The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1919-12-25


ask it TO abandon the creed under
which il has grown 10 power and &c
cept the creed of autocracy, the creed
of repression aud force.
Mr.. President. l turn from this
scheme based upon force to another
scheme, planned 143 years ago in cid
Independence Hall, in the city OF Phila-
delphia. based upon liberty. | like ii
better. l have become so accustomed
to believe in it that it is difficult for
me TO reject itsout of hand. | have
difficulty in subscribing to the rew
creed of oppression, the creed OF domi-
nant and subject peoples. feel re-
luctance to give up the belief that all
men are created eQual--the enternal
principle in government that all govern
ments derive their just power from the
consent of the governed. | can not get 4
my consent to exchange the doctrine
of George Washington for the doctrine
of Frederick the Great translated into
mendacious phrases of peace. 20 |
back to that serene and masterful soul
who pointed the way tO nOWer and |
glory for the new and then weak Re |
public, and whose teachings and adj |
monitionS even in our majesty and |
dominance we dare not disregard.
l know we'll the answer to my con-
tention. 1t has been piped about Of
late from thousand sources -vrnal
sources, disloyal sources, sinister
sources-that Washingtons wisdom
was of his day only and that his teach
ings are out of fashion-thirgs long
since sent to the scrap heap OF history
| that while he was great in character
! and noble in soul he was unframed in
! the arts of statecraft and unlearned in
the scicrce Of government. Tho puny
demogogue. the barren editor, the ster-
rifle professor now vie with each other
in apologizing for the temporary and
commonplace expedients which the
Father of our country felt constrain-
ed TO adopt in building republic!
What is the test of craftsmanship?
Is it the formation of theories, the
utterance of abstract ard incontroverti
BILE truths, or is it the capacity and the
power to give to q people that concrete
thing called liberty, that vital and in
dispenSable thing in human happiness
called free institutions and to establish
over all and above all the blessed ard
eternal reign of order and law? If
this be the test. where" shall we tind
another whose name is entitled to be
written beside the name oof Washing
ton? His Judgment and poise in the
hour of turmoil ard peril, his courage
and vision in times of adversely, his
firm grasp OF fundamental principl IS
his almost inspired power to penetrate
the future and read there the result
the effect of policies have never been
eXcelled, if equaled. by any of the
worlds commonwealth builders. Peter
the Great, William the Silent, ard
Cromwell the Protector, these and
these alore perhaps are to be associ-
ated with his name as the builders of
States and the founders Of govern
ments. But in eXaltatiOn of moral pur-
pose, in the unselfiSh character of his
work. in the durability of his policies
in the permaneEcy Of the institutions
which he more than anyone else called
into effect, his service to mankind
stands out separate and apart in a
clasa by itself. The works of these
other great builders, where are they
= now? But the work of Washington is
t still the potent influence for the ad.
Q vanc%ment Of civilization and the free.
r dom of the race.
: Reflect for moment over his a.
I chievements. He led the Revolution
y
= first to suggest a union instead of a
confederacy. He presided over and
D cOuEseled with great wisdom the con
! ventiOn which framed the Constitution
He guided the Government through its
first perilous years. He gave dignity
and stability and honor to that which
y was looked upon by the world as q
+ passing experience. and finally, my
T friends, and his own peculiar and par
E ticular contribution to the happiness OF
i his cOuntrymen- ard to the cause Of tho
/ Republic, he gave us his great foreign
9 policy under which we have lived and
q proSpered and strengthened for nearly
J. a century and a half. This policy il
2 the most sublime confirmation of hi
genius as a statesman. II was then
and it now is, an indispensable part
T Of our whole. scheme of government
1t is to-day vital. indispensable eld
y ment in our entire plan. purpose ard
/ mission as n nation. To abandon it is
: nothing less than a betrayal of the
American people. I say betrayal ID
liberately. in view of the suffering arb
n the sacrifice which will follow in the
{ wake Of such course
= But under the stress and strain dt
7 these extraordinary days, when strong
n men are being swept down by the ON
Q rushing forces of disorder and charge
i when the most sacred things Of life
Q the most cherished hopes of a Chris
, tian world seem to yield TO the mad
e forces Of discontent-just such days
o as Washington passed through wher
e the mobs Of Paris, wild with new
!. liberty and drunk with power, chal
q lenged the established institutions b-
all the world. but his steadfast sou
] was unshaken-under these conditions
B come again we are about to abandon
q this policy so essential to our happi
If ness and tranquility as people ant
v our stability as government NJ
# leader with his commanding influence
IS and his unquailing courage stand
h forth to stem the current. But wha
" no leader can or will do experience
L IL 49, 49,