The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-01-31
Address By Judge Andrew Bruce at the Poets
Birthday Anniversary at Mapleton Last Night
Before a Large and Appreciative Audience I. .

1t is well that we should cherish the ira
dtions of our race. The battles of peace
have but just begun. We have solved the
problem of production. The great prob
lens before us are the problems of govern
ment and of distribution. 1t is for us and
for our children to prove that democracy
can be. We have before us magnificent
but difficult struggle. Here in America
we have the representatives of every ma
ton, of every religion, and of every tom
que We have the representatives of class
es who in England would not associate,
of nations who, in Europe, are at the verge
of war. 1t is for us to build from these
great cosmopolitan civilization. There Is
nothing in common between us but com
mon humanity, and a common tradition of
loyalty and of self sacrifice. For there
have ben martyrs in every nation and in
every land, and the upward struggle of the
poor has been common to the whole earth.
If we would succeed we must cultivate
the spirit fself-sacrifice. We must EMU
late the kneeling ranks We must keep
before us and ever fresh in our mind the
sense of common interest and of a com.
mon brotherhood. We must remember that
| a man is a man for a that.
| AS l have said, loyalty TO the old is not
| inconsistent with love and loyalty to the
new. From the past we can gain our in
| sDiration for the struggles of the future,
and if the races represented in America
are only loyal to their traditions America
must succeed. You remember the story of
the Chitral Pass. A British garrison, with
women and children, was beleaguered by
the Afridis in the Afghan hills. A small
army was sent to raise the siege. 1t was
necessary, however that it should cross
the mountains by a narrow pass. At the
mouth of the pass were beetling cliffs, and
at the top of one of them an Afridi fort,
| from which the enemy not only kept up
a deadly rife fire. but rolled great boulders
of stone down the mountain side and upon
| the heads of the troops beneath 1t was
necessary that this fort should be taken
One after another the English regiments
were ordered up the hill. They charged
bravely up, but near the summit was an
open area of some three hundred yards,
where there was no protection from the
whitening fire from the fort, and one after
another they broke and fell backward The
day seemed lost, when a call was made to
the Gordon Highlanders who were drawn
up in the valley beneath, to make the last
assault. Up, up the hill they went. Higher
and higher, amidst the hail of musketry
and the storm of stones. They came to
the open zone. They We're about to cross
1T, when the piper, who had been leading
and piping the advance, was shot through
both of his knees and fell to the ground.
The piping ceased. The serried ranks of
the Highanders began to waiver, and then
to fall back. rout was imminent, but
all of sudden the brave fellow lifted him.
self upon his bleeding stumps, propped his
back against a rock, put his pipe again to
his lips, and once more the old familiar
lnOteS of the Cock of the North" was
heard reverberating over the hills. 1t was
then that the fire came to the eyes Of the
Highlanders. They clenched their teeth
and grasped their rifles and to the music
of Home" charged the breastworks, and
the battle was theirs. When they heard
the music of Home, neither Death nor Hell,
nor things above nor things below could
keep the Highlanders from victory. So, in
the battles of America, the music of Home
and the traditions of the past may stirl
stir many Scotchmen to deeds of useful
ness and heroism in the struggle for hui
man advancement, which is the heritage
of the ages.
| will close by reading Burns prayer.
| read it because it might well be the
prayer Of all of us,-the prayer of the
Samaritan as well as of the "unco guild"
1t was Burns answer to his critics 1t
was Burns plea to his God
o thou unknown, Almighty Cause
OF all my hope and fear!
In whose dread presence, ere an hour,
Perhaps | must appear!
If l have wanderd in those paths
OF life j ought to shun-
AS something, loudly in my breast,
demonstrates | have done
Thou knowst that Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong;
And listning to their witchng voice
Has often led me wrong
Where human weakness has come short,
Or fraility slept aside,
Do Thou, All Good for such Thou art
In shades of darkness hide.
Where with intention | have err'd.
No other plea l have,
But, Thou are good; and Goodness still
Delighteth to forgive.