The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-05-02
THE UNITED STATES OF
THE WORLD.

"The shots fired at Lexington on
April 10. 1775, were heard aroung the
world" John Browns body lies a.
inouldering in the grave, but his soul
Is marching on" The roar of cannon
on the battlefields of Europe today is
the echo of Lexington's battle, while
the spirit that so successfully fought
out the issues of the Civil war has
spread throughout the civilized world.
For a century we dreamed a dream.
We dreamed that We were an isolated
nation and that the oceans were our
boundaries. But in that hundred years
Time has been busy weaving lillipu-
tan threads under and across the
seas. Ships laden with the poof and
oppressed came westward. later re-
turning with free. well-to-do men,
who took back words OF meaning to
the east again. Electricity and steam
narrowed the broad oceans until they
were but a step across. Like the shut
ties of the weaver. Time continuously
threw his thousand threads until we
awoke to find these gossamer skeins
twisted into thick cables that bind us
SO closely to the old world that seas
seem to intervene no more. The very
physical body of the nation has been
changed. almost without notice. There
are practically now no typical Amer
icans"-if ever there was such. We
are indissolubly connected by blood
with every European nation.
Thus we have become part of the
world. Thus the world has become
part of the United States To this de-
gree the shots fired at Lexington are
being echoed around the world, and
John Browns soul is marching on.
To this degree. therefore. we are now
not only the United States Of Amer
lea, but the United States of the
World. Perchance. in the future to be,
the United States of the World in
fact as we'll as in sentiment.
The problems of the war into which
we have entered. and of the peace that
shall follow, bring to us a thousand
queries and complications as only the
beginning of problems of the near fu-
ture. where shall we be at" with our
fighting friends who are not our al
lies, both in the war and at the end Of
tory by either side; with it's possibili-
ties Of a separate peace making;
with its responsibilities in the chang
ing of the map of Europe. when we. as
a nation, have declared that we fight
not for territory; and a thousand 9TH
err and momentous matters?
What does all this mean to us as
Americans? We cannot answer all
these now. We must answer as time
brings the issue directly to us. Mean
while, however, every American should
thoughtfully consider and accept the
personal responsibility that being
citizen Of the United States of the
World has brought upon him. Indi-
vidually we are as separate as the
sands on the sea shore, but when
cemented by the love OF liberty and
progress then we become solid con-
crete for God. home and native land.
Like the soldiers of the revolution,
like the soldiers of the Civil war, we
are again fighting for liberty and
peace, and like them, perhaps, We are
fighting for much more than we can
at this time know or realize. The shot
that sunk a German submarine near
Dover a couple of weeks ago on the |
anniversary Of the battle of Lexing-
ton has given a new impetus to that |
shot which has been circumscribing
the whole earth for more than a CEN
fury and quarter.
Then let us together do what we can
to keep the world moving. Whether we
will or no we must now lead. Let us
keep to the right with each and all
our personal powers.