USA > California > Addresses delivered before the California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1917 > Part 3
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At the present time, with the many perplexing questions confront- ing our country, not alone the war abroad, but the many theories that are being propounded in our own country as to what we should do as a nation, there seems to be greater need than ever of a patriotic organization having purposes such as the Sons of the American Revo- lution. There are advocates that would have us absolutely unprepared to defend that flag of ours yonder. And what is represented in the folds of the flag? All the philosophy and learning of ancient Greece and Rome, all that was best of the civilization of the Middle Ages; all the blood of our ancestors and their self-sacrifices and their self-de-
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votion to duty, not alone the men, but the women who gave, perhaps, more than the men, because it was for the women to wait, and wait, while the men had the excitement and glory of action. All these are within those folds, as well as all other provisions of our Constitution and all our statutory law and court decisions with all that this means to the world, and what does that not mean today to the world of civilization. The blood of those who have died to save those folds in all completeness are contained therein, and today what flag in all Christendom or in all the world stands more for the rights of hu- manity and of justice than yonder flag.
Is it not then for us as the greatest duty that could devolve upon Americans by heritage and by blood, to see that all that flag contains and represents within its folds shall always stand aloft as an example to all the world of equality, justice, civilization and humanity, and in this endeavor there is work for societies of this kind to do. Your President has called attention to the fact that only about 27 per cent of your fellow citizens are American born. This alien majority is a problem of which some organization must take cognizance and must assume leadership, and why not our own Society-in seeing that those composing it are taught what American spirit is and what it means. Particularly is this important at this time since now all the West and your own Pacific coast is populated, and these aliens are flowing back into the great cities to form racial communities, which are diffi- cult to reach unless there is a distinct effort made by some organiza- tion to go directly to the heart of these racial communities and teach these aliens what they should know of our institutions and of the con- trolling law. I believe the Sons of the American Revolution in this movement, that is probably destined to become permanent as we rec- ognize more clearly our inter-racial obligation, have an opportunity for great practical work, and I believe that we should be judged as active members of this organization not by the pride that we may have for what our ancestors did in their time, but rather what we are today doing with our own lives in our time to maintain what they cour- ageously secured. The principles of '76 are as vital today as when our ancestors risked and gave life. It was to perpetuate these prin- ciples and their memory that this Society was primarily organized. Our forefathers were compelled to appeal to the God of battles, per- haps we may, to defend our flag and all its folds contain, but pray God that may not be so, but if we are, let us be fully prepared spirit- ually and materially, to defend it even as they fought to create it. On the principles of '76 all Americans can rally; like the flag these are alike to us all, whether we are of the North, the South, the East
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or the West, and it is for us to maintain these principles and to watch that the flag remains as the one flag of justice, of equality and of brotherhood of man to all the world.
"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth, forever." May we not then in the present hope to do our part as patriotic American men and American women- do our humble part that our flag and our Republic may endure forever.
THEIR OPPORTUNITY AND OURS
By William H. Jordan, at the Banquet Given the Adjourned Na- tional Congress at the Palace Hotel.
San Francisco, July 23, 1915.
Mr. Toastmaster, Mr. President-General of the National Society, Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution and Guests: No man in whose veins courses the blood of a Revolutionary sire has a right to refuse to obey an order from his superior officers directing him to contribute his quota of effort upon an occasion such as this.
Entertaining this sentiment I gave my consent a few days ago to respond tonight to the toast just announced. A native modesty and an inborn timidity-characteristic of all Californians-compels me to admit that I feel much embarrassed in this presence, and can only promise in the discharge of this duty to do the best I can, trusting entirely to your patient forbearance and hope for a safe escape when I shall have concluded.
My predicament reminds me strongly of that of a certain pianist spoken of by a celebrated Englishman, who, upon returning from a trip to America, was asked what he had seen over here that caused him the greatest surprise, and replied that it was a sign which he had seen on the wall of a dance house in a cow town out West. Happen- ing to arrive at the village on an afternoon just as the cowboys were gathering from the plains, and making it rather lively by shooting things up generally, he strolled into the dance hall, where music and the shuffling of feet, interspersed with an occasional pistol shot, attracted him. As he entered he noticed on the wall over the piano this sign: "Please Don't Shoot the Pianist for He Is Doing the Best He Can."
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Let me hope that you will catch the full significance of this little story and permit me to conclude my task without serious mishap, or the necessity of sending for an ambulance.
