Читать книгу New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 - DeLancey M. Ellis - Страница 20

"Governor Dockery, Ladies and Gentlemen:

"There is no phase of American history which should inspire us with greater pride than the consummation of the purchase of the Louisiana tract, an event which opened the pathway to the West, and made possible the powerful nation to which we owe our allegiance. Trade, the inspiration for travel, which brought about the discovery and civilization of the Western Hemisphere, would have demanded inevitably the cession to the United States of the vast regions beyond the Mississippi. Except, however, for the peaceful and diplomatic measures adopted through the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, this territory could only have been acquired by the sacrifice of human life and the expenditure of untold treasure. That Robert Livingston, a citizen of the Empire State, became the ambassador of the great commoner at the court of France and that it was due to his skill and intelligence that Napoleon was brought to an understanding of the conditions as they existed and of the determination of our then young Republic to prevent the building up of foreign colonies at our very threshold, is a cause for congratulation to the people of the State I represent, and renders the duty which has been assigned to me, therefore, doubly pleasant. Memorable as was this event, and of great importance to the future growth of the Republic, it left its imprint not only upon America, but upon Europe as well. Through it the Napoleonic ambition to develop a vast plan of colonization which threatened the peace of the world was thwarted. The dismemberment of the French possessions which soon followed resulted in the grouping together of the various states of Europe into vast empires whose relations with our country are such that encroachment or territorial aggrandizement upon this hemisphere are forever impossible. Spain, whose waning power was then apparent, was no longer a menace, and thus rendered possible the acquisition of the remaining stretch of territory which made our possessions secure from the Gulf to the Canadian line. While, therefore, as Americans we are prone to the belief that if the necessity had arisen we should have been able to wrest this rich and fertile territory from even the strongest hands, it is well for us to understand, however, that even the diplomacy of which we boast would have been futile except for the failure of Napoleon in San Domingo and his pressing need of funds to permit him to face the enemies of the French. 'Westward Ho!' was the cry of the Old World. From the time when the genius of Columbus accepted the theories of the earlier astronomers the imagination and cupidity of adventurous spirits had been excited by tales of 'far off Cathay.' One hundred years ago the protocol for this territory was signed; one hundred years of history has been written; a nation of three millions has expanded into an empire of eighty millions of souls. Our country has not only become a power among the nations of the world, but has taken an advanced position in the progress and work of civilization. A westward passage to India was sought by Columbus and was still the aim of La Salle in his adventurous voyage along the mighty Mississippi. To-day the American flag floats at the very gates of China, and almost in sight of its walls, placed there by American valor and by American arms in a struggle for human rights, and liberty. Trackless forests and undulating prairies have become the highways for the speeding engines bearing the burdens of traffic to the Orient. No longer are they the pasturage for the buffalo, but the source of food supply for the whole world. Treasures of untold value have been laid bare by the ingenuity of man, but far beyond this wealth are the products in grain and lowing kine which add their hundreds of millions to the resources of our country, extending even beyond the dreams or the imagination of those who sought only the precious metals with which to return with a competence to their native land.

"This is but the span of a century and to commemorate its glories we come from the eastern section, from the earlier colonies to congratulate the people of the West upon the results which we as a nation have achieved. So few the years, yet how notable the history. Upon this soil began those battles which ended in the emancipation of the slave. From this border, and almost from within this territory, came the great Emancipator, a man who struggled with the vicissitudes of fortune in early life, who aided in developing the great West, and whose name will be forever enshrined as the one who in his act as chief magistrate of this country removed the stain which the earlier Dutch had fastened upon our body politic like a 'festering sore.' The past, with all of its achievements, with all of its successes, is to us but an incentive and guide for the future progress of our country. America still beckons to the oppressed of all lands and holds out the gifts of freedom, and we at this time, and upon this occasion, should renew our adherence to those policies which have made us great as a nation. The future is before us, and the patriotism and self-sacrifice of those who made the country's history so glorious should be an inspiration to us all for higher ideals of citizenship. Through the golden gates of commerce pours an unceasing stream of immigration, which must be amalgamated with American ideas and American principles. From the earlier settlers has come a blending of the vigor of the Anglo-Saxon with the Teutonic and Latin races, resulting in that composite type which we are wont to recognize and regard as the type of the true American. Aside from the commercial and industrial results which followed the acquisition of this vast and fertile territory, and the building up of the large marts and towns which everywhere blend with its magnificent scenery, the definition of the power and extent of our Constitution was most important. At its inception, coming at a time when the framers of the Constitution were not only able to interpret their work, but to give to it their moral force and support, it was demonstrated that no constitutional limitations should retard the onward growth, the onward rush of American civilization, until it should have reached the farthermost bounds of the far-off Pacific. The barriers to human progress were by this interpretation removed and ranges of new States have given effect to the democratic principles of our great Republic, and have made of our country a Union—not of weak, impotent States—but a commonwealth of nations, bound to each other through a centralized government by ties of allegiance, common interest and patriotism, where freemen rule and where suffrage is more esteemed than wealth.

