The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-05-31

~ follows:
the aim with which they entered
upon our internecine trouble. They
were called TO prevent secession.
to save the national unity. ihey
believed that the institutions OF
this country were good: that they
deserved to be preserved; that they
were worth yupreme enort, ever
all of life itself. In making inst
effort and that sacrifice, they din
far more than save what ma
already been gained; they made
possible for slavery to be ended
forever.
1t was the same In the moro re-
cent war OF the free peoples against
the autocrscies of the world. In It's
beginnings, men fought TO protect
that which they already had. Their
countries lives were at stake;
their rights as free men were mem
aced; and for these they went forth
to battle. There was no thought OF
crusading for the freedom of
world. of emancipating distant peo-
pies. of rendering a noble service
to the enemy who had attacked
them. They had no time and small
disposition to indulge altruisms.
FOUGHT ALSO FOR FREEDOM.
Yet, as in the case of our civil
war. they won far more than they
had sought In the beginning. They
won for themselves their homes.
their countries; and In doing so
they destroyed well nigh the lass
intrenchments of the mistaken uo~
trine OF divine right to rule. They
gained the victory for their own
grateful countries, and with II they
won. for those whom they defeated,
the opportunity OF establishing free
institutions, of planting democra-
cies where absolutism held sway.
of making the people supreme.
True. they were able only to af-
ford opportunity for the great adj
vance. They could not force free
institutions upon the. crushed and
broken enemy: they could not In
sure that those institutions would
be permanent even II experimental
ly adopted. Freedom is not to be
crowded upon those who will not
have IL. but the privilege of adopt
and having and enjoying it-that
privilege was opened wide to the
vanquished communities which had
sought to take IL from others. We
do not yet know certainly whether
the defeated and unwilling bene-
f1ciaries will be able to grasp this
boon. We can not tell whether
they will pay the price required to
maintain the freedom to which the
door has been opened. We do know,
and we take pride. that our sons
and brothers afforded them the OPP
portunity.
GAINS BEYOND uNuEDJATEr IssuE
Thus. we see that. whether ia
our civil struggle or In the world
war. the triumph of the right in
evitably implies gains that sweep
far beyond the immediate issue.
Those heroes of the civil war who
sleep about us here wrote that les
son in symbols OF blood and fre
where all men might read. And
they did yet more. They taught
the lesson OF a great community
making its night for freedom and
exclusive business OF the whole
people. Never before had there
been an example. on such a scale,
OF tho entire human and Industrial
power Of people being cast into
the common cause. Wars had large
ly been professional affairs, in the
conscripts whose knowledge or
concern for the cause they served
was of necessity limited and
doubtful.
Here was found a nation which
for four years gave it's very all OF
human resources. OF Industrial
power. of faith in its mission and
it's future. in order that IL might
maintain an ideal 1t accomplished
that which experts and economists
decried as the impossible II defied
the edict that economic exhaustion
and financial disabilities must pre-
vent a decisive victory. 1t demon
strated that the wealth and re-
sources OF a nation lie not in acres
and bushels. in bank balances and
tonnages, in taxable wealth and
going business, but rather in the
sfnews and souls OF it's inspired
people. And therein the example of
our frsternal struggle taught the
lesson which later moved agonized
civilization to reject an indecisive
peace.
So much. and vastly more, we
owe of debt to these who won the
peace OF union and liberty. II Is
a debt that has not yet been dis
charged in full, a debt on which
every succeeding generation can
hope only to pay Its installment:
for IL obligates us and those after
us to maintain for this people the
high estate which they established.
We never will yield aught of what
they won for US Forbidden by the
law of life and Institution. we can
not stand still. We must always
move forward, along the upward
paths they marked for us. No less
is possible unless we would re-
pudiate the debt they laid upon us,
whose covenant they sealed in their
blood