Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-29

Miltiades will not let me sleep; so
our boys in blue, musing on the battle
field of Gettysburg, cried out: The
spirit of Lincoln will not let us sleep.
And today America is the ideal of
the nations. She has come out Of the
fire refined, purified, purged. Thanks
to the willing sacrifice of our boys in
blue, who, in moment. in the twink
ling OF an eye, sprang into arms,
ready to lay down their lives for their
country-(a sacrifice which shall new
er be lost freedom has experienced
new birth, birth from above; and
the mighty influence of that immor-
| tai emblem of humanity-the Declare
! ton of independence, upon which our
I national freedom is built, is felt to-
| day, not only in politics, but in IN
| dustry. in education, and in religion.
| 1t is felt today, not only in America,
| but in Europe in Asia, in China, in
Japan, and in the isles of the seas.
| The 10000 Athenians who went forth
under Miltiades to lay down their
| lives for their country at Marathon,
thought only of Attica; their patriot
ism was provincial; their zeal was ma
| tional But the tens of thousands o.
Americans who went forth under
Meade to lay down their lives for their
country at Gettysburg, thought not OF
America alone, but of the whole
world; their patriotism was universal;
their zeal was international. And IL
is altogether fitting and just that the
entire citizenship Of this great repub-
lie, irrespective of nationality, OF
rank, of color, or of religion, should
on Memorial day leave the quiet OF
their peaceful homes, and the noise OF
their busy streets, and go forth under
the inspiration of common devotion,
to celebrate with impressive and sig
/, nifcant ceremonies the triumph OF
freedom at Gettysburg.
Another Struggle RACES.
I'VE are now engaged in another
struggle, another battle of principles,
another conflict of ideals. We have
not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin; but who knows how soon
we shall? On the one hand We have
Theodore Roosevelt saying: Love of
ease, Sinking of responsibility, I'M
willingness to face the facts, the de-
sire to comfort ourselves with words
| all these things spell unworthless-
ness while our civilization lasts, and
a speedy and ignoble end of that civ
ilization.' On the other hand we have
William Jennings Bryan saying: An
attempt is being made to change the
spirit of America, and revOlutionize
the character of our people; an effort
is being made to transfer the spirit
of the nation, and drag our new world
down to the brute level of the old The
world looks to US TO lead the way to
a greater and brighter day And so
we have the struggle between prepar-
edness and non-preparedness-a strug-
gle wildly portrayed in d cartoon on
the front page of The Argus, Monday,
May %. Our national character is in
the balance; Americanism is on trial.
Americanism On Trial
~'Ye have heard that it was said,
thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate
thine enemy. But l say unto you.
! love your enemies is the spirit
Of America which is in the balance
that is the principle Of Americanism
which is on trial. 1t is the principle
Cor which our boys in blue fought at
Gettysburg. And it is the spirit of the
American people today. If our enem-
les will respect US when we take them
by the right hand, and raise them up,
then we can go to them, and bind up
their wounds, pouring on them oil and
wine; and We can be a neighbor un-
to them. But if our enemies will not
respect us when we are moved with
compassion for them, then We shall
have to make a scourge of cords, and
cast them out, lest they make our
Fathers house a house of merchan-
disc. We must save the soul OF our
nation at any cost"