Bisbee daily review., 1911-07-01
WHAT OUR
 HOLIDAY MEANS.

tent to speak of the Fourth of July, or. stin more commonly. The Fourth Even to native Americans, with a line of native ancestors run ming beyond the great historic divid- ] ing line of 1776, the idea of inde- peRdence, and particularly independ; ence from Great Britain, is but loose fly connected with the anniversary. We are just about removing the bar riers to trade with a nation Of Eng lishmen three times as numerous as our forefathers were in 1776. and even more numerous than the Eng fish people from whom our ancestors separated. We are making a treaty with the British Empire for the i peaceful settlement Of all future diff ferences-at present there are none and some of her statesmen are seri- ously discussing the possibility of the two nations uniting to keep the peace of the world Clearly, unless it was brought from the outside. there is little trace of anti-EngHsh feeling connected with our National holiday And the imported antipathy. which at one time was quite strong enough to worry our government a good deal. is now of little import ance.
 But if the sentiment of independ- Ience is no longer active in connec- tion with our attitude toward Great Britain. what is to be said of the sentiment of nationality. of the con seious unity of the dwellers within our borders. of common aims and standards of rights and duties? It lis not easy to say anything at once definite and certain. It is a common place opinion that we are a strangely mixed people. Within the last cen tury. there have come to our shores 25,Oo0.oOO of people from all parts of Europe. a number equal to the present population of all the states bordering on the Atlantic north Of Virginia. About the only trait they have had in common is a decided difference from the native stock. with an infinite number of differ ences among themselves Sdu the native stock and all this vast mass of differing humanity have managed, in some way, to live together in l Ipeace-our civil war was a native affair, in origin and feeling and in fair degree of order great na- ton has certainly grown up, with steadily advancing prosperity. with reasonably successful organization. and with a system of government that leaves individual initiative and energy largely unhampered If it's ideals are somewhat vague and it's methods often confused and waste ful, 1t is to be remembered that 1t lis nation in which public affairs are much less important than pri. vate. in which government is an in- strument for managing public af- fairs and not a regulator of private affairs. <and in which the greater part of the general energy is degot- ed to the interests of the people and not to the strengthening of the gov ernment
 In other words. what there is of true national feeling in our country has grown up naturally and freely. AN t5 AON NAC GAO0uSl VI 4SAe A4 do4- ton. for we have had no long time in which to form and cherish tradi- ton. and we have had to overcome the influence. among our, people. of traditions formed elsewhere and of ten deeply opposed to our general ideas. Our national feeling. we think. if of a firmer fibre for that fact. closer, more enduring. and es- pecially more capable of dealing with changing conditions. We dwell to- gether in such unity as we have at- tained, under the sway of laws and Institutions on the whole securing fair degree of order and justice because our rapidly increasing mil lions. more free than almost any where else to do iil or to do well. have found in daily experience that