Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-06-02

the worlds refugees, devotes Of free
dom and conscience. In his minds eye
was the settlement of the Huguenots,
the Catholics. the Pilgrims, the Quak-
ers-those who priced and sought Tor
civil and religious freedom. He saw the
thirteen colonies expand into 3,000,ooo
of people on this side Of the Atlantic.
He saw the efforts Of Great Britain to
put upon them the yoke of an historic
government Of the past ages. IN MS
vision he saw that people rise and as
sert the equality of men, and Of all men,
and that rightful government instead
| of being the instrument Of the strong
was the shield and protector Of the
weak.
Realized Dream.
| That what had been the dream OF
philosophers and philanthrop1sts
might at last be realized by the people.
Across that four score and seven years
came the echoes of that speech OF
Patrick Henry In the Virginia House
of Burgesses, "Give me liberty or give
me DEATH" He caught the words or
John Adams sink or swim. survive or
perish, I give my heart and my hand
to this cause" He saw that little ana
poorly equipped Continental army un-
der George Washington fighting nero
ically against one Of the great nations
| of the earth, pouring out all It's treas
ures upon the altar Of an ideal govern
ment After seven years he saw that
| the sacrifice had been accepted ana
free government established. He had IN
mind those 81 years of splendid sue
cess that followed, that people expand
ing in that time from 100000 to 49,
OO0,000 1t had stretched away from the
fringes of the Atlantic shores across
the Allegheny mountains. across the
prairies Of Illinois and Iowa, across the
Rocky mountains till it had reached
the Pacific ocean.
Tho Supreme Test.
It's prosperity had been without a
parallel. 1t had opened Its entrance
wide to the oppressed of every lana
and the people Of all nations had
heard It's call and answered 1t. All
this was in the magic glass of mem
DRY, but now he realized that all TINS
was in Jeopardy. The supreme test that
&; all statesmen had seen and feared was
upon him and upon the American peo-
! pie. The supreme question S he stated
| it was whether this government or
any government so founded could long
endure. It took four years of war and
devastation to determine that ques-
| ton. The test had waited only long
enough to show the value of such a
government 1t came In time when
providence had provided the right
man and the nation had produced
enough patriots to make it possible to
succeed What a sacrifice was there
nv countrymen. Thousands of these
patriots lie buried or their bones are
bleaching in the southland, not only to
preserve the nation our fathers found
ed. but the government they establish
ed-the government of the people, by
the people and for the people. The man
who uttered that speech-WhO saw 50
clearly the issue, was himself to be-
come sacrifice to its principle; but
not till he had seen victory perch
upon it's banners. The union was pre-
served. the principle of self govern
ment was established. 1t seems to be
the order Of nature that no valuable
thing is to be purchased without great
sacrifice.
Sacred by Sacrifice.
But the sacrifices of the colonies 10
found it, and the bloodshed of patriots
to maintain it, made it sacred and its
principles and sentiments imperish-
able. 1t was fondly prophesied that
{ the people had not the intelligence and
! the virtue to maintain such govern
ment. r...s
IF secession had succeeded, 1t would
have been the determination that no
such government could endure the
the strains of natural disintegrat1on.
If proclamation had ended the
threatened secession it would have
merely postponed the application OF
the test. If with one indecisive battle,
or a brief period Of war which would
not have tested or exhausted the re-
sources Of either side. the rebellion
had been abandoned the right or Sc
cession would still have been moot
ed question:; but in the frey furnace or
war for four years; and victory only
no
hal been exhausted; when the nation
was to be reminded Of the destruction
Of war by crippled and wounded men
for two generations, and the cost OF
war to be a reminder for hundred
years it is safe to say that the exper-
iment Of secession has forever ended
We will see no war of secession or re-
hellion again. The vexed question Of
the perpetuity Of the federal govern
ment has been solved, and solved for
eversThis governments may die, as all
things Of time must but 1t will not die
from secession or rebellion. 1t was set
tied by the requisite sacrifice; and IT
fell to the lot of the men Of 1851 to
1865: they were not found wanting
whatever other danger points we may
pass, I know not, but this 1 know,
that the principles Of self government
are more deeply settled and permanent
TODAY than they were one hundred
wears ago, than they were 80 years
ago, than they were one year ago.
An American citizen with no other
distinction than that he was lately
president Of the United States has
been received by all the nations of Eu-
rope and by the greatest nations of
that greatest Of continents, as no other
person has been received in ancient or
modern times He has been received
and toasted and proclaimed as no
scion of royalty or other degree OF
nobility has at any time been received
or proclaimed. The most notable thing
about his reception has been the vast
concourse, of the common people VINO
have lined the course of his progress
through the European states. And who
Is Theodore Roosevelt, that he should
be the guest Of kings and of nations;
he is simply an eX-president OF the
United States. he has no more power
than the humblest citizen. He is
man of great character; this must be
conceded, but we have had many
great men who became ex-presidents:
Why is Roosevelt the toasted and feted
of American citizens; is it because
he was a great warrior and manifested
courage and self sacrifice that has
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