The daily independent., 1937-08-09

soldier, seaman, and founder of
English America. He sank a per-
sonal fortune in his American
failures but his unbroken courage
and unfailing faith caught the
imagination of the English peo-
pie and stirred their corporate will
to build The overseas dominionS
The failure at Fort Raleigh made
Stralghter the way to jamestown
and Plymouth Rock. The men,
women, and children lost on Roa-
noke Island rose from the dead all
the way from Maine to Florida
Facing west to the unconquered
wilderness, with axes, rifles, Bibles
and chartered liberty in their
hands and history, they crossed
mountains. rivers, prairies. plains,
deserts and mountains again to
another sea, clearing the forests,
deSpoiling the Indians, tilling the
soil, exploiting its mines and re-
sources, building schools, churches,
factories. railroads, highways,
libraries, hospitals, cities, and
states making America to the
pattern of treir haphazard but
relentless wills. In the Lost Col
ony were the seeds of the old en-
pire and the new republic. Roa-
noke Island. upon which Raleigh
stumbled became England's STEP
ping stone to empire. In the midst
of his failures and some time be-
fore here was to fall upon his
neck the axe which he jeSted was
a sharp medicine that would cure
al diseases, he said. in his un-
conscious Immortality looking TO
%Cme such hour a. this. Il shall
live to see it an English nation. "
Rise Above Failure
In his spirit, which rose above
every failure. the Seagoing fisher
folk of Roanoke present this
community play of the beginnings
of England in America and Of
our America in the world. a mUSi-
cal-pagear.- drama telling the
moving human story Of how a
handful of the Seagoing fisher
folk of Devon from the English
Island outpost Of European civili-
cation made Roanoke Island the
first but tragic outpost OF Anglo
American civilization. The peo-
pie CT the continent now move to
Join the people of .he island in a
national COmrncmOratiOn OF this
long neglected shrine of American
civilization to which now Contri-
butte all the races. religions, and
cultures of the world.
In this anniversary year the
people Of America hear across
the centuries and across the con-
tinen. the voices Of Roanoke with
Ill its suffering and struggle.
failure and hope; the voice of
Virginia Dare. in whose Swaddl-
ing clothes were wrapped the af-
fectionS and hopes of a colony.
the first child conceived in Eng
land and born in America. SYM
Dol of the old home and the new
generations to come: and the
voice of Sir Walter Raleigh and
the unconQueraDle aspiration Of
the human spirit to project a
dream beyond the frontiers of the
hour. August the eighteenth. the
birthday of Virginia Dare. the
people of America will hear above
the tumult Of the hour the voices
of Roanoke, Raleigh and RooSe-
yelt, himself undaunted by un-
chared seas, a dreamer ard build
er of a new world. After stormy
years he has led us ashore to the
frontiers of an economic Wild
ernesS for whose social mastery
the new pioneers blaze intellect
ual and spiritual trails toward
the America of their dreams,
dreams as old as Roanoke and as
young as youth in the schools
and colleges who ever bring new
hope to the American scene. In
his coming we will nc. only ccla-
brate the 35Gth anniversary of the
coming of the first colony but will
also. in his own life and leader
ship. victorious over personal
calamity and national depression,
give ourselves more generously to
the ever fresh purposes and hopes
with which came the men and
mothers of Roanoke to build a
new and fairer world.