| Show AT LIBERTY PARK Prof C E Allens Oration Gov Thomas Remarks Other Exercises The assembled crowd had not gathered around the speakers stand but a few minutes min-utes beiore the band struck up Star Spangled Banner at the conclusion of which Governor Thomas introduced the Rev J B Thrall who opened the exercises exer-cises with a lent and able prayer The Park City band here struck up a lively air and during this time the people came pouring into the grovo from every avenue and the crowd at this time almost swelled to a multitude Governor Thomas here called the assembly as-sembly to order After a brief and well chosen address his excellency closed by introducing Mr H M Wells who delivered deliv-ered the Declaration of Independence as only Heber M Wells can It was expressed I by many that they had never heard a better rendition of the national document docu-ment and few that would equal it Mr Wells as is usual with him spoke so clear and distinct that his voice rang out and was distinctly heard by the assembled multitude mul-titude and when he finished he sat down amidst tremendous applause His excellency here introduced the orator ora-tor of the day Professor C E Allen His oration was a fine effort and the professor delivered i in a masterly and pleasant manner and ho was frequently interrupted by applause Following is a fair synopsis of the oration yitop ALLENS ORATION The natal day of a nato d I Thut nation tho leading exponent of government by the people Small wonder that goorimcpt Irom ocean to ocean men turn aside ml bonder the lessons of the pastUiaiuss the dangers of the present or wit 1 > ophutic viion behold tho IJCSen glory of our country Eloquence today will spare no effort to express the present worth and future greatness of our institutions yet she shall fail Poetry will Ift her sweetest strains to charm her hearers with the richness and purity of purtyof freedoms song and yet she shall fail to sing the glory of mr nation History will search the mol s of Asia the marbles of Athens tho ruins of Home the manuscripts of the dark ages and she shall not find wherewith to compare com-pare this giant along nations and her hand shall grow weary us she attempts 10 set forth the deeds accomplished by one within its first century of life lrst No Though impelled by all the power of eloquence and uplifted by musics souring nights no pen can portray the deeds of that century Yet we may consider some of tho sources of that greatness We may grasp some of the great central facts which made that reatnes possible I wo arc preserving that source of power we are doing well the work given over by the fathers when they fell asleep Nitonsas individuals have character So well delincd is this that under given eircum stances we expect a nation to do cortuia things I we can determine the wellsprings of the character which made possible the creation of our government tOni the lirmly wrought union of the thirteen colonies into a nation then if we can lix the i leading characteristics of the neo pie of today wo shall be able to judge 110 our I worth still to administer our great trust The thirteen colonies had been hUl beol settled by rep I resentatives of tho best flRmnntt nf l < V > rml > Dutch and English society miil Hugenots Drought from beautiful France tutj traditions of a noble race and the tyranny of their native land had not been able to destroy their love of freedom nor to close their hearts to the cries of their fellow men Determined upon liberty under tho law they were willing thatothers should enjoy the same boon Hardy through years of abstinence economical economi-cal by the training of their ancestors selfcon selcOI tuincd through centuries of selfrestraint de Aoted t freedom for which they wrung their heart strings in forsaking France a land more dear than others could be they gave to America an clement of greatness a motive force whoso effect has been and is today directly felt throughout our union Phlegmatic shrewd in business a lover of his home accustomed to all the terrors of the sea the Dutchman contributed a strain which was well fitted to withstand the assaults of tho British ministry the cherished ri Inistr upon rights of the colonies The descendants of heroes who for scores of year withstood the Spaniard on sea and land with musket earthwork and flood until battle seemed the regular vocation of the nation and beautiful peace of pantasm of the past they preserved those elements which once supremacy gave to Holland commercial and maritime But the major portion of the colonists had been Englishmen Tho Frenchman and tho Dutchman had Uoted but as a modifier in the general result Knglands best blood Was flowing in American veins When the emigrants to the now world left the ports of England that great commonwealth ire1 wealth lost hears of oalt lImey were of tho men whom not even Cafsar could subdue They I wore of < theinen who time and again had hum I v < uu J U n u < lU IU U U < < thC sea from Holland They rfero of those who had stood as Holand wal about Cromwell when he fought for the rigits of parliament and the survival I sur-vival of Engl 11 liberty They were of those who had contended and still wore contending for civil and religious liberty for the emancipa tion1 of the human mind The most of them I were from hat clasS that has even been the throbbing heart of the English people sending its revivifying blood throughout tho body I politic of that nation nnd giving it energy and strength for the wonderful deeds it has wrought With these came many of the I I higher classes devotees of liberty who sought I I t build freedoms temple in a new world unfettered un-fettered by custom and tradition Of such ancestry and with such beliefs they came T whtit did they come To i life of easo and pleasure No From the waters I edge back to Alleghenys summit a dense forest for-est spread its armsfoi bidding the cultivation of thosoil and lurking in its every shadow was u foe crafty and treacherous Starviition threat I eucd his beloved ones while husbandman was seeking to protect tiicm against foes ofi 1 humankind All things were new necessities i I must be provided against when they arose I Nadve land was months and often times years I distant and upon his own ingenuity and valor must the colonist depend for improvements Iud I defence Educated in the schools of Euiope here he was cut off from intercourse with his companions and thrown b ick upon nature I na-ture n and f the H cuannunhiKH cf i u v UUU b v conscience sale here he found that closer and more intimate communion with God which comes to men dependent upon self fQr companionship compan-ionship and upon nature for instruction Often this resulted fIxing more Hrmly those dogmatic dog-matic beliefs for whicn he was willing to Slier wile again it brought home tho truth that all men are brothers and thus softened the relig ious and political asperities so prevalent in those days Intercommunication was difficult and rare News traveled slowly from mouth to mouth New notions were not subject to the notons attrition which comes from close companionship companion-ship and constant interchange of thought Thus grew up apeople dogmatic in their