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X.
KbCtO'BER, 1914
The Commoner
Give President Wilson a Democratic Congress
THE FLAG
VptjaQe hath her victories no lees renowned than
. ' . war." ;
- An address delivered at Baltihiore, Md., Sep
tember 12, 1914, by Mr. Bryan, at the. 'celebra
tion of tho one hundredth anniversary . of the
. ..writing of "The Star ' Spangled Banner" by
s; Francis Scott Key.-
; "Mr.;Chairman Distinguished Guests, Ladies
. and Gentlemen: T sharctho profound regret
: which you. all feel that the president could not
, participate in these exercises, and I appreciate
i the honor of acting as his representative on this
historic occasion. He bids me convey to, you his
. greetings and good will. I am stfre" that If lie
were here ho would carry to the end of life, as
we shall, the impression made by the living Hag
in. which 6,000 of your school children are tak
, Ing part.
, ''You do well to commemorate the one hun-
dredth anniversary of the writing of the national
'anthem by Maryland's illustrious son, Francis
Scott Key. The Star-Spangled Banner stands
., out conspicuously among the tributes to the na
tion's flag.' While the genius of the author, ilnds
expression in the brilliancy of its phraseology,
, the fervent spirit which pervades it is the prod
uct of the circumstances which brought it forth.
" The agonizing suspense and the anxious longing
of the captive were molded into stirring sen
tences that can not fail to .call forth a response
.jfromevery, .loyal heart. ,
,XtVI. shall find my text for today in the line with
which 'the poet closed each stanza the line
. which makes immorta,! the poem in which both
vhis mind and his heart are mirrored. Our starry
v banner, representing an indissoluble union of
indestructible states, beautiful as it is to the eye
and there is none more beautiful derives its
real splendor from the fact that it floats 'O'er
the land of the free arid the home of the brave.'
The words describe a political condition and the
virtues of a people. We know for what the flag
stood when it was first unfurled and with what
k courage it has been defended. We might, with
out exhausting our theme, occupy this hour in
thanksgiving for all that lias been achieved
' under the red, white, and blue, and in praise of
1 those who have won for it love at home and
respect abroad. But, gratifying as that would
' be, more advantage can be gained from contem-
plation of the part which we must play today
" and tomorrow in determining what that flag
shall symbolize. What kind of freedom shall it
represent to the world? And for what sort of
bravery shall it stand?
"The world has longed for freedom through
out the ages the world, made up not of the
privileged few but of the countless multitude.
Some of the people have at all times had free
dom, often more than they have wisely used.
A few in every age have not only had undisputed
control of themselves and of their resources, but
have profited by the limitations which they have
Imposed upon those who were unable to success
fully resist them. This 'freedom of the few,' be-
ing a selfish enjoyment, usually, hardened the
' hearts pf those who possessed it, and made them
blind to the injustice which they wrought, and
deaf to the protests which their cruelties
aroused. Having a monopoly of political rights,
they added to it a monopoly of physical happi
ness and intellectual progress. They even fetter
ed the conscience of man and prescribed the
forms through which he might satisfy the uni-
versal longing for communion with the Infinite.
This freedom, resting not upon respect for hu
man rights but upon the power of might, de
graded those who exercised it, while it wronged
those to whom it was denied.
"And bravery was not lacking then the
bravery of the conqueror who risked his life to
secure the authority that he coveted. But the
freedom of the despot and the bravery of the
tyrant are not the virtues of which Key sang.
It required a higher form ,of both freedom and
bravery to thrill the heart of the poet and to sug
gest to him the word pictures which ho woVo
into his lines. The masses have gradually won
their way to a freer air and to a larger liborty,
but every Inch of the ground has been contested.
At times tho light seemed to break and the heart
, of man beat faster at the prospect of achieving
the freedom which ho sought, and many a noblo
life was yielded up In part payment for tho lib
erty which we now possess. Long before Colum
bus turned the prows of his adventurous ships
toward the west, substantial progress had boon
made, but It was reserved for our 1'orefathors to
lay upon the soil of a. new continent the founda
tion of institutions dedicated to the doctrine
that all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with Inalienable
rights; that governments are Instituted among
men to secure these rights and derive their just
powers from the consent of the people. It was
a bold it seemed even almost a rash under
taking, but the enterprise has succeeded boyond
the dreams of tho pioneers. Hero In the western
hemisphere, unhampered by traditions and unre
strained by custom and conventionality, the early
settlers of America formulated a system of gov
ernment which has become tho model of tho
world. In the fullness of time they achlovod
their Independence, and following thoir example,
other colonies assumed control of their political
destiny. Our constitution has become the pal
tern, copied by other nations, and the success of
our experiment in self-government has answered
all the arguments formerly advanced In behalf
of arbitrary power. The triumphant democracy
of the new world has stimulated tho friends of
liberty in the older countries to continued ad
vances until we see -everywhere increasing lim
itations placed upon monarchlal authority, ev
erywhere the waning of hereditary power.
"Accompanying the development of freedom
has come a' change in the typo of courage which
man has manifested'. There lias been a constant
grdwth in the spirit of fraternity an increasing
tendency among men to unite their efforts in de
fense of common rights and in the advancement
of the common good. Itls in this period that
our people have lived, since our nation, born in
tho revolutionary struggle, ontered upon its su
perb career. During these years the flag has
been 'gallantly streaming,' sometimes in 'the
rocket's red glare,' and son has imitated sire In
willingness to die, if necessary, to maintain the
authority for which it stands. But the war era
has ended in the United States and is drawing
toward Its close in foreign lands; the convulsions
through which Europe is now passing are but the
death throes of militarism.