In looking over this splendid company it is a pleasure to see present so many ladies. It reminds me of the fact that such a scene was not possible a hundred years ago. Wise as may have been "ye men of ye olden time," yet it is evident that they did not know it all, or they certainly never would have closed the doors of their banquet halls upon our good mothers. Since such was their custom, it is surely no wonder that it should have so often happened, upon such occasions, when unprotected by the restraining and elevating in- fluence of their wives, that those dear, weak, old worthies of the powdered wig and buckled shoe, who never saw a temperance pledge in their lives, should have imbibed too deeply of the flowing bowl, and inhaling the odors of the boozy drug in their tangled brains, have been found in the morning, like kings of the blood, comfortably tucked away under the tables.
Our Revolutionary prototype was indeed a man of sterling parts. That he was brave, patriotic, self-denying, no one can gainsay. If intolerant and uncompromising in politics and religion, he was yet prayerfully conscientious in all matters of family discipline, having a pious regard for the corrective qualities of the rod that was truly wonderful.
Unfortunately, the State of California was not a part of the earth a hundred years ago, hence, we have here none of those great land marks to which you of the East make frequent pilgrimages. We have here no Lexington, no Bunker Hills, no Monmouths, no Yorktowns, to which we may take you; nor have we any ancient dwellings, with their quaintly gabled roofs and towering chimneys, where once lived and died the heroes of those early days. But, though denied the in- spiration which such scenes afford, yet we may meet at times, as to- night, and, taking down the scrolls of history, contemplate the splen- dors of the past.
Though there are here no battlefields, or historic dwellings, of the days of '76, still, happily the love of liberty is not circumscribed by territorial lines, or confined in stately buildings, but it abides, and abides forever, in the hearts of all those who hate tyranny, love justice and believe in the equal rights and equal responsibilities of all man- kind.
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And so here in California, where the sun kisses the continent with his last departing beams at the close of day, it is fitting that tonight we, who are sons and daughters of an illustrious ancestry-sons and daughters of freedom-should pay tribute to the memory of those brave men, who more than a hundred years ago, availing themselves of an opportunity, the equal of which never before had come to mortal man, made that freedom possible.
Theirs was the opportunity to found upon this continent a gov- ernment "of the people and by the people and for the people," which, by its uplifting power, should modify and recast every civilized gov- ernment throughout the world. To such a pass had the world then come, that to them was given the opportunity to call into being a new principle of government, which was destined within a single century, to take the sceptre of arbitrary power from the hand of every king and ruler in Christendom.
This was their opportunity, and now, let us consider, if you will, the striking parallels that appear when we read the history of those eventful days, and consider the days in which we now are living.
First, however, let me say, that I wish it to be understood, that in speaking of the days of our Revolutionary sires, I do not refer solely to that period of seven years embraced by the war of Independence, but rather to the span of their average active lives, say from 1776 to 1815, a period of thirty-nine years, during which time they were necessary factors in the formation and management of the govern- ment of our country-a period that embraced not only the war of the Revolution, but the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, as well.
During those eventful years in the lives of our fathers, all the nations of Europe that are now at war were grappling with each other in the most gigantic struggle that up to that time the world had ever known. It was a struggle for existence with them all. Eng- land and France, Prussia-now Germany-Austria, Russia, Belgium, Italy and Turkey battled with each other, as they are now battling- the only difference being in their alignment, the size of the armies, the character of their weapons and the scientific refinement in thir methods of slaughter. Then, as now, the allied nations were arraigned against a vast military power that had entered the struggle fully prepared and which was skilfully maneuvered. Then, as now, the allies fought against the supremacy of a great war lord who believed in his star of destiny. Then, as now, the right of one nation to rule the seas was questioned. Then, as now, a determined effort was made
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to destroy the trade of England, and in retaliation England blockaded the ports of her enemies. Then, as now, the rights of neutrals to trade with belligerent nations became involved. Then, as now, the United States protested against wrongs committed to American ships and American citizens, and in vigorous terms demanded that they cease. Then, as now, "the world was out of joint."
Marvelous indeed, when we stop to think, are these parallels. How like the days of our fathers are the days in which we live! But God grant, that the parallels may stop where they are, for then in the year 1812 our repeated protests against the violation of the rights of our shipping, and the rights of our seamen being disregarded, we too became involved in the maelstrom of war. Think of such a thing happening now in our pitiable state of unpreparedness ?
Our fathers believing firmly that all men should be equal before the law, founded this nation in righteousness. Upon that foundation they framed our constitution-the greatest chart of human liberty ever conceived by the mind of man. While Europe was burning and monarchies were crumbling, they made good their opportunity to build, and when wars ceased the people of Europe found this nation leading the world back to the fields of industry, and art, and trade, and to the pleasant paths of peace.
