Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-06

he faced the world OF colonial big
wigs and the TACT that he chose to
spend most of his time wandering
through the wilderness with a gun
over his shoulder. free as a wild
thing, seem to us to be the most
significant facts about Henry-tno
ones that make him real to US now.
Certainly one of the greatest diff
ferences between an American OF
that day and an American of this
lies in the fact that the Colonial
American had a wilderness to wan
der in, was a pioneer and hunter.
The modern American is either a
cockney or a viliaSer.
Pioneer freedom.
Now a man who wanders free in
the woods has something about him
OF the wild animal. And the wild
animal has freedom, whatever 1t
may lack. 1t has a perfect personal
autonomy. Put it in a cage and az
ten it will die. Catch 1t in a trap
and it will knaw a leg Off to get out
freedom is the essence of life to 1t.
And man who has wandered free
hin a wild country learns to feel just
the same way about IL. lie learns
the joy of freedom. He Is forever
impatient OF restraint. You can
discover that quality in any man
who has spent a good part of his
life outdoors.
When he shouted for liberty or
death, Patrick Henry was volcing
the spirit of the vida spirit born
of the vast unconquered country
ina lay behind the fringe OF colo
MES, a spirit hat ne had discovered
In forests and mountains, not in
books. He was voicing the spirit of
the trapped fox that mangles itself
20 escape and of the eagle that
starves itself to death In its cage
He was voicing the spirit in which
the Indians fought white domina-
ton for two centuries. And Incl
dentally, he was voicing a thing
which every American OF mat day,
with the exception Of a few import
cd Tories, had himself felt. Free
dom mean something to the Colo
NAL American. Tell HIM that he was
being robbed and put upon, that his
liberties were being restricted, and
he rose straight up into the air with
a howl of rage and a rifle in his
right hand.
How America Has Changed
The typical modern American
has little of that left in him. He IS
the cousin, not of the panther. but
of the COW. He is a domestic animal.
He lives in a city and 10 used to be-
ing herded around by cops and con-
ductors, chased off the grass, boss
ed, Gnubbed scolded. lie reads In the
Papers every day OF how he is being
robbed by p~rofiteers, of graft and
scandal. He accepts meekIy legis-
lation regulating the details of his
private life. During the past few
years he has seen poo old Patrick's
Dill of rights shot into a thousand
pieces, every article of 1t grossly
violated. He reads of these things
IN his paper, n signs and says
We'll. well,"
1t was the genius and glory OF
Patrick Henry that ne saw hat gov.
erament is.supposed to serve the in.
~olvidual. not crush him. He saw
that the danger in every govern.
ment is that it will overwhelm tn,
very creatures hat made 1t, reduc
ing them to cog or to grains of ma
terial in its complicated machinery
He foresaw that in this process tn
very conception OF man as a fire,
and natural animal might be lost
against this catastrophe he set hi
whole force and ability. He was no
much interested in details or gov
eminent.
If the people will not die or b
Free he said, "it is of no conse
quence what sort of government
they live under"