"The awful cost of this war in life and treasure,
and its distressing aftermath of sorrow and re
gret, will teach the folly of wasting the people's
substance in preparation for wars that should
never come, and it ought also to hasten the day
when all the nations will agree among them
selves that there shall bo no resort to arms until
time has been given for passions to subside and
for an investigation of the questions in dispute.
"We are entering an age in which freedom
' will bo given new interpretations and bravery
find new forms of expression. The doctrine of
tho divine right of kings has been discarded, but
it has been discarded to no purpose if the divine
right of man does not lead to man's elevation.
Man has become his own master, not that he
may be brutish or brutal, but that he may.be
free to develop the best that is in him and to
aspire to all tho heights that the Heavenly
father has put within his reach. And no matter
how high he rises or upon how lofty a plane he
plans his life, the flag will still wave above him,
for the stars and stripes stand for the triumphs
of peace as well as for victories upon the battle
field.
"The theoretical anarchist deludes himself
rfith the belief' that man will have no need of
government when he becomes a 'law unto him
self,' but he comprehends but a part of- the prob
lem. The coercive part of government will
diminish as civilization advances; even now a
large proportion of the people haye no need of
tho 'thou shalt nots' of tlie criminal law.. But
while tho restraints of the statutes may be ex
pected to fall into disuse because unnecessary,
tlie co-operative part of government Is ever in-
creasing. The people find It economical to do
together, through tho instrumentalities of or
ganized government, what they could not do ho
cheaply, if at all, by Individual effort. A thou
sand men can do more than a thousand times as
much as one man; they can do what no one of
tho thousand, working by himself, would over
think of undertaking. Take for instance, the
canal Just cornplotod across tho Isthmus of Pan
ama. If the entire population of the globe had
walked slnglo file across the Isthmus It would
never havo occurred to any ono of them to un
dertake alone the construction of tho canal, but
when 40,000 laborers unite their efforts under
tho guidance of competent engineers the task is
romploted and tho nations behold the oceanu
joined. This union of effort is impossible with
out mutual confidence, and conlldenco is Impos
sible without breadth of sympathy. Thq freedom
of tho future will bring the substantial satisfac
tion that comes from voluntary acts of helpful
ness tho joy that Is to bo found in the willing
bearing of the Joint burdens.
"Lot no one think that the texture of our man
hood will be of a lower quality when its strength
is no longer tested by stress of war. We could
not worship God as we do If wo were convinced
that each gohoratlon must bo exorcised in blood
letting In order to prevent stagnation. There is
as much inspiration in a noble life as in an
heroic death. With peaceful progress tho aven
ues of usefulness are being multiplied; instead
of seeking to extend our territory bytho sword,
wo arc enlarging It by intelligent cultivation of
the soil; instead of measuring our merit by the
numbers we can overcome, we estimate great
ness by tho Forvlco rendered.
"It is some 8,000 years since Solomon declared
that 'he that Is slow to anger Is bettor than the
mighty, and he that vuleth his spirit than he
that taketh a city and yet the world Is just now
coming to understand this truth. In tho day
that is dawning the bravery of self-restraint, will
tako tho place of that bravery which tramples
upon tho rights of others; man will dare to for
give and leave vengeance to the Lord.
"Society needs today, and will ever need, the
moral courage that ho must have who proves
tho right by standing for It, come what may, un
til his example has emboldened weaker spirits
to share the risk with him. There are wrongs
to be righted and abuses to be remedied, not by
violence but by the Inherent power of truth to
propagate Itself. Brave men aro needed In every
community throughout the land, and brave
women, too, for man has made progress In pro
portion as he has recognized woman's right to
sharo with his responsibility for the shaping of
tho conditions under which both shall live. They
havo been linked together by indissoluble ties
and made cotenants of the home earth's only
paradise.
"Let us address ourselves, then, to tho unfin
ished work which preceding generations have
bequeathed to us, determined to be worthy of
tho inheritance which we enjoy. Freely we have
received, freely must we give. Our nation is tho
heir of the ages; all the garnered riches of past
experience are ours; we will be false to every
obligation if we falter or fall short in the per
formance of the duties that descend to us.
"Hall! Flag of the free and the brave price
less legacy from the fathers, baptized in their
priceless blood. Thy commingled hues speak to
us of their sacrifices, tho purity of their purpose,
and their constancy. May the sacred memories
invoked by thy presence compel us to thoughts
and words and deeds in harmony with theirs
"Be our country's ensign still and more. As
tho world is drawn closer together in the bonds
of a universal brotherhood, may thy colors
stimulate the struggling, hoping hostsof man to
tho Impulses that are noblest, to the service
that is largest, and to the achievements that are
most enduring as In friendly rivalry they ad
vance through each generation to higher
ground."
The admitted fact that In every state demo
cratic success is predicated upon the strength of
the Wilson administration with the people, is the
greatest possible proof of the real value it has
been to the nation, Politicians aro canny folks,
and they do not hitch their' wagons to dimming
stars.
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