[Speech of Surgeon-General Walter Wyman at the banquet given in
Washington, D. C., February 22, 1900, by the Society of the Sons of
the Revolution in the District of Columbia.]
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:--In behalf of the Society of the Sons of
the Revolution in the District of Columbia it becomes my pleasant duty
to bid you welcome on this occasion, the anniversary of the birthday of
George Washington, the Father of his country.
The Society of the Sons of the Revolution was founded in 1883, in New
York, its purpose, as expressed by the Constitution, being "to
perpetuate the memory of the men, who, in the military, naval, and civic
service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts
and counsel achieved the independence of the Country." The New York
Society, to be historically correct, was instituted February 22, 1876,
but was reorganized in 1883, when the General Society was formed. State
Societies were subsequently formed in Alabama, California, Colorado,
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
State of Washington, and West Virginia, there being, therefore,
thirty-one State Societies, with a total membership of 6,031. The
District of Columbia Society was formed in 1889, and now numbers over
two hundred and fifty members.
The object of these Societies is not, as some may imagine, to indulge a
pride of ancestry, or to establish exclusive organizations with a
membership dependent upon the deeds of forefathers for its own
distinction, but rather to encourage and stimulate a desire for
knowledge of the problems which were presented to, and the circumstances
which confronted our revolutionary forefathers; to study their courage
and wisdom in council and their valor in war, which resulted in the
establishment of a Republic, the most potent in the history of the
world.
The illumination of the past is useless unless its rays are made to
penetrate into the present, bestowing guidance and confidence. The
records of our forefathers, therefore, are brought forth and published
to the world, chiefly to stimulate ourselves to like courage and
devotion should occasion arise.
The patriotism displayed by both the North and the South during the War
of the Rebellion, and the patriotism displayed during the recent
Spanish-American War, are evidences that true American spirit is as
strong to-day as it was in the days which gave birth to our Republic.
The associations now in existence, having their origin in the War of the
Rebellion and the Spanish-American War, are similar in their aim and
objects to the Society of the Sons of the Revolution. This Society seeks
to preserve the records of the founders of the Republic, to cause these
records to be published and preserved in permanent form--not only those
which are to be found in the archives of the Nation and of the States,
but fragmentary facts of vast interest, in the hands of private
individuals, which would otherwise become lost or forgotten. It erects
monuments to commemorate the lives of distinguished men, and mural
tablets to signalize important events; it establishes prize essays for
competition among school children on subjects relating to the American
Revolution, and seeks to inspire respect and affection for the flag of
the Union.
The numerous celebrations and excursions to points of historical
interest, of the District of Columbia Society, within the past ten
years, must still be fresh in the minds of many among this audience.
Each Fourth of July, each Washington's Birthday, as well as on other
occasions within the past ten years, has this Society indulged in
patriotic celebration. The celebration of to-day is of peculiar
significance. Questions, second only in importance to those which
confronted Washington, are before us. The Nation is entering upon a
career of influence and beneficence which even Washington never dreamed
of. Questions of government, involving the rights of men, the
responsibilities of the strong in their relations to the weak, the
promulgation of freedom without license, are problems facing the
American Congress and the people to-day. The force of events has
extended the responsibility of these United States to Cuba, Porto Rico,
Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, and Samoa.
During the events of the past two years every thinking man and woman
must have been impressed by the gravity of the problems with which our
present Chief Executive has been forced to grapple: problems that have
demanded of him many of the great qualities which distinguished our
first President. These problems involved a steady adherence to what is
right, a lofty patriotism sinking the individual in the consideration of
the public good. Firmness before the enemy, buoyancy and strength before
friends, and humility before the Creator who disposes of all things.
These are elements of character which not only distinguished George
Washington, but which I am only echoing public sentiment in saying
likewise have distinguished our present Chief Executive, and inspired an
affection for and a confidence in the name of William McKinley.
It is peculiarly befitting at this time, therefore, to study those
characteristics of great men which enable them to meet great emergencies
and at the same time preserve their own simplicity and nobility of
character untainted by selfishness. Of the living we may not speak too
freely, but every act and sentiment of him "who by his unwearied
exertions in the cabinet and in the field achieved for us the glorious
revolution," is ours for contemplation and comment. Both time and place
are singularly appropriate. In this city bearing his name, facing the
noble shaft erected to his memory, within the territory which he most
frequented, and almost in sight of his stately home on the Potomac, it
is befitting that we here celebrate his natal day. [Prolonged applause.]