. that the
| strength and success of what was termed
the American experiment in self-govern-
ment was derived The strict adherence
| TO the Jeffersonian principle of keeping
| the three fundamental branches of our
government separate and distinct has
| made the preservation of our institutions
| possible.
| in passing Mr.. Chairman, ] want to
say that there was never a time in the
history of the government of the United
| states, from Washington to Roosevelt.
! when there was so much infringement on
/ the functions of these great departments
/ as under the present Republican admin
| istration. And in my opinion there was
| never IN power man more dangerous TO
| the preservation of American Institutions
than the present president of the United
/ States.
Jefferson's Prophetic Eye.
Jefferson feared that the president of
! the United States might be perpetuated in
office for life. In writing from France
| he said.
{" I fear that the position of president
VIII be like that of a Polish king, that
a man may contrive to keep himself in
office for life. The accumulation of