Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1908-07-16

me the thought is repulsive of painting
myself as a shining light, as a colossal
Ego, the center of a system, with multi
tudes of men and things revolving like
satellites around me. I have done the
State some service, but 1 remain con-
scious of the fact that that service is
not so exceptionally conspicuous as to
warrant me in lifting myself by my own
bootstraps to the admiring gaze of man
kind, nor yet so illustrious as to OBJ
scure the achievements of other men.
am content to be plain, blunt man-an
average citizen-neither better nor worse
than any other man who loves his coun-
try and strives to do his duty. am not
endowed with special omniscience, virtues
or powers, and 1 know 1 am afflicted
with the foibles of my kind. All I can
do is to do my duty as I see it, and
contribute whatever I can to the progress
of my country and the betterment of
mankind. I am not a pessimist. I be-
lieve that most men are honest, con-
scientious and courageous. 1 believe
through the passing centuries the world
has been moving and still moves along
mounting way. 1 believe that the aver
age of intelligence, morality and citizen
ship rises from one generation to another.
That the world grows better from year
to year have no doubt. But to say that
we are upon the verge of the millennium,
is, l think, wholly visionary. I do not
believe that we have just emerged from
fresh edition of the dark ages into the
light of a new dawn which is ushering
in an age of endless perfection. We ara
simply moving as did our fathers in past
ages with measured step forward and
upward. Men, right-thinking men, are
striving now, as in the past, to suppress
evil and promote the good. In this ever
forward movement the individual man,
free to act on his own initiative, is the
safest reliance. The greatest liberty of
thought and action consistent with good
order is the best. Now and then, and
here and there, there will be intrigue,
lawlessness, turbulence and crime.
Against all these the relentless hand of
public authority must be raised. But
crime is exceptional, not the rule The
rule is progress. So it is now, has al
ways been, and will be to the end. If
this were not so the tremendous strides
the world has made would have been
impossible. In the work men do for
progress 1 have striven in my day to per-
form my part, as 1 shall strive to do in
future. But I shall not hang any BAN
ners upon the outer wall nor blow any
trumpets from the parapet. My work,
whatever it may be, great or small, I
shall let stand to speak for itself.
1 turn now, my fellow citizens, from
these reflections, which to some extent
nd of ifry hax al
in character, to other things. 1 have
said practically all have to say of
personal nature. I come to you as a
Democrat to talk democracy. I am not
here to speak for myself, but for the
Democratic party; not to arraign Demo-
Gratis and sow the seeds of dissension,
but to attack the Republican party and
expose its unworthiness; not to pro-
nounce a biographical eulogy on myself,
but to discuss great questions of party
difference in which the people of the
State and Nation must inevitably be pro-
foundry interested. We are entering upon
a campaign of Unreasonable import to
the American people. The two great
political parties have promulgated their
national platforms and nominated their
presidential candidates. And now once
again these two old combatants, the
Democratic and Republican parties,
ready for the fray, confront each other
like gladiators in the arena of the Ma
ton. Today 1 shall talk chiefly of ma
tional candidates and national questions.
Later on, after the State tickets have
been nominated and the State platform
adopted, I will devote more attention to
II
greater length than on this occasion.