Evening star., 1926-05-30

President Coolidges speech at the
dedication of the statue of John ErfcS-
son yesterday follows in full:
Friends and Fellow Citizens:
at Is one of the glorieS Of our coun-
try that we all have the privilege of
being Americans. Some or us were
born here of an ancestry that has
lived here for generations. Others Of
us were born abroad and brought here
at a tender age, or have come to these
shores as a result of mature choice.
But when once our feet have touched
this soil, when once we have made
this land our home, wherever our
place of birth, whatever our race, we
are all blended in one common coun-
try. All artificial distinctions of line
age and rank are cast aside. We all
rejoice in the title Of Americans. But
this Is not done by discarding the
teachings and beliefs or the character
which have contributed to the strength
and progress Of the peoples from
which our various strains derived
their origin, but rather from the ac-
ceptance OF all their good qualities
and their adaptation to the require
ments Of our institutions. None OF
those who come here are required to
leave any good qualities behind, but
they are rather required to strengthen
and foftify them and supplement
them with such additional good quail
ties as they find among us.
while 1t Is e1ninently proper for us
to glory in our origin and to cherish
with pride the contributions which
our race has made to the common
progress Of humanity, we cannot put
too much emphasis on the fact that in
this country we are all bound together
in q common destiny. We must all
be united as one people. This prin-
ciple works both ways. AS we do not
recognize any inferior races, 50 we do
not recognize any superior races. We
all stand on an equality Of rights and
of opportunity, each deriving just
honor from their own worth and ac-
complishments. 1t is not, then, for
the purpose of setting one people
above another that we assemble here
today to do reverence to the memory
Of a great son Of Sweden, but rather
to glory in the name Of John Ericsson
and his race as a pre-eminent ex'
ample of the superb contribution
which has been made by many diff
ferent nationalities to the cause of
our country. We honor him most of
all because we can truly say he was
a great American.
Swedish People ExtOlled.
t'Great men are the product Of a
many generations of effort, toll and
discipline. They do not stand by
themselves; they are more than an
individual. They are the incarnation
Of the spirit of people. We should
fail in our understanding of Ericsson
unless we first understood the Swe-
dish people both as they have de-
veloped in the land of their origin and
as they have matured in the land Of
their adoption.
Sweden is a country where exist
ence has not been easy. Lying up
under the Arctic Circle, it's climate is
tnged with frost, it's landscape is
rugged. it's soil yields grudgingly to
the huSbandman, so that down
through the centuries its people have
been Injured to hardship. These exter.
nal conditions have contributed to the
strength, the greatness and the char
acter of that little nation which even
now numbers scarcely 100000 peo-
pie. Independence, courage, resource
| fulness have marked the race since
we read of them in Tacitus and
Ptolemy. The meagerness of their
soil drove them to the sea; their
| natural characteristics drove them to
adventure. Their sea roverS touched
all known shores and ventured far
into the unknown, making conquests
| that have had a broad influence upon
succeeding European history. At an
| early period they were converted to
the Christian faith and their natural
| independence made them early re.
| sponsive to the Protestant Refor1na-
tion, in which their most famous
| King, Gustavus Adolphus, 'the Lion
1 - \ nf
a greater religious freedom. It, was
under this great leader that plans
were first matured to establish a col.
ony in this country for purposes of
trade and in order that the natives,
as was set out in the charter,
J nfeht n mode Woya NfYdNzea end