"These rights and their protection should receive our earnest thought. The battles of the past have been for freedom and liberty, and the struggles of the future will be for their preservation, not, however, by force of arms, but through the peaceful methods which come through the education of our people. The declaration which brought our Republic into existence has insured and guaranteed that liberty of conscience and that freedom of action which does not interfere with the prerogatives or privileges of a man's neighbors. Capital and labor are the two great elements upon which the prosperity and happiness of our people rest, and when, therefore, aggregations of the one are met by combinations of the other, it should be the aim of all to prevent the clashing of these great interests. The products of toil are worthless unless there be some means by which they can be substituted or transferred for that which labor requires. The concrete form in which these transactions are conducted is the money power or the capital of the land. Without work all of these fertile fields, these teeming towns, would have been impossible, and without a desire to benefit and elevate humanity, its onward progress would have been useless. To work, to labor, is man's bounden duty, and in the performance of the tasks which have been placed upon him, he should be encouraged, and his greatest incentive should be the knowledge that he may transmit to his children and his children's children a higher civilization and greater advantages than he himself possessed. Trade conditions which would permit to the toiler but a bare sustenance, the bare means of a livelihood, would be a hindrance to human progress, a hindrance not to be removed by all of the maxims of the philosopher or the theories of the doctrinaire. Promise without fulfillment is barren, but when you can place before the mechanic the assured fact that the performance of his duty means success in life, and that his non-performance means failure; when you can show him that this law is immutable, you have made of him a useful citizen and have instilled into his mind a firm belief that the freedom and liberty of which we boast is not an inchoate substance to be dreamed of and not enjoyed. But this desired result cannot be secured if combinations of capital, which produce the necessaries of life cheaper and better, are assailed as the enemies of mankind. There is always a mean between those who seek only a fair recompense and return for that which they produce, and those who seek undue advantages for the few at the expense of the many. The laws which have been enacted, if properly executed, are sufficient in their force and effect to encourage the one and to punish the other, but in our condemnation let us not forget that with the expansion that has come to our country, an expansion of our business relations is also necessary. This growth has brought us into intimate contact with the markets of the world, and in the struggle that is always before us, the competition of trade, if we are to hold our own among the world's producers, we should encourage and not hinder those who by their energy, their capital and their labor have banded together for the purpose of meeting these new conditions—problems which our individual efforts alone cannot solve, but which require the concentrated force and genius of both capital and labor. Incentive for good citizenship would indeed be lacking if there were taken from us the opportunities for development, the opportunities for the young man to follow in the footsteps of those who have written their names in the history of our country as the great captains of industry. Success will always follow perseverance and genius. Every heresy, every doctrine which would teach the young man of this country differently, is an insult to the intelligence of our people, and is in the direction of building up a dangerous element in American society which in time would threaten not only the peace and prosperity we enjoy, but our very institutions themselves. When you have placed before the young man all of his possibilities, you have made it impossible to make of our Republic a plutocracy controlled by the few at the expense of the many. The individual should count for as much as the aggregation of individuals, because an injury to the one will lead to the destruction of the many. The question of adjusting and harmonizing the relations of capital and labor is the problem before us to-day and is one which will become more urgent in the future. Its solution must be along those lines of constitutional right which every citizen has been guaranteed. Every man is entitled in the prosecution of his work to the broadest possible liberty of action and the protection of law, of that law which is the outgrowth of necessity and which seeks to encourage and not to oppress. Such recognition can always be secured if there is a determination upon the part of those charged with the responsibility of government to have it. And who is not? Every man possessed of a ballot is responsible and has the power, not only to formulate but to criticise and to punish as well. If this right be properly exercised, an honest and efficient administration of our affairs can always be secured. To aid in this work we have given to the press the broadest possible liberty, a freedom which, however, should never be abused. It should never be used as the medium for the circulation of charges or of calumnies which are without foundation, and which please but the fancies of those in whose minds there always exists envy and discontent. Such a misuse of privileges should be condemned by all right-minded citizens. In its virtuous indignation with those who abuse public place and power, it should be careful to do exact justice because in our busy and active lives we have come to depend to a very great extent upon the wisdom and the honesty of these who edit our newspapers for the information rightly to judge of the conditions, events and necessities of our country. By means of the press, and with an intelligent citizenship, we may always feel sure that there will come into our public life influences for good which will render our government more stable, will add to its renown and to its glory and will insure for all the perpetuation of those principles which have come down to us through the wisdom of our forefathers and which have been amplified by the knowledge of succeeding generations.

