Evening star., 1943-04-11

he passed over the places Of dis
tinction he had held and asked to
be remembered as the author of the
Declaration Of Independence, and of
the Statute OF Religious Freedom,
and as the founder Of the University
Of Virginia.
These, to him, were the abiding
achievements OF his life; for these
deal with the eternal needs for hui
man happiness, and with the things
necessary for the protection Of the
freedom of the human spirit.
Other contributions made by JET
ferson in the making Of the Nation
and the moulding Of the people
would alone suffice to place him
among the two or three foremost
Of the founding fathers.
He was perhaps the first of the
founding fathers to conceive and
urge plan for a public school
system to place an education within
the reach of every child; and he
proposed and urged the plan more
than a decade before the adoption
Of the Constitution.
He was the first and foremost of
the statesmen whose vision pene-
trated the thousands Of miles of in
tervening wilderness to the Pacific
sea, and foresaw the endless caval-
cade Of covered wagons Of the
pioneers who would redeem that
empire to the purposes Of man. And
because his was q continental mind,
he launched the historic expedition
Of Lewis and Clark on his own
initiative. He assisted in the forma-
ton Of the plans; he consulted and
corresponded with Lewis In the prep
aration; he followed the drama of
that blazing of trail with a keener
interest than the maneuvering of
his political enemies; and he had
prescience enough to know that this
was an outstanding achievement OF
his administration.
When other statesmen were in
different to our right to the free
navigation Of the Mississippi, Jeffer-
son was declaring that right essential
to the safety and prosperity Of the
Nation before the Constitutional
Convention was in session.
And out Of this conception of
continental policy came his purchase
Of Louisiana, which forever put at
rest the problem Of the Mississippi
and added q vast and rich empire
to the national domain.
He played an important role in
the framing Of the Ordinance Of the
Northwest Territory.
Set Foreign Policy Pattern.
Eor-fvs~years previous to the
adoption Of the Constitution he was
giving form and spirit to our foreign
policy and as WAshington's Secre-
tary of State he laid down principles
on which we act today.
Thus, in the creation of our For
eisn Service he WAS q leading ar
chitect; in the presidency he def
nitely set the Republic on the demo-
cratic tack; he foresaw and made
provision for the vast domain that
now reaches to the Pacific, and he
gave us Louisiana and thus removed
the dangers of frontier controversies.
But, while these achievements by
themselves would have given him
permanent place in history a. one
Of the greatest of our statesmen, it
Is not for these that the Nation is
preparing to celebrate the 20Oth an
niversary Of his birth.
For foreign policy may alter with
changed conditions; territory may
be gained or lost, but the contribu-
tions Of Jefferson that will abide as
long as freedom has a friend came
from his mind ana heart as An
American, and not from any public
station that he held.
It is the political philosophy Of
this profound student of political
science that forms the cornerstone
Of the system that reflects the
American way of life.
II we dare think ana i've free