convictions con-victions proud of their particular colony stern and unyielding in their opposition to injustice narrow in religious belief valiant in selfde fense clear headed in their views of public policy pol-icy eager in their devotion to civil liberty and believiriR that government should bo founded not upon expediency but upon the everlasting truth in a great crisis such as existed in America I Amer-ica from 1700 to 17UO the leaders of a people truly represented the prevailing temper and character of that people In times of absolute peace when no great interest seems at stake the demagogist may flourish and the heroism of tho home guard may dwarf to manly deeds of the soldier of the line But where the people are aroused when they realize that the great fundamental principles upon which all growth and development must be based are involved and wide reaching decisions de-cisions must be made they turn to the men who in their belief and lives typify the mass Skillfully drawn pen portraits of tho great men of that generation bring before us the people of that day and enable us to estimate correctly the national character which compelled independence inde-pendence and provided a more stable and lasting last-ing union in John Adams and Thos Jefferson we find the TlOnTAln nf tfenen Hml a nrl tnrvil tnrt T hft declaration penned by tho hand of Jefferson Jeffer-son is sufficient to prove the truth of this proposition Vague in no general principle therein expressed pledging the people to civil liberty and basing the right of the colonies to independence upon immutaole justice i stands the imperishable monument of its author and of the people whose dignity and worth found expression through him Profound in his dogmatism with no love or ability for intrigue loving liberty more than life courageous powerful in debate farseeing in statesmanship John Adams personifies the spirit of the age and in that personability represents rep-resents the beliefs purposes tenacity and aspirations as-pirations of the people A noble race they were Have the sons been equal to the burden laid upon them by the nobility no-bility of their fathers Wo do not inquire whether means of communication com-munication have improved appliances of civilization civili-zation become more common population increased in-creased or wealthjmultiplied for all this might be and yet the nation might be weaker than when it enteredmpoii the struggle independence independ-ence Unless we have fostered those elements of strength which marked in so eminent a degree de-gree Americans of the eighteenth century we have cause for concern Therehas been but one crisis in our affairs since the government was llrmly established which can bo compared with the period just considered Slavery forced upon the colonies by the government England had been left an unsettled question upon the adoption of the constitution Statesmen hoped that it would pass away with the growth of the states The invention of tho cotton gin dispelled that illusion illu-sion and this question more and more became one beyond the control ot individuals or of sections sec-tions Every question of national import was considered in its relation to this great and absorbing ab-sorbing subject Individuals then put it aside Parties agreed upon compromises The whole Union sought to close its eyes to its demands But in vain I Itrrnust be settled l was to be settled only by the sword The mighty struggle that for four years shook a continent irom center cen-ter to circumference and before which the whole civilized world stood amazed tried the nation as i was not tried by the revolutionary war For hilly years dissension had prevailed One side and the other had proventhat there was no royal right and could be no power to prevent separation if a state desired i i The crisis came The people brushed asIde the cobweb of logic looked deeper und believed l tCi ai to i f Je that liberty i could not prevail with the nation divided They gave the last great evidence of their devotion to that belief Treasure life ul that men were and hoped to be were offered up As earnest determination was theirs who stood in tho field marshalled against the blue Does it not prove that throughout tho whole country mens hearts beat as true to libertys call as when Paul Revere aroused the farmers for Lex ington More than this That contest showed that beneath the love for a state or a sec tion there is u deeper purer depth that responds only to the sentiments I am an American So that today sixty millions of freemen with joy and gladness with thanksgiving thanks-giving and hope go proudly forth to celebrate their independence conscious that they have preserved their fathers love of liberty and added a real Signlllcance to the words our country Before the fourteenth amendment was adopted there was no American citizenship Up to this time citizenship of the United States was deduced from citizenship of one of the states But all thij is changed All persons says the amendment born or not in the United States amid subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the states wherein they reside Now man is u citizen of u state where he resides because he was lirst u citizen of the Cuitcd States Again No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities im-munities of citizens of the United States ncr shall any state deprive any person of life liberty lib-erty or property without due process of law nor deny to ace person within its luiisdictioii the equal protection of the laws Under this amendment the citizen of forcicn birth the citizen irrespective of color the citizen citi-zen without regard to creed is guaranteed the prptection of the entire peopleand he may summons sum-mons to his aid the mighty power of the whole Republic As has been well said It abolishes caste and enlarges the scope of human free dom As our ancestors increased their own and the liberties Of the world so have their sons drafted a new charter of liberty recosjniz nja more fundamental right and assuring u more efficient protection to the individual The apceptance of tins addition to our organic law by men of all elases and all parties is a proof not to be controverted that it meets with the approval of the whole nation and also that the nation has not changed that it still bo liovcs in u government based upon justice und not upon expediency Shiny are the evils which threaten greed of wealth gnaws at every nobler attribute greed of power is as ever rpckless of the means used in obtaining the power sought Envy jealousy and hate still exert their baneful iulluencos but unit r all these faults the heart of fie nation beats strong because its citizens as of old are brave tender and true Today Americans may reverently thank their common Father for their grand people anti may each press forward with renewed courage to tight and overcome the dangers and evils which appear because the poop o aro worthy of their great heirship Mr Arthur Staynor then delivered the benediction when the multitude dispersed and where soon scattered throughout the shady nooks of the park NOTES The many barrels of ice water scattered throughout the park was one of the most |
