The Oskaloosa herald., 1916-05-25
WILSON HINTS
WILL VI. AID PEACE
Intimates in Speech America
May Lead Movement. y,
ANNOUNCEMENT ON SATURDAY
Asks How Citizenship Can Emerge
Untainted From Wars Melting
- Pot--Humanlty to Be Heard
49,, Above Din ofnEattIe. a


was dropped by President Wilson in an
address to a tremendous gathering as
sembled to honor the little band of
mountaineer farmers who 141 years
ago, announced their independence of
Great Britain in the Mecklenburg dec
laration. ...
h The spirit of these men could be best
translated by America today, the presi-
dent declared, If I'VE imagined our
selves lifting some sacred emblem of
counsel and of peace, of accommoda.
ton and righteous judgment before the
B nations of the world, and reminding
them of that passage in scripture,
after the fire, the still small voice of
humanity"
\ This expression was taken to indi-
|; cate that the president believes the
time is not far off when America may
give effective impetus to a movement
for world wide peace.
/ He will express himself more def
nitely, it was said, before the League
to Enforce Peace in Washington next
Saturday.
Spirit of the Occasion.
| Il do not know, my fellow citizens"
the president said, whether / can in
terpret for you today the spirit of this
occasion, but it is necessary when we
/ get together in celebrations like this
to take counsel together with regard
to just what it Is that we wish to cele-
brate.
You will say we wish to celebrate
the memories of that time to which we
look back with such pride, when our
fathers with singular wisdom of eoun-
| sci and stoutness of heart undertook to
set up an independent nation on this
side of the water; but it Is very much
more important that we should remind
ourselves of the elements with which
our forefathers dealt.
America has had to serve, as melt.
ing pot for all it's diversified and con-
trasted elements. What kind of fire of
pure passion. are you going to, keep
burning under the pot in order that the
mixture that comes out may be purged
of its dross and may be the fine gold
of untainted AmeriCanism? That is
the problem
Il want to call your attention to an
other picture. America has always
been making and to be made, and while
we were in the midst of this process,
apparently at the acme and crisis of
this process, while this travail Of soul
and fermentation of elements was at
It's height, came this great cataclysm
OF European war, and almost every
other nation in the world became in.
volved in a tremendous struggle which
was what, my fellow-citizens?
involved In Great War.
What are the elements in the strug.
gle? Don't you see that in this Euro
Dean war is involved the very thing
that has been going on in America? 1t
is competition of national standards,
of national traditions, and of national
philosophical 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 an
other.
Words Of Jefferson Upheld.
There is no finer sentence in the
history of great nations than that sen
tence which occurs in the Declaration
of Independence q am now referring
to the declaration at Philadelphia, not
to the Mecklenburg declarationl in
which Mr.. Jefferson said, A decent
respect for the opinion of mankind
makes 1t necessary q am not now ,
quoting the words exactly that we
should state the grounds upon which
we have taken the important step of
asserting our independence
Prove Word of Jefferson.
"A decent respect for the opinion OF
mankind-it is as If Jefferson knew
that this was the way in which man.
kind itself was to struggle to realize
it's aspirations and that, standing in
the presence of mankind, this little
group Of 100000 people should say,
Friends and fellow citizens of the
great moral world, our reason for do. !
ing this thing we now intend to state
to you in candid and complete terms, !
so that you will never think that we
were merely throwing off yoke out of |
Impotence, but know that we were
throwing off this thing in order that
great world of liberty should be open |
to man through our instrumentality.'
II would like. therefore, to think that
the spirit of this occasion could be ex.
pressed If we imagined ourselves lift !
ing some sacred emblem of counsel !
and of peace, of accommodation and !,
righteous judgment before the nations
Of the world and reminding them OF !,
that passage In scripture, After the /
wind, after the earthquake, after the .
fire the still small voice of humanity
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