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The Commoner.
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VOLUME 5, NUMBER 20
Lincoln Country Club Celebration
Tlio Lincoln, Nob., "Country Club"
observed the Fourth of July, tlio cele
bration being hold on tlio spacious
club grounds at Seventh and C streets.
Tho festivities began with a picnic
dinner in the evening followed by a
short program and ending with a dis
play of fireworks.
Tho arrangements ere made by a
committee endod by Mrs. Burnham,
a Kentucky democrat whose husband
is a leading republican banker of Lin
coln. She selected as he: associates
ori tho committee two other demo
cratic women, Mrs. John B. Wright
aiid Mrs. W. C. Wilson, and this com
mittee selected threo democratic
speakers Mrs. A. J. Sawyer, Richard
L. Metcalfe and Will M. Maupin.
Then the committee selected Hon.
Frank M. Hall, a leading republican
of Lincoln, to preside. " calling the
assembly to order Mr. Hall humorous
ly referred to the "democratic tinge"
given tho meeting and expressed won
der why ho should hr o been selected
under such democratic influences. Tho
olectric lights failing to work at the
proper time it was necessary to light
tho platform with crndles, and Mr.
Hall courteously held a candle while
two of the speakers were reading. At
tho conclusion of the program Mrs.
Hall horself a democrat expressed
gratification that not only was her
husband compelled to listen to some
good democratic doctrine, but also
compelled to hold tho candle while it
was being read to him.
Mrs. Sawyer, the first speaker, de
livered a thoughtful and patriotic ad
dress, and added to her reputation as
a public speaker. The addresses of
Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Maupin follow:
MR. METCALFE'S ADDRESS
It is related of Daniel Dougherty
that for his maiden effort ho prepared
a speech full of glittering generalities.
Taking Ills place before tho large au
dience he began: "The genius of de
mocracy is still triumphant," and
then fainted away. He was carried
from tho platform in disgrace, but
when in later years lie became recog
nized as a great orator lie said that
he was glad ho had not delivered that
particular speecli because its gen
eralities were not worthy of being
placed before a thoughtful audience.
What can one say on this occasion
that has not been said in the purest
language at least once each year dur
ing the one hundred and twenty-nine
years of our national life? I cannot
hope to do more than tell the same
old story in the same old way; the
same old story of faith, and hope und
courage displayed by the forefathers;
tho same old story of sacrifices made,
defeats encountered and victories won,
not alone for the benefit of those who
put forth the effort but for the benefit
of their children and their children's
children, aye, for the benefit of the
children and the children's children
of the men of all time and the men
of all place. Because all serious
struggle made by serious men is for
the benefit of prosperity it is proper
that this same old story bo told ,on this
occasion. Just as the thoughtful fath
er builds and plans not for himself
but for his children, so the thoughtful
citizens acts with a concern for the
welfare of the boys of today, because
as tho citizens of tomorrow they must
be depended upon to defend our struc
ture of government. If we celebrate
this day for the benefit of tho children
then we need not be ashamed to In
dulge in homely sp.och. We need not
be so dignified as to avoid the display
of those emotions so natural to the
man who loves his country and appre
ciates the history through which his
present day opportunities have come.
We need not hesitate on this day to
sa; to our boys as it was said to
Josuha, "loose thy shoo from off thy
foot; for the place whereon thou
standest is holy."
In this ago of gold men imagine
they are eminently practical when
they refuse to give heed to sentiment,
and that man is regarded as an idler
who permits his emotions to control
him and who yU". Is to the sentimental.
But wo must not forget that senti
ment has been the motive power in
every great accomplishment in his
tory; and while it is the intensely
practical who have made money it is
the intonsely sentimental who have
made nations. In tt language of an
other: "It is by sentiment, when .oll
directed as by sorrow when well
used by sentiment, I say, great na
tions live."
