Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-02-26

W N'hihOi Sooui VIC can but awake
awake sometimes with a start-to realiza-
tlon that the one force we have to
reckon with and the only force we have
TO rely upon is cropping, faulty, per-
verse; and selfish, yet noble and divine
~ human man.
we know only what we read of heaven
u may be all that It has been depicted
or, as Mark Twain hopefully suggested
merely a haven Of refuge from ones rela-
tons. We know even less of the other
place except that, as our observation
indicates, 1t is Il congenial abode for
those gregariously disposed. What we
do Know and what we must always bear
IN mind when essaying great UNDER
takings on behalf of humankind is this:
The greatest thing in the world sir Is
man. 1t always has been. ] guess It al
ways will be-
And do not forget, my friends, that to-
day in Il larger degree then ever be-
fore in the history OF this or any other
country, the college makes the man.
OUR DEBT TO THE MOTHER STATE.
incidentally we may upon occasion
like this fittingly bear testimony to our
appreciation of that which we owe by in
ntilldUCt W lHt UlOIntT state. Events
such as this cause the thoughts and sensl-
bilities, no less than the physical beings,
Of those OF us who return for participa-
ton and renewal of acquaintance and
| friendship. to revert to hill and dale and
woods and running brooks-to the home
that was and ever shall be. And our lit
tie State has always been so rustic and
shy, and her children continue to this
] 6a ca nd
times that both have been deprived Of the
recognition which is rlghtfully theirs.
Unless you have changed the construction
Of school histories since my association
with the educational system of Vermont,
( a youth taught here would grow up under
the impression that Massachusetts and
Virginia and New York constituted about
all there was of this nation in it's early
days, and that all other communities
merely traled along behind. The truth is
and I weigh my words in all seriousness
and am prepared to uphold the conten-
tion-the truth is that the record of Yer
mont as resolute champion of indvid-
ual freedom, as a true Interpreter Of our
fundamental law. as a defender OF rellC.
Iious faith as an unselfsh but independent
and uncompromiSing commonwealth by
liberty loving patriots, is not only unsur-
passed. but unmatched by any other State
in the Union. The essence of the demands
of the Pilgrim fathers was individual
freedom, from which was expected tc
issue and did issue religious liberty and
political equality as represented to this
day by the free State. the free church.
and the free school. But they comprised
vastly more than that. These were no,
only God-fearing men, but law-abiding
laW-respecting, law-uphoding men. Sec.
ond only in importance to divine WORSHIP
was human statute. Second only to the
Almighty of heaven was the Judge upon
earth. And they linked the two together
from the very beginning. You know,
wrote John Robinson to the Pilgrims
when they sailed--"you know that the
image of the Lords dignity and authority
which the magistry beareth is honora BILE
: in howmea nsoever person" There was
) the core of their creed. Liberty first and
always but liberty under the law. Upon
that rock the fathers laid the foundations
of the mighty nation of to-day and this
yet mightier nation of tomorrow
: Many were the times. even in
the early days when the fidelity of the
people to this vital principle wavered I'M
some of the colonies before inherited crav-
Ing of the pomp Of rulers. but never for
an instant was there such wavering in
Vermont. Here she stood unrecognized
even unnamed, in those dark days pre-
ceding the Revolution. beset on all Sides
by enemies who should have been her
friends, lighting for her very lfe-for the
individual freedom of her people and for
the protection of the property they had
: wrought from the unwilling earth and
builded with their own tireless hands. And
! when the war was over back to the ak
and plOwshare went those sturdy, silent
men, only to be compelled to take down
the rife again to defend themselves
= against the neghbors whose freedom they
had helped to win.
VERMONT'S FASCINATING HISTORY
The story of Vermont during the
, succeeding fourteen years is the most
fascinating ever written Of any State
surely history does not record an act|
more audacious than that of those de !
, termined men who not only set them j
selves up as free and Independent
republic. but successfully maintained 81
the integrity of their government d
against Congress, New York. and Can
I ada by force of arms. There was good
l lighting in those days That we ca nj
understand. But how can we accoun Il
t for the sagacity manifested by thosej
I untutored men who wrote into theiri
t fundamental law an eternal edict|
1 against human slavery? Nowhere else
. upon this continent had such statutei
I been enacted or even suggested TCl
$ Vermont, not as a vassal of Grea {
Britain. not as a part of the United
f states, but as an Independent republic
? fell the honor and the glory Of light Il
! Ing the torch OF universal liberty
' Fourscorc years later a large group %
e powerful States tried to fight theiri
! way out Of the Union to duench theI
burning of the flame. and failed Bud
| little Vermont, sngle-handed and un
5 aided, raising the standard of polltica
right and human justice, tried to hgh1
i her way into the Union. and succeeded
And when the first test of the new
l government took place over the grea
question which subsequently plunged
l the nation into Civil War, whenct}
came the clear note of liberty and
union blended and indivsible? Wd
may well believe that an administra
tion grown so strong under JohrI
Adams as to venture estoppal of fred
speech became indeed n peril and mer
tied stern resistance. We can even
now feel the Indignation of our fore
bears when their representative in Con
gress was arrested. tried, convicted
fined imprisoned for violating tn !