The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-05-24

ing to do with our power than that
we should possess it.
"You must remember, therefore,
the. elements with which we are deal
ing. Sometimes those of us who were
born in this part of the country per-
suade ourselves that this is the char
acteristic part of America Here more
than anywhere else has been preserved
a great part Of the original stock
which settled this country, particu-
larly that portion of the stock which
came from the British Isles. (I am
not meaning to exclude Ireland.) And
then find great many Of my friends
who live in New England imagining
that the history of this country is
merely the history Of the expansion
Of New England, and that Plymouth
Rock lies at the foundation of our
institutions. AS matter of fact, my
fellow citizens, however mortifying
it may be to thcEl o. to us, America
did not come out os New England.
'The characteristic part CT America
originated in the Middle States CT New
York and Pennsylvania and New Jer-
scy, because there from the first was
that mixture Of populations, that mix
ture of racial stocks, that mixture of,
antecedents which is the most sin
gular and distinguishing mark Of the
United States The most important
single fact about this great nation
which we represent is that it is made
out Of all the nations of the world.
dare say that the men who came to
America then and the men who have
come to America since came with a
single purpose; sharing some part of
the passion for human liberty which
characterized the men who founded
the republic, but they came with all
sorts of blood in their veins, all sorts
OF antecedents behind them, all sorts
OF traditions in their family and ma
uonal life. and America has held to
serve as melting pot for all these
diversified and contrasted elements.
What kind of fire of pure passion are
Iyou going to keep burning under the
pot in order that the mixture that
comes out may be purged of it's dross
and may be the fine gold Of untainted
Americanism; that is the problem.
II want to call your attention to
smother picture America has always
been making and is to be made, and
Ewhile we were in the midst of this
process, apparently at the acme and
Icrisis Of this process. while this travail
lof soul, and fermentation of elements
was at its height came this great
Icataclysm Of European war and al
most every other nation in the world
became involved in tremendous
struggle which was what, my fellow
citizens? What are the elements in
1.-THE struggle? Don't you see that in
this European war is involved the
i very thing that has been going on in
i America? It is competition Of ma
tional standards. of national tradi-
tions. and national politics-political
systems. Europe has grappled in
war as we have grappled in peace to
see what is going to be done with
these things when they come into hot
contact with one another For do you
not remember that while these pro-
cesses were going on in America some
very interesting things were happen
ing?
1T was very big world into which
this nation came when it was born,
but it is very little world now. It
used to take as many days to go from
washington to Charlotte in those days
as it now takes hours. l heard an
frishman say If the power of steam
continued to increase in the next fifty
years as 1t had in the last, we would
get to Charlotte two hours before we
left Washington. And as these pro-
/
been developed and quickened, men
or the same nation not only have
grown closer neighbors, but men of
different nations have grown closer
neighbors with each other; and now
that we have these invisible tongues
that speak by the wireless through
the trackless air to the ends of the
world, every man can make every
other man In the world his neighbor
and speak to him upon the moment.
While those processes of fermentation
and travail were going on, men were
learning about each other, nations
were becoming more and more ac-
quainted with each other nations