The Republican., 1910-06-09
One of Worlds Most F Famous
Memorial Day Addresses,
Delivered By Master Orator

knighted all the sons of toll, it
opened all the paths to fame and
put the star of hope above the
cradle of the poor mans babe.
England was then the mightiest
OF nations-mistress of every sea
and yet our fathers, poor and
few, defed her power. Today we
remember the defeats, the vic
tories, the disasters, the weary
marches, the poverty, the hunger,
the suferings, the agonies, and
above all, the glories of the Rev.
olution. We remember all, from
Lexington to Valley Forge, and
from that midnight Of despair to
Yorktown's cloudless day. We
remember the soldiers and think
ers-the heroes of the sword and
pen. They had the brain and the
heart, the wisdom and courage, to
utter and defend these words:
Governments derive their Just
powers from the consent Of the
governed" "
In defense of this sublime and
self-evident truth the war was
waged and won. Today we re-
member all the heroes, all the gen.
erous and chivalric men who came
from other lands to make ours
free. OF the many thousands who
shared the gloom and glory of the
seven sacred years, not one re-
mains. The last has mingled with
the earth, and nearly all are Sleep
ing now in unmarked graves and
some beneath the crumbling, lean
ing stones from which their names
have been effaCed by times irrev-
erent and relentless hand. But the
nation they founded remains. The
United States are still free and in
dependent. The government de-
rives its just powers from the gov
erned, " and fifty millions of free
people remember with gratitude
the heroes of the Revolution.
Let Us be truthful; let us be
kind. When peace came, when
the independence of a new nation
was acknowledged, the great truth
for which our fathers fought was
half denied, and the constitution
was inconsistent with the declara-
ton. The war was waged for
liberty, and yet the victors forged
new tetters for their fellow men.
The chains our fathers broke were
put by them upon the limbs of
others. Freedom for all was the
cloud by day and the pillar of fire
by night, through seven years of
want and war. In peace the cloud
was forgotten, and the pillar blazed
unseen. Let us be truthful; all of
our fathers were not true to them
selves. In war they had been gen.
erous, noble and self-sacrifcing;
with peace came selhshness and
greed.
They were not great enough to
appreciate the grandeur of the
principles for which the contest of
Erie and Champlain stood, and
the wonderous achievements upon
the sea-achievements that cover
ed our navy with a glory that
neither the victories nor defeats of
the future can dim. We remem-
Der the heroic service and suffering
of those who fought the merciless
savage of the frontier. We see
the midnight massacre, and hear
the war cry Of the allies of Eng
land. We see the flames climb
round the happy homes, and in
the Charred and blackened ruins
we see the mutilated bodies of
wives and children. Peace came
at last, crowned with the victory
of New Orleans-a victory that
"did redeem all SORROWS" and all
defeats,
The Revolution gave Our fathers
free land-the war of 1912 free
sea. Today we remember the gal
liant men who fought. They
ceased to regard the great truths
as having universal application.
"Liberty for all" included only
themselves. They qualified the
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