The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-06-10
GRAFTON
CONTINUED from page tnree.)

men-black as we'll as white. We
honor the men who paid for these
blessings with price-as witness
this day the laurelled graves, as wit
ness the crutch and the empty sleeve.
We are assembled tonight for a look
backward into our history.
Now we here in America are strong
in our democratic faith. We are for
ward looking men. But shall we be
only forward looking men? Have the
lives Of the pioneers and those who
wore the blue taught nothing? In the
rigors on our present day politics, is
representative government amongst
US to pass away? Is this nation to be
torn from its mornings OF century
and quarter? Is loyalty to a new
outlook to mean disloyalty to our
American traditions? Are we to
make revolutionary break without
past?
We must answer, mo" Americans
are strong in the historic sense and
in common sense. And yet we shall
err II we pore over pages OF history
seeking to formulate from them a
science OF conduct and an art of life.
If we submit questions of policy to
the oracle OF history we shall have
answers of Delphic ambiguity. The
great German philosopher Hegel de-
clares that THE only thing that ex-
perience and history teach Is that
great bodies Of men have never learn
ed anything from history. Each per-
iod is involved in such peculiar cir
cumstances," says he, "and exhibits
a condition OF things SO strictly dis
tinctive as to require It's conduct to
be regarded by considerations con-
nected with itself alone. II Is useless
to revert to similar circumstances in
the past" he concludes, "since moth
ing Is more diverse than the genius
of those people and the people of our
own time" We need not agree with
Hegel But we must admit that we
scan the pages OF history in vain for
conditions and problems exactly anal
ogous to those we now face as a re-
suit of the recent industrial develop
ment here in America.
And If We must be cautious in at
tempting to proceed by precedent I'M
der conditions wholly unprecedented
we must also be cautious in blindly
theories of the past. For the fathers
had known only monarchies and gov
ernments of men and for them the es-
Enlistment of government of written
constitutions and of law was a radi-
cal step.
They could not conceive Of a gov
eminent resting upon a basis of
greater. popular control than the con-
sent of the governed-the consent,
mind you, not the will of the govern
ed. Now without going into detail we
may say that that theory Is untena-,
Bile, in face of the facts, or present
day politics. 1t would have the sup
port only Of the extremely reaction
airy. Once the idea was common that
the makers of our American consti-
tuition had found the ultimate and
achieved perfection OF government.
Today the alliance of crooked money
power and crooked politics, possible
under that constitution, forces upon
US the merciless and contradictory
truth. And it needs no reflection to
make clear to us that there is no in
herent and absolute right in any con-
stitution or code OF law to continue
to fashion human experience, however
much the needs of human existence
may change, with changing time.
What VIC need in these days and
what We may get from consideration
Of the lives Of the pioneers is not so
much concrete schemes of political
organization and not so much definite
rules of procedure as a general meth
cd Of political thought We should
not so much delve into history for
helpful analogies. We should not
SO much ponder the opinions OF the
fathers as we should endeavor after
the spirit in which they wrought For
surely if we may make ours the
dauntless spirit OF the pioneers, that
spirit whose monument is con-
Quered continent, surely in that spirit
we may proceed in our own way to 4
sane solution OF our own problems.
1t is, of course, difficult to analyze
the spirit of the pioneers. "The
times which are gone by are as
book with seven SEALS said Faust to
the student, land what you call the
spirit of past ages is but the spirit of
this or that worthy gentleman in
whose mind those ages are reflect
ed" But assuredly some phases Of
the spirit in which the pioneers
wrought will admit of limited analy-
sis in simple terms, Assuredly those
characteristics of the pioneer spirit
which have been universally remarked
and satisfactorily stated by hlstor-
ians may be made ideals by which
to live today.
And it has been universally agreed
that one thing above all others was
Characteristic Of the spirit in which
the pioneers did what they did They
wrought in the spirit of intelligence
adventure. They were not foolhardy
They knew OF the savage beasts and
still more savage Indians in these
western woods. They had cody cal
culated the chances They knew
that they might go down to nameless
graves
Yet they believed in the adventure
They enjoyed the danger of 1t. They
never yielded. They died with unlim-
tied faith in the future of America
Had they been Of timid hearts who
would remember them today?
And We here in this goth century
America are about to play the game
of life with unprecedented enor-