CHARACTER AND AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP Everywhere we see unfolding Endless forms of truth and might, Darkness giving way to light. The principle of freedom characterizes our government above everything else. Freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of action-these we have bought with a price and they must be cherished or our government cannot stand. Out of these principles of freedom comes the importance that we attach to the individual. Opportunity rocks the cradle of every child of the land. There may be caste of a certain kind, but nothing that can defeat true worth in its efforts to achieve success. The rail-splitter and the canal-boy make their way to the President's chair. The newsboy enlightens the world with his electrical genius, and the world in return pours out its gold at his feet and opens its doors to do honor to his name. Even the modest schoolmistress may achieve renown, and, like Frances Willard, do a work that will cause her name to be held in grateful remembrance for generations yet to come. HOPEFUL OBSERVATIONS. We turn to the pages of history and from what is there recorded we gather inspiration for the present and hope for the future. We trace the march of civilization out of Egypt, Asia, Greece, Rome, France, Britain, to America. But let us not flatter ourselves that we are the "heirs to all the ages," and that, no matter what course we may pursue, our permanence and our prosperity are assured. We see a small band of sturdy Pilgrims land on the bleak New England shore and begin a prosperous colony. We see an army of patriotic soldiers battling for independence, and a new nation founded, "a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." We see our fathers and our brothers leave business and home and go forth to the defense of the Union, and the curse of slavery driven from our land. In the meantime wealth has not been used entirely for its own selfish ends. Asylums have been built for the unfortunate. Schools and colleges have been richly endowed. We are beginning to see, too, that some things that seemed threatening at first may prove to be blessings in disguise. The English and the French owe much of their greatness to the fact that they were originally made up of different nationalities. Our motley population, gathered from every nationality in the world, is bound in time to be one of permanence and strength. The strongest steel is made from a mixture of several ores. But our people must be fused together by the spirit of patriotism and common interest. Not till this is done can we dwell in peace at home, or receive due honor and recognition abroad. Our Yankee ingenuity has enabled us to handle many perplexing questions. Socialism we now define as "cooperation," or "the practical application of Christianity to the affairs of life." Thus, like the oyster that turns the irritating grain of sand into a pearl, we have disposed of that menacing subject—at least for a while. The Australian ballot system has been introduced as a means of defending the individual in his right of voting. The little flag that he passes on his way to the polls is a gentle reminder of what it means to be a citizen of a free country. It might be well, too, if a fine, or some other punishment, were imposed upon every able-bodied man who stays away from the polls on election day. Education is becoming more general than ever before. Our public-school system is growing in favor. The newspaper is becoming a great influence for good. "Light," says the sage of Concord, "is the best policeman." The printing-presses of the land, like the dynamos in the engine-houses, are so many sources of power and of light. The churches, too, are doing a noble work. There is more harmonious religious feeling throughout the land than ever before. Petty differences of creed are being forgotten. Men are getting tired of looking for heaven with a telescope and trying to find God with a microscope. More attention is being given to the world here and now. From every pulpit questions of sociology, of patriotism, and of citizenship are freely discussed. The home and home influence is receiving attention too. Happy homes give permanence, thrift, purity, and inspiration to a nation. "The world uncertain comes and goes, The lover rooted stays." A roving population is a dangerous element in a country. The good old vicar of Wakefield said: "He who marries and raises a family does better than he who remains single and talks only of population." DEMANDED OF THE INDIVIDUAL. The age in which we live is just as full of opportunities as any that has passed. |