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Show The Nations Upward Way FORTY-ONE years ago, in making a report to the International Exposition of that year in Paris, Mich-el Chevalier, as one of the jurors of the exposition, in his report included these words: "The supreme authority is about to escape from western and central Europe, to pass to the New World. In the northem part of that other hemisphere offshoots of the European race have founded a vigorous society, full of sap, whose influence in-fluence grows with a lapidity that has nover yet been seen anywhere. In ci'ossing the ocean it has left behind on the soil of old Europe, traditions, tra-ditions, prejudices and usages which-, as Impediments Impedi-ments heavy to move, would have embarrassed its movements and retarded Its progressive march." Those words are looked upon as prophetic now. Continuing, the great Frenchman saw in a few years a hundred millions of people on our soil, and declared that it was in vain for the occidental and central nations of Europe to make themselves a primacy against such a power. The. whole secret is found in his words, that on this side there had been "left behind the traditions, tra-ditions, prejudices and usages which would have embarrassed the movement and retarded the progressive pro-gressive march." Knowing Intimately the his tory of Europe and its awful weight of tyranny and sorrow, the fatliers determined that a government gov-ernment should be formed which should leave every man free to do any legitimate thing; ""a government that kings and priests should be excluded ex-cluded from; in which not one check should bo placed upon the free soul of every citizen; where an open field should be supplied for man to exert his utmost energy, and where the humblest might lift their eyes to grasp any honor. The wise men of the old world looked on and said the experiment experi-ment might for a little while succeed, but that the system held nothing within it which could bear the shock of either a great civil or foreign war, or the test which comes when the nation gravitated into classes under the unequal fortunes for-tunes of the people. It was just after the terrible civil war closed that Chevalier uttered the words spoken above; the supreme test had been tried, and the Republic had emerged stiongor than ever, and the lesson was given for the nations to read, that men fight for a free native land with a valor that kings can never bring to their support. sup-port. The class test has not yet been tried, but it will have the same result, though the incoming hordes from southern Europe may put off somewhat some-what the final triumph for the right. Many blatherskites are talking, some are writing; the air is filled with isms; every journeyman statesman states-man has a remedy for all wrongs; but they perish even as they begin to expand, and what awakens apprehension this year will be a theme for jesting next, for the old traditions, prejudices, usages and superstitions which would embarrass the movements and retard the onward progressive march of the Great Republic to its final splendor were all left behind on the soil of Europe, and they will not bear transplanting in a soil whoro blazes the full sunlight of individual frpedom and wliero eternal justice has budded a throne. |