Thus far I have directed your attention to the conditions that prevailed a hundred years ago, and the opportunities that fell in the pathway of our fathers. Today, under conditions that are in many phases most striking in their similarity, we are confronted with prob- lems to be solved-with opportunities to be availed of.
It may be said, however, that to discuss, in public, the grave prob- lems that the present war in Europe has created and which seriously affect our national life is not in good taste; that there is danger in so doing of wounding the feelings and sensibilities of some of our foreign born citizens whose love for the land of their birth is such that they cannot permit anything to be said which might reflect upon the conduct of their former countrymen. With this sentiment I am not in accord. While I would not needlessly wound the feelings of any one, yet I am an American and unhesitatingly reserve the right to speak plainly and without undue reserve, in public as well as in private, upon all questions in which the rights of my country and its citizens are involved. We who enjoy the rights of citizenship, whether native or foreign born, are Americans, and the less we use the hyphen in designating our nationality the better; the less we talk about Ger- man-Americans, or Italian-Americans, or Irish-Americans, the better
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it will be for us all. For one, I know of no such people. I recog- nize no citizenship in this country which is half American and half foreign. Every man who has taken the oath of allegiance has sworn to defend the Star and Stripes against the world, and when he did so, and not till then, he became an American citizen, and not a hyphen- ated sympathizer with the enemies of America. He may cherish the tradition of his fathers and love the land of his birth-that is but natural-but he must support and defend the Constitution of the United Sates, and be ready, if need be, to lay down his life to main- tain the integrity and inviolability of this nation from whatever source it may be assailed. I see no reason, therefore, why we may not speak freely to one another when discussing international as well as local affairs, without fear of wounding the sensibilities of any one. Certainly in this presence there is no need of restraint.
Reverting now to the problem which this hour in our national life presents-though similar in many respects to those that confronted our forefathers, yet, they must be approached from a far different angle. Then we were a small nation scattered along the Atlantic seaboard, having no interest elsewhere. Now we are an acknowledged world power, stretching from seaboard to seaboard, with insular pos- sessions that extend almost around the globe. Then we were inter- ested only in being let alone; now there is no phase of international law, no trade regulation, no treaty among nations, in which we are not interested, by which we may not be affected.
As our interests have broadened, and our population increased, so have our responsibilities grown. With increasing responsibility have come increasing obligations, both to our own people and to the world at large, and these obligations must be discharged with a due regard for our national honor and the eternal principles of justice and moral rectitude. In the present conflict we are a neutral nation, but let it be remembered that neutrality does not mean the abject surrender of inalienable rights; it does not mean that we are to sit calmly by and permit either of the belligerents to wantonly destroy the property of American citizens, or mercilessly and without warning slaughter our people when traveling the seas upon their lawful business. A nation that would permit such a course of conduct would be scorned by all and not worthy of the respect of any. It certainly would not be worthy of an ancestry such as that which we, the Sons of the American Revolution, boast.
Nor do I think that there is reason to believe that our neutrality will be so construed. Neither does it necessarily follow that to main-
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tain these rights which have always been ours, and which cannot in honor be relinquished, we shall be drawn into that great cataclysm of blood and misery that is now raging across the sea. Certainly no such dreadful event will happen if it can with honor be prevented by the calm wisdom, the firmness, and the patriotic devotion of that bravely patient man, President Woodrow Wilson, into whose hands a blessed Providence has at this time placed the destinies of the Nation. Under his directing genius, supported by a united people, and it is the duty of every loyal American to give such support, we may have confidence that these weighty problems will find a happy solution. That the rights of our people will be preserved, and national honor maintained; and that when peace shall come at last, it will find America leading the world back to sanity and repentance. Then will come a clear vision of the great opportunity that the present crisis is sure to bring to us, the arrival of which is already at our gates.
For one, I believe in peace, yet I am not of that class of people who would have "peace at any price." There is a price which no nation, more than an individual, can afford to pay for peace. Peace without honor is degradation and degradation with a nation is death. Our fathers were a peace-loving people, but they more than once were compelled to conquer that peace with the rifle and the sword. So if need be must we, if we wish to preserve our birthright and maintain the respect of the nations of the world.
