| Show THE TIfE SOCIAL AND AiD POLITICAL 1 z FUTURE OF AMERICA J During DUling the progress of humanity new new truths are constantly being brought forth to supplement the old and as lS these new truths find their places in the hearts of men the old ones which they supplant are relegated to the burial place of all that is worn out and useless venerated useless venerated perhaps looked upon with longing and regret but only as we look upon a corpse from which the soul has fled to live in fairer temples That soul has been absorbed absorbed absorbed ab ab- by the new truth I I But old institutions die hard Although j the new thought which is to take the place of the old may outshine it as the i sun outshines the palest star yet our eyes being accustomed to gaze delightedly delightedly delightedly delight delight- edly upon that star we are jealous for its glory and feel resentful that a 1111 sun stin should roll into its field to outshine it i New truths come upon the world orld in various ways Anciently they were said to have been thundered from the mountain mountain mountain moun moun- tain tops in the awful voice of the Ruler of the Universe Himself to the people who dwelt on earth Later they sprang sprang up from the blood and carnage of battlefields battlefields battle battle- battlefields fields or were flashed from the cannons cannon's mouth N Now ow they come sometimes as 1 a 4 inspirations to lofty minds but oftener through the channels of arduous patient thought Some of these new truths take their places in human institutions quietly and creep unopposed unopposed creep in as it were unnoticed unnoticed unnoticed unno unno- by the jealous sentinels who guard traditions tradition's treasures while others overturn overturn overturn over over- turn systems and crumble creeds to dust before their mighty advance The world is to-day to learning one of these mighty truths truths truths-a a truth foreshadowed foreshadowed owed by the immortal framers of the American Constitution which was to insure insure insure in in- sure political liberty to all those who dwell in this favored land N Now ow a new newlight newlight newlight light ht d dawns upon the minds of liberty- liberty lovers overs showing to them that political liberty liberty liberty lib lib- erty is only a means to an end that that end may be noble or base as the nation decides And the same light shows that the work done by Jefferson and Adams and Washington and Hamilton is only just begun and that the battles of liberty must be fought over again every day and every hour until all opportunities are as free to all as the Giver of all Good in intended intended intended in- in tended they should be No one will deny that our country is approaching a terrible crisis A little littlemore more than a quarter of a century ago we were plunged into a civil war the most awful of modern times because hoary tradition clothed in the garb of sanctity and power opposed the advance of freedom freedom free- free dom for let statesmen and historians say what they may that war was fought to free the black slaves of the South True the patriot Lincoln fought for the theU U Union nion but the verdict of the thousands who fought upon the bloody fields of that war is that they fought for the slaves They fought for an idea and many of them returned to their desolated homes in the North to find that they had not only freed the black slaves but had been compelled to assume their chains They found that while they had been enduring all the hardships of that terrible struggle thousands of sighted keen-sighted business men who had been able to buy substitutes had remained at home and become rich be because because be- be e- e cause calise of the misfortunes of the nation They saw this new and threatening evil grow from day to day and at last it dawns upon them that they did not abolish abolish abolish abol abol- ish sl slavery veTY aft after r all but t only exchanged white slaves slave for black ones Young men of America that work of freeing slaves remains still for us Shall we fight the battle intelligently in the arena of thought t or shall we fight it as our forefathers did at fit th the cannons cannon's mouth If we choose hoose the first we m must st devote all our energies to the study of American institutions and to tl the cultivation cultivation tion of a spirit of true patriotism and patriotism must mean for u us now a broader love of humanity than even that which moved the hearts of those immortal immor immor- tal Americans whom most we revere Let us have clubs whose object shall be the study of these principles let these clubs be independent of creed or party and let everyone join them and engage in this noble work no matter to what creed or party he belongs The future of our country is in our hands We can make it what we will Let us then make it such a country as that of which our fathers dreamed one dreamed one dedicated to liberty to fraternity and equality |
