The Republican., 1910-06-09

The flag for which the heroes
fought, for which they died, is the
symbol of all we are, of all we
hope to be. 1t is the emblem of
equal rights.
1t means free hands, free lips,
seltgovernment and the sovereign
ty of the individual. It means
that the continent has been dedi-
Gated to freedom. 1t means uni
versal education-light for every
mind, knowledge for every child.
1t means that the school house is
the fortress of liberty. 1t means
that governments derive their
just powers from the consent OF the
governed" that each man is ac-
countable to and for the govern
ment; that the responsibility goes
hand-in- hand with liberty. It
means that it is the duty of every
citizen to bear his share of the
public burden, to take part in the
affairs Of his town, his county, his
state and his country. 1t means
that the ballot box is the ark of
the covenant, that the source of
authority must not be poisoned.
1t means the perpetual right of
peaceful revolution. 1t means
that every citizen of the republic,
native or naturalized, must be
protected at home, in every state,
abroad in every land, on every sea.
1t means that all distinctions bas-
ed on birth or blood have perished
from our laws-that our govern
ment shall stand between labor and
capital, between the weak and the
strong, between the Individual and
the corporation, between want and
wealth and give and guarantee
simple justice to each and all. 1t
means that there shall be legal
remedy for every wrong. 1t means
national hospitality-that we must
welcome to our shores the exiles
of the world, and that we may not
drive them back.
Some may be deformed by labor,
dwarfed by hunger, broken in
spirit, victims of tyranny and caste
in those sad faces may be read
the touching record of a weary
life, and yet their children, born
Of liberty and love. will be SYM
metrical and fair, intelligent and
free. That flag in the emblem of
supreme will; of a nations power.
Beneath its folds the weakest must
be protected and the strongest
must obey. 1t shields and cano-
pies alike the loftiest mansion and
the rudest hut. The flag was
given to the air in the Revolution's
darkest days. 1t represents the
suferings of the past, the glories
yet to be; and like the brow of
heaven, it is the child of storm
and sun.
This day is sacred to the great
heroic host who keep this flag
above our heads, sacred to the
living and the dead, sacred to the
SCARED and manned, sacred to the
wives who gave their husbands, to
the mothers who gave their sons.
Here in this peaceful land of ours,
here where the sun shines, where
the flowers grow, where the child
ren play, millions of armed men
battled for the rights, and breast
ed on a thousand field the iron
storms of war. These brave, these
Incompatible men founded the first
republic. They fulfilled the pro-
phecies; they brought to pass the
dreams, they realized the hopes
that all the great and good and
wise and just have made and had
since man was man.
But what of those who fell?
There is no language to express
the debt we owe, the love we bear,
to all the dead who died for US.
Words are but barren sounds. We
can but stand beside their graves,
and in the hush and silence feel
what speech has never told. They
fought, they died; and for the first
time since man has kept record
of events, the heavens bent above
and dOrued a land without a Serf