The Irish standard., 1915-07-10
HON. D. w. LAWLER DELIVERS
ADDRESS At ST. ANTHONY OF
PADuA CELEBRATION,

ADDRESS AT ST. ANTHONY OF
PADUA CELEBRATION.
Mr.. Lawler congratulated the COM
mittee of arrangements on combining
the Fourth of July celebration with a |
celebration in honor Of the Old Set
tiers of the parish of st. Anthony of
Padua. He described the hardships
and sacrifices of the early pioneers of
Hennepin county and expressed the
hope that the present generation might
the example of their prede-
cessors.
A Historic Spot.
1--WE meet almost within rifle shot
Of the historic spot which marks the
origin of the civilization and Chris
tianity of the upper Mississippi val
ley. Two hundred and thirty-five years
ago the intrepid missionary, Louis
Hennepin, was the first white man
who gazed upon the falls known to
the Dakotas as Minnehaha and by
Hennepin named the Falls of st. An
thony of Padua. Three years after
this event the great Belgian mission
airy published his account Of his cap
ture by the Dakota Indians and his ex-
ploitations of this northwestern coun-
try. This work, dedicated to Louis
XIV, then king of France, gave the
world it's first information about the
resources of the American continent
west of the Allegheny mountains. Hen
nepin's discovery marked the COM
mencement of the struggle between
France and England for the posses
sion of the Mississippi valley and ulti-
mately of the North American CONT
nent.
independence Day.
1T is an interesting fact that we
meet today surrounded by the tradi-
lions of this far-off time and under
the auspices of this ancient church of
st. Anthony of Padua. We celebrate
also today the one hundred and thirty
ninth anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence. 1t is difficult for us liv-
ing in the full enjoyment of the polit-
ical doctrines enunciated by that in
strument to realize that on the first
Fourth of July they were new and
startling. The sentences of the Dec
laration which are of most tremen-
dous Importance are not those which
merely recite the grievances of the
colonists against the king of England.
The document would have been COM
plete had it merely stated to the world
the reasons for the separation, but
it went beyond this and announced a
new gospel of political liberty for all
races and for all the children Of men
The entire family of humanity was
made it's beneficiary when it declared
that all men are created equal, en-
dowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these
are life, liberty and the pursuit Of
happiness, that to protect these rights
governments are instituted among men
deriving their just powers from the
consent of the government It has
been said by an American statesman
that these words rang out upon the
world like an alarm bell at night. The
principles of government which they
expressed are commonplace to us, but
they were new and startling a hun
dred and thirty-nine years ago today
These words announced the death of
the doctrine of the divine right of
kings and declared the divine right of
men to govern themselves.
IF you desire to compare the con.
dition of the average man today with
the condition of the average man of
the period Of the Declaration, read
what the English historian, Lecky, had
to say about the England of the Eight
eenth century and the description Civ
en- by Charles Dickens in his wonder
full Tale of Two Cities concerning
social and economic conditions in
France during the same period. A
knowledge of the conditions which ex
listed throughout the countries Of Eu
rope is necessary to enable us to un
derstand the meaning of the Declare
ton of independence in it's full signifl
cance."
Hyphenated Citizenship.
The speaker deprecated the address
es which are being made by promi
nent men relative to ''hyphenated-citi
zenship."
"The Declaration of Independence
was made living force by the blood
and sacrifice, not only of Americans tt
the manner born, but also of foreign
born citizens representing every Euro
pean country and every strain Of Eu
ropean blood. When CORVALLIS sur
rendered at Yorktown, side by side
with the ragged soldiers Of the patriot
army stood six thousand gallant
Frenchmen who had fought and bled
for American liberty. Germany sent
to, the staff of Washington De Kali
and Won steuben, soldiers trained IL
the army of Frederick the Great
whose technical skill and experience
were invaluable in training the raw re