lessons and the admonitions that may be suggested by the life and death
which constitute our theme.
First in my thoughts are the lessons to be learned from the career of
William McKinley by the young men who make up the student body of our
university. These lessons are not obscure or difficult. They teach the
value of study and mental training, but they teach more impressively
that the road to usefulness and to the only success worth having, will
be missed or lost except it is sought and kept by the light of those
qualities of heart, which it is sometimes supposed may safely be
neglected or subordinated in university surroundings. This is a great
mistake. Study and study hard, but never let the thought enter your mind
that study alone or the greatest possible accumulation of learning alone
will lead you to the heights of usefulness and success.
The man who is universally mourned to-day achieved the highest
distinction which his great country can confