The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-06-28
SENATOR LEWIS TRIBUTE.
Paid To Stephen A. Douglas at Celebra.
tion at Brandon.

Brandon, June 2s---In delivering th,
address at the unveling Of monument
to Stephen A. Douglas here Yesterday
Senator J. H. Lewis of Illinois said il
part:
Gentlemen of Vermont, the object o
this gathering is not to pay tribute tc
one Of Gods atoms. designated a man
/ This memorial was reared that it might
1 speak OF events connected with a man
| You who have travelled in Greece will
remember the inscription attributed to
Perieles: In land without history
there can be no heroes Emerson re-
versed the thought and said: In land
without heroes there can be no history
| | choose to speak to you of the things
| for which this man stood. II is to be
regretted that he was misunderstood.
What were the things that stephen
Douglass stood forg You would have
heard here in Brandon fifty years ago
that Stephen A. Douglas had committed
an oifense BY advocating the doctrine Of
states rights ais against the principle Of
national unity. Here in this hour when
partizan rancor is stilled and i'll feeling
is dead, man may speak to man to the
end that justice be done to fellow
American.
From New England went out your
sons to settle the homes of the great
West. Here in New England your sons
had learned the doctrine of home rule.
Your famous system Of town govern
ment drilled it into them. They had
learned of the government that prevailed
in Greece, where the worlds culture was
born. Their divines had taught them Of
the government of Israel. From this
system of government, your fathers drew
their inspiration, not from the empire
making government Of Rome
Mr.. Douglas heard this doctrine Of
home rule and self government here in
Brandon. He knew Of tine independent
spirit and heroic struggle Of the Green
Mountain boys. When he emigrated into
the West, he took with him this doctrine.
When the struggles arose, what theory
could he support?
what did he mean by states rights?
There never was time when to the
mind Of thoughtful men states rights
meant the right to disrupt the Union. !
Douglas found in the West two classes
of questions, the questions raised bv |
problems Of settlement and the ques. /
tions of slavery BY squatter sovereign |
ty he meant right to have slavery free
from interference from other states. not |
The right to secede. He never main
tained the right of the states to secede /
when secession meant the breaking of I
The Union. He was consistent in this.
What he advocated in the case of Cali
'ornia, he advocated in the case OF Kan
ias.''
In closing, the speaker told of Doug
as foresight when alone and unsup-
ported in the United States Senate he
TODD against the features in the CLAY
n-Bulwer treaty which carried over
nto the later Hay -Pauncefote treaty are
It present hampering our freedom to
ct in connection with the Panama canal.
fe closed with reference to Douglas
upport of Lincoln in a time of trial.
nd the quotation from Cicero. "There
ONES a time when men are glad to
dmit their error and to confess their
Frong that they may show wronged
nan to have been right"
Martin F. Douglas on behalf of his
amily, thanked the people of Brandon !
or the honor done his ancestor. A let
er from the son of Stephen Douglas was I.
cad, expressing regret that the eondi- /,
ion of the writer's health prevented him
rom being present. A telegram from
enator Dillingham; announced that he =
ad just received note from the presi- 5 5
ent regretting his inability to be pres
Mt.
After the exercises a number of the
isitors were shown about the house in
-hich Douglas was born. which is now
'cupied by Miss Lucy w Smith.