The Colorado statesman., 1912-03-02

DISCUSSES IMPORTANT oUEs-
TIoNs IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS
NATIVE CHIEFS FRIENDLY
NEARLY TWO HUNDRED THOU
SAND NATIVES FROM INTERIOR
ATTEND INAUGURAL cERE-
MoNIEs-PRoMIsE TO WORK
FOR REPUBLICS GOOD.
From correspondent at Monrovia,
Liberia, the first detailed account of
the Inauguration of the black repub-
lies new president. Daniel Edward
Howard, has been received in this
country. The inaugural ceremonies
took place at Monrovia Monday, jan
uary 1, and Tuesday, January 2, and
we're imposing. Aside from the prom
inent officials of the republic and rep
resentatives of foreign nations, the
spectacle was made more picturesque
by the presence of native chiefs, head
men and retainers.
1t was the first Inauguration ever
attended by native chiefs. headmen
and retainers, and their presence was
significant They talked nothing but
peace and prosperity, and promised to
do all in their power to make the new
administration highly successful one.
Nearly 1000 natives from the interior
listened to President Howard advocate
that they be given equal rights, and on
the second day President Howard and
Vice-President Harmon donned sim
liar attire as worn by the native
chiefs, the incident occasioning much
good feeling.
The new administration promises to
mark new era for the republic. The
officials are working together in har-
mony; the native chiefs are now for
peace instead of war. and taking into
consideration that negotiations for re-
ceiving the large loan, which was so
successfully conducted by the United
States government, have been com
pleted, the consensus of opinion in
MoDrovia is that the country has
started on Its work of rehabilitation.
The prominent officials of the new
Liberian administration are: Presi-
dent, Daniel Edward Howard vice
president Samuel George Harmon;
secretary of state, c. d. B. King; sec
retary of treasury, Thomas w.
Haynes: secretary of war and navy,
Wilmot n. Dennis; postmaster general
Col. Isaac Mort; secretary of interior.
j. j. Morris; attorney general, Samuel
A. Ross; Secretary of education, B.
w. Payne. Walter L. Walker is execu-
fn he
The Inauguration committee was
headed by H. ]. R. Cooper, chairman
of the senate's committee, and ]. J.
Ellis, chairman of the house of repre-
sensatives' committee.
Among the things said by President
Howard, who succeeded Arthur Bar
clay as chief executive, n his inaug-
ural address were:
THE great American government
after silence, far from forgetting and
abandoning the tender infant cast
aside upon the shores of Africa has
come In an hour of danger t. assist us
on her strong pinions to a nest of
safety. If we but follow her examples
and heed her teaching of economy,
thrift and industry. and If we are just
IL our dealings with men and nations
we shall never escape her vigilant
eye, nor cease to be the object of
marked manifestation of interest on
her part.
Il shall do all in my power to main
tain and strengthen the friendly feel
Jugs now so happily subsisting between
US as well as all tho other
governments here represented, and /
shall expect the cooperation of all citi-
zens to that end. | am afraid that
some of us are too prone to the be-
lief that foreign powers are our en-
emies, and that some one of them is
always seeking some pretext to thwart
Gods purposes in the founding of Ii
IBERIA, and to deprive us of our most
sacred heritage. To any mind, how
ever, our real enemies, our most subtle
foes, our most potent drawback, lie
within and among some of our loud
est professed patriots, Liberia must
African state, and her sons and daugh-
ters are to be the agents to bring this
about. Let us, therefore, go to work
and do what we contend we are capa-
BILE of doing. Let each one do his
part, for 1t is only by the concentrated
efforts Of the whole that success can
be achieved.
Our school system needs reorganiz-
ing and perfecting from the bottom
up. The faint attempts now made to
provide educational facilities for the
people at large make only the slight
est dent in the stronghold of ignor-
ance, and 1t is high time earnest, per-
sistent and unrestrained efforts should
be trained upon the inadequate edu-
cational system. Parents must learn
the virtue of sacrificing for the intel
lectual improvement of their children,
unless they wish to create a mentally
incQm natant Qenaratinn rnrnnI, ad-