Now, as never before, is the future big for us, both in material and in moral gains. Consider for a moment the material prospect. Every country in Europe is so increasing its debt and destroying the af- fluence of its people that bankruptcy already begins to stare them in the face; money in vast sums must be had, and had soon. The United States is recognized as the richest country in the world, while New York, with its 5,000,000 of people and vast commercial interest, looms largely upon the horizon as a rival to London, as the financial center of the world. If the present financial exhaustion abroad continues, New York will be certain to outstrip her great rival, and in the future the arteries of finance will start from America and not from England. If we can control the finances of the world, what can prevent us in the future from tightening the purse strings and declaring that wars shall cease? Surely, if capital and labor shall combine in a great humanitarian effort for peace, they can, with the aid of the women of the world, put a stop to all war. Then in truth shall the roar of howitzers, the whirr of torpedoes, and the bursting of bombs be
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stilled and that day come that was spoken of by the prophet of old when "Swords shall be beaten into plowshares and spears into prun- ing hooks."
But not only is the opportunity at hand for America to control the finances of the world, but its commerce as well. Considere the great markets of South America, of the Orient, and the Islands of the Sea, as well as of Europe, that are now open to us as never before; markets, many of them, that the warring nations of Europe have hitherto monopolized to our utter exclusion. These markets are ours today if we will but take them. No other nation can supply them. The opportunity is ours now to possess ourselves of a trade almost without competition, that will keep every mill and every workshop in the land busy for years to come, and fill with a flood of gold the coffers of the people of the nation.
Nor is this inviting commerce all that we may have. The seas lie before us. The ships of Germany and Austria have been driven from them, while those of the Allied Nations are greatly reduced in number and unable to handle but a small fraction of the traffic that crowds the wharves and warehouses of neutral nations, while rates of freight have reached a mark never before dreamed of. This carrying trade is ours if we will but build the ships to handle it. Once America was second in this trade among the maritime peoples of the world, but the Civil War swept us from the ocean, and from that blow we have never recovered. Today the opportunity is ours to regain that which was lost and to be again a great maritime power, with ships, bearing American registers and flying the Stars and Stripes, sailing the waters of every sea on the globe.
Compatriots, behold the opportunities that are now ours! Never since the nation was born was there such a future presented as now lies spread out before us. It beckons us onward in the way that leads to prosperity and to national honor. Let us go forward and, as our fathers a hundred years ago availed themselves of the opportunities that were theirs, and gave this nation its great place among the na- tions of the world, so let us do our duty now, and then in the days that are to come, when our children's children shall assemble upon oc- casions such as this, they will recount with pride what we did in this eventful period to make the United States of America the greatest among the nations of the earth in all those things that make for prosperity, for honor, for justice and for unfailing righteousness.
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A CURSORY ANALYSIS AND TIMELY APPLICATION OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
By Charles A. Woodruff, Brigadier General U. S. A., Retired.
San Francisco, February 22, 1916.
It is said to be a characteristic of Americans that they are insular in their prejudices and hence magnify the importance of their heroes. I hope to avoid this. Just listen to what Lecky, the distinguished his- torian, said: "In civil as in military life he (Washington) was pre- eminent among his contemporaries for the clearness and soundness of his judgment, for his perfect moderation and self-control, for the quiet dignity and indomitable firmness with which he pursued every path which he had deliberately chosen. Of all the great men in his- tory he was the most invariably judicious, and there is scarcely a rash word or judgment recorded of him."
I am expected to make a cursory analysis and timely application of some of the ideas presented in Washington's farewell address, which Sir Archibald Alison, a noted British writer, characterized as "un- equalled by any composition of uninspired wisdom." After these quotations from most distinguished foreign writers, any praise of mine will seem modest and richly deserved.
After declining to again be a candidate for the Presidency, and giving excellent reasons therefor, he expressed "deep acknowledg- ment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable at- tachment, by services faithful and preserving, though in usefulness anequal to my zeal."
He then makes one of the strongest appeals for the perpetuation of the Union conceivable by the mind of man.
It is hard to understand, with our present enlightenment, how any man could read this appeal to the sentiment, pride, intelligence, in-
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terest and patriotism of Americans and then consider, much less ad- vocate, the dissolution of this government.
With prophetic vision he foresaw nearly every danger that could threaten the permanency and well-being of popular government- lack of unity, sectionalism, entangling alliances, foreign intrigue and influence, feebleness of the general government, encroachment of one department of the government upon the constitutional power of an- other, excessive partisanship, nullification, dictatorship-and pleaded with his whole heart, might, mind and strength, for his Fellow Citizens, as they loved Liberty and Independence, to avoid them all.
The more I quote the better it is for you :
In his appeal for purity in public affairs he said: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports . A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity.
The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them."
The wisdom and practical common sense of these observations are recognized by all who have considered our form of government, national, State and local. Immoral greed is the tap-root of nearly every weakness, vice, corruption and shortcoming in popular gov- ernment. Its baneful influence is an ever present danger.
"It is substantially true," he added, "that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. . . Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general dif- fusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."
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