There are many things connected
with this day with which we have not
kept ourselves familiar. One of the
simple though intensely interesting
facts of history is seldom referred to
on this day. We are apt to forget
that the two men whose names led
all others in appointment o the com
mittee to announce independence to
tho world, died within a few hours of
one another on the fiftieth anniver
sary of this day. McMasters refers
to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
as "the man who wrote the Declara
tion and the man who, more than any
other, persuaded a hesitating congress
to approve it," adding "Each had been
a member of the committee that draft
ed the Declaration; each had signed
it when approved; each had served
his countrymen on a foreign mission;
each had succeeded first to the vice
presidency and then to the presidency;
each had become a leader of a party;
and that each should pass away on
the same day was, in the language of
the time 'a singular coincidence.'
But that the day should be the fiftieth
anniversary of that event in which
each had borne so conspicuous a part
was a triple occurrence without paral
lel in history."
On that memorable occasion it was
Adams who, hearing the cannon boom
ing for the fiftieth anniversary said:
"It is a great and good day;" and it
was Jefferson who, just before he
passed away, declared, "it is the
Fourth of July. Now lettest Thou . y
servant depart in peace." Is it out
of place on this day to keep green the
memory of these men? Let us not for
get that this is the anniversary of the
'day of their greatest achievement as
it is the anniversary or their death.
How many of our children have been
persuaded to commit to memory the
preamble of the Declaration of Inde
pendence? How many grown folks
could do it? The chances are that
many of us would fail to meet the
challenge; and perhaps the challenger
himself would fail. We might find our
selves in the situation occupied by the
two friends who were bantering one
another on lack of knowledge con
cerning spiritual affairs. One of them
said: "I'll bet you a dollar you can't
repeat the Lord's prayer." The other
promptly accepted the wager, and be
gan: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I
pray, Thee, Lord, my soul to keep."
The first friend pulled out his dollar
and handing it over said: "Take the
money. I didn't think you knew it."
The commonest sort of error made
by public speakers and newspaper
editors is to quote tho Declaration as
saying that "all men are created free
and equal." Every chil'd should be
taught to familiarize himself with the
Declaration which has been referred
to as "a monumental act of independ
ent into which Jefferson poured the
soul of the continent." Sometimes we
need a guiding hand to trace for us
the hidden beauties of a niece of wrif.
ing. If there are any present who have
never read the description of the Dec
laration written by Professor Moses
Coit Tyler they should lose no time in
doing so. Profescor Tyler'- reference
to tho purely literary character of the
instrument is magniflcant. He calls
tho Declaration "a stately and passion
ate chant of human freedom," and
deals with that great instrument in a
way which to my mind has never been
excelled.
We call July Fourth our nation's
birthday; but many of us forget our
fathers were then 1 .t beginning the
struggle for liberty and that war
reigned seven years after that Declar
ation had been made. What is a na
tion's birthday? Is it the day upon
which it conquers the invader, or the
day upon which its inhabitants an
nounce their determination to be free?
We call this "Independence Day," but
wo are in error unless we confess that
men establish their independence day
whenever they have sufficient intelli
gence to assert the inalienable rights.
In truth, this is our independence day,
and the law writers recognize that"
our national era began with our Dec
laration of Independence in 1776
rather than with the 1783 peace
treaty in which Great Britain formal
ly executed to us the deed.
The rights asserted by our fathers
and with the declaration of which our
nation was born are inalienable. Did
you ever stop to think what that
word means? It means "not transfer
able;" and, properly, you can no more
part with it on yqur own motion than
some one else can take it from you; it
is a fixed right, one of God's endow
ments to man. According to our . own
forefathers, the one who surrenders
it without a fight is a craven, while
the one who usurps it is a tyrant.