"The greatest solvent for political heresies, for doctrines which are antagonistic to popular government, is education. To the educated mind there comes a conception of duty which is not possible to the ignorant. The great colleges and schools with which we are blessed are performing a vital work, and these institutions for developing a higher order of citizenship are of far more worth and of greater importance than all of the ships of war or the arms of the nation in maintaining and upholding those policies which have been adopted for our protection against foreign and domestic foes. But it is not alone a theoretical education which is necessary for this higher citizenship. It must be linked with the knowledge which comes of the study of the character, of the manner and methods of other nations than our own, which leads the artisan to inspect and to improve upon the ingenuity of his fellows of other lands. It is this feature in the exposition which is to take place upon this ground next year that is particularly significant and important in the solution of the problems to which I have referred. It is the contact, the friendly rivalry thus created, which brings about a betterment and improvement of conditions. It is appropriate, therefore, that at the one hundredth anniversary of this great event of our nation's history, we should gather here all of the ingenuity and the genius of the past and the present, that we may contrast and make note of our progress. This will be an inspiration for us in the performance of our duty, and will add to our affection for our native and adopted land, and thus make of America a still greater power for good. A patriotic people is possible only when there exists a love of country which has been inspired by the stories of the past. It is the stories of the glorious past which encourage us to grapple with the problems of the present and to look with disdain upon those who fail to solve them. What fills our mind with more gratitude; what inspires us with greater heroism; what instills more patriotism than the struggles of the early colonial wars? The Anglo-Saxon energy which swept from this continent the dominion of those who sought only wealth, and which substituted the thrift of the voyagers of the Mayflower and of the settlers of Jamestown—which Speaks of the battles with the Indians, which tells of the glories not only of victories but of the defeats of the heroes of the Revolution—all are incentives for purer and better citizenship. And so, too, as we recall the struggles to the death of the descendants of these earlier settlers in the greatest civil war that the world has ever known, let us to-day, both in charity and in patriotism, remember them all as heroes. While we may differ as to the principles for which they fought, there is no conflict of opinion, no divergence in thought, which bids us to-day to withhold our admiration for all those who took part in that great struggle. It was but a page in our nation's history, but a page shaded by human blood. It was but the working out the will of Divine Providence, so that from its baptism of blood our republic might emerge greater, stronger and more powerful than ever before, that there might thereafter be no sectional hate, no dividing line in the patriotism of our people. This it is which should inspire us to-day. More progress, a further advance in civilization, the extending of a helping hand to the afflicted and the welcoming word to the oppressed, should be concrete evidence of America's greatness and of the devotion of her people. Then it will be that our flag, now honored and respected, honored because of the power and the intelligence of our people, will take on additional lustre and additional significance as that of a nation that has accepted its duty to protect humanity at home and abroad, and to stand as the pacificator and preserver of the peace of the world."

At the conclusion of the afternoon exercises Governor Odell reviewed the New York State troops on the plaza in Forest Park. The review was held in the presence of a large assemblage and was an inspiring sight.