The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-08-01

guese, Italian, Syrian, German,
Swedish, Spanish, Hebrew and
Russian children, and youngsters
OF twenty-one other nationalities,
which ind a refuge in New Bed
ford, have been contestants in for
mer competitions. A Chinese boy
won a medal one year.
On one side of the medals, which
are examples of the finest art Cf
the silversmith, engraved above the
name of the winner is Blessed is
he that readeth and they that hear"
On the reverse is depicted a fam
lily reading the newspaper
No one viii ever dispute the
large part New England played in
the rearing OF new standards of
freedom. The early struggles here
were cOntemporaneous with the
making of modern British consti-
tutionalism and the new world
beason was an incentive and an in
spiration across the sea, and today
the old world and the new join in
rejoicing at the ends achieved. The
beginning of the American Reyolu-
ton may fairly be traced to the
larger part of a century from the
date commonly fixed for it to the
great town meeting in the Old
South church, to which was sub
mitted the question whether the
colony would assent to the charter
reorganization that the king de-
manded.
Called OF God.
The men and women who came
here to found in a wilderness
across a thousand leagues of ocean
waste, a new state, came with high
and conscious purpose of achiev-
ing great human end. Out of
their yoluminous letters, memoirs,
public records and historical writ
ings we constantly get the impress
sion OF their deep conviction that
had called them as divine instru-
ments to accomplish a work Of su-
preme significance
Hand Of men alone did not build
what was founded here; it was but
the visible sign, the human symbol,
of a purpose, which We may not
understand, but for whose benefi-
cence all men must give tribute OF
praise and voice undying gratitude.
! We may speculate and conjecture.
We may seek to frame laws of hui
man relationship, by which to &C
count for such results as here have
been wrought; but at last we will
have to recognize that they are not
for US to explain.
~ community of free people was
begun when jamestown and Ply
mouth were founded. 1t has carried
! IL cot g
standard. 1t has won recognition
of these ideas as the base OF social
conduct, and of community rela-
tons, throughout the world. Its
work is not finished but, pray God,
| it has come triumphantly through
its determining ordeal. 1t comes
forth from that test, nerved and
| heartened for further tasks; conf
dent, assured, reliant
| NO one questions either its place
/ or it's right of leadership; few
! doubt its destiny to establish, under
that divine guidance which it has
! ever recognized, the splendid struc-
| ture of human brotherhood in
| peace and understanding.
We Must Go On.
I'VE stand today before the I'M
| known, but we look to the future
| with confidence mistaken. There is
no retracing; we must forever go
! on. We welcome the theories
i wrought out in new hope, but we
/ cling to the assurance founded on
experience. All that is to be, will
not be ideal. We cannot lift the
veil to the future, but we can an
! alyze and understand what has
gone before. 1t is good to keep our
feet firmly on the earth though we
gaze in high hope for humand
brotherhood and high attachments.
Just as the pilgrims had a prac-
teal mind for material things amid
effective pursuit of their higher
ideals, so must we with our fnheri-
lance.
Points to Danger.
Just as these fathers drew to-
gether toward ample authority to
make the nations and still preserve
the freedom of those who compose
so must we guard against the su-
preme Capitalization of power at
home, and the superstate for the
world. More, we must combat the
menace in the growing assumption
that the state must support the peo-
pie, for just government is merely
the guaranty to the people of the
right and opportunity OF the people
to support themselves. The one
outstanding danger of today is the
tendency to turn to Washington for
the things which are the tasks or
the duties of the As commonwealth
which constitute' the nation. Hav-
ing wrought the nation as the GEN.
trail power of preservation and de-
Tense. let US preserve it SO.
Here was the early dedication to
religious liberty and political free
dom. 1t was a sublime gift to pos
terity. We can not better express
reverence today than by sweeping
aside the errors, the failures, the
disappointments the betrayals OF
our day, and plant here for all
America and all the world the
standards of highest justice and