Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1918-04-27
Patriotic Address

The invitation you have extended
me to deliver short address on
brotherhood, sounds strange. AT a
moment when the whole civilized
world can find time only for hurting
and for fighting and for staying; at a
moment when the whole civilized
world seems to be peryaded through
and through with selfishness and hat
red and cruelty and savageness, 10 be
invited to speak on brotherhood, it
seems strange, very strange. AT a
time when the seas are red with smok-
ing blood, and the habitation OF man
| has become blacklist hell, and man
himself Invested, or at least forgotten,
his loving nature, has become wolf
to man-hono homini lupsus- and
consecrates his poetical genius to
writing hymns of hatred-kill, kill.
kill, and dedicates his science to the
| invention of new and more deadly
weapons, and uses his art and best
| skill to forge and create new means
| for killing and destroying his fellow
man; at a moment when every effort
and strength and resource is being di-
rected to eXterminate the masterpiece
of creation, the king of nature, the
| little god of this universe and to an
to think, with heart to love, with a
| will-power to create; TO stop and
speak about brotherhood, oh, it is
strange, very, very strange. We are
so used to speak about war that | al
most fear that | will not be able to
| find words to speak about exiled peace,
exiled love and eXiled brotherhood.
Three years ago Thought that man
| kind, and Europe most especially.
was highly civilized family of ma
tions. l thought that man, in his
rapid and wonderful progress, had left
the fox and the wolf, the lion and the
tiger, far behind. But, gentlemen, the
history Of these last three years is
giving us the clearest and most con-
elusive evidence that the human race
is still linked to the feline race; that
man did not divest himself of the
qualities and virtues of the brutes,
and today large number of men.
and especially the class of rulers by
divine right, are Just as crafty as the
fox, just as voraciOus as the wolf,
just as ferOcious as the lion and Just
as cruel and traitorous as the tiger OF
the forest. 1t seems that man, and es-
pecially those who proudly call them
selves leaders of men, fathers of peo-
pie, and rulers of nations, have COM
pletely stopped looking onward and
upward, and are now looking back
ward. 1t seems that our philosophy.
our science, our arts, our civilization
is ending in colossal failure.
But If you take the trouble to go
beyond the surface and read deeper
into the events of life and into the
laws of human development, you will
discover that this great war is only
chapter in the history of human race.
/ This setback is only apparent and
momentary. This great storm will
pass, and tomorrow the sun will rise
again in its splendor and glory. What
is old, and useless, and harmful, will
| be buried IN the grave of the past, but
the real values of humanity will sur
vlye. \ new era will dawn for truth
and for Justice, for philosophy and
for science, for freedom and for de-
mOcracy. y new race of men is being
born to-day. Yes, sirs, bordering on
the history of mankind in the light of
my personal history, | feel authorized
to state that man is progressive be-
ing, and he will refuse to go back and
shake hands, or better shake paws,
with his pretended friend and brother
gorilla. Man has crossed the bound
airy line of animalhOOd, and has en-
tered new stage of life, where intel
llgenCe and reason, mind and heart,
Will have their play. Thought and
VIII are the two first gigantic Weap-
ons that Will create for him new era
and build up a new civilization. |
wish TO state as strongly as | can that
man is no longer creeping in the dust,
but is walking in the skies; and his
aspirations are sublime, his ideals
noble, his motives and purposes are
| glorious and immortal ! es, sirs.
man has crossed the boundary line.
and leaving brutal autOcracy, brutal
greed and brutal seltishness behind
be has entered new stage and new
kingdom-th the kingdom OF democracy
and brotherhood | spoke the words
democracy and brotherhood.
The eagle, noble emblem of your
| order, your eagle which at this pre-
sent moment | should like to identify
with the American national eagle, is
now uttering a loud scream which
calls all her sons from the east and
| from the west, from the south and
from the north, to unite in a supreme
| euort and strike down and kill and
| bury once forever the greatest and
mortal enemy of democracy an d
| brotherhoOd-the enthroced and rul-
ing militarism. To be a son of Amer
lea is indeed great privilege, be-
cause in America we have the most
noble and most sublime democracy
now existing on this globe. But to-
/ day our democracy is challenged and
seriously menaced. And opposing us
in this titanic struggle of life or death,
/ we have powerful princes, kings of
iron, emperors of steel, and all the
/ devices that the genius of darkness is
| able TO evoke; but this fact will only
/ strengthen your faith and my faith,
your courage and my courage, Your
power and my power, and force us to
a supreme and final decision that the
American sword shall not return to
| its sheath until autocracy is slain,
and until the tottering and bleeding
thrones of old decrepit Europe have
crumbled into dust, and that dust
| scattered to the four winds of the
! earth Ganflp tho &c