These forefathers of ours declared as
a self-evident truth that "all men are
created equal; they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable
rights; among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. To se
cure these rights governments are in
stituted among men deriving their
just powers from the consent of the
governed." In two periods of our his
tory the interpretation of that state
ment has been in question. The old
time interpretation was questioned by
Jefferson Davis and his associates
prior to the Civil war, and it is ques
tioned indirectly by many of our pres
ent day politicians and directly byJhe
policy of our government in dealing
with our new possessions. If I were
to pay a tribute to Jefferson Davis,
many of you might be shocked; but
in our national policy today we are
paying to Jefferson Davis the sincerest
sort of compliment imitation. We
promise to give to the Filipinos all
the liberty they are capable of enjoy
ing. You will remember Mr. Lincoln
said that was the iToctrine of kings
and that whether it came from the
mouth of a king seeking to enslave
his people or from the mouths of the.
men of one race seeking to subjugate
the men of another race, it was "the
same old serpent." In our 'national
policy today we say that the Declara
tion of Independence was written for
the benefit of the white men who
wrote it, and is to be construed ac
cording to the circumstances under
which it was written. That interpre
tation is exactly in line with the in
terpretation given b) Jefferson Davis
as you will see he explicitly stated it
in his farewell speech to the senate.
And Alexander H. Stephens in his
speech at Savannah in 1861 said that
the difference between the constitu
tion of the Union and the Confederate
constitution was that the former
rested upon the assumption of the
equality of races which Mr. Stephens
said was "fundamentally wrong,"
while the confederate government
rested upon what he crMed the great
truth that "subordination to the su
perior race is a natural and normal
condition."
Our conscience is not clear, either,
for on this day we do not permit the
Declaration of Independence to be
read in tho Philippine Islands. That
might encourage the people there In
their false notions. Think of the Dec
laration of Independence being barred
from any inch of territory subject to
united States jurisdiction. Do we
want to see tho flag .of our country
"stay put" where the Declaration oi
Independence can not follow it?
Although I do not shar the projii.
dices of many against Jefferson Davis
nor the prejudices of some toward
Alexander H. Stephens, I prefer the in
terpretation of Jefferson and Lincoln
to that of Davis and Stephens. I pre
fer the divine right of men to tho
divine right of kings. I want the Dec
laration of Independence to stand as
it was written by Jefferson and inter
preted by Lincoln and without the dot
ting of an "i" or the crossing of a
"t." May it be accepted as "a stately
and passionate chant of human free
dom," rather than as the declaration
of men who claim for themselves priv
ileges they are not willing to accord to
others.
May our national policies be formed
and executed in liberty's unclouded
blaze i And whether it be among tho
crowned heads who assert the doc
trine of thrones or among the kneel
ing subjects who have made bold to
appeal to the laws of God whether
it be in the palace of the powerful or
in the hovel of the helpless may it
be known to all men, everywhere, that
as the Cross of Christ is the symbol of
universal brotherhood -o the flag of
America is the symbol of universal
liberty.
MR. MAUPIN'S ADDRESS
It is so common for the American
citizen to open his vocal apparatus on
this glorious anniversary and shout
in gladsome tones about the grandeur
and bigness of this country, that I
am impelled both by precedent and
inclination to follow the general rulo
and devote the limited time at my
command to panegyrics upon our .3
public. This is indeed the land of big things.
We have the largest area of country
dedicated to human fi :edom in all tho
wide universe. We have the most
beautiful flag whether viewed from
the artistic or the sentimental stand
point. We have the handsomest
women, the strongest men, the best
behaved children, the fastest horses,
the best poker players and the great
est swindlers. We have the longest
rivers and the widest chasm between
the classes. We have the greatest
lakes and the greatest trusts; tho
highest mountains and the lowest
depths of political degrdation. Indeed,
this is the land of superlatives, and
one who would pay just and proper
tribute to our republic must exhaust
the dictionary of its adjectives.
It is indeed proper, then, that wo
make this day a day of noise and
Sufcscrlhrs' Aivertlslwg Dcpartrognt
T IFE AND SPEECHES OF W. J.
- Bryan. Illustrated, octavo, 465 pages.
Published in 1900, nothing later in print.
A few copies, last of publishers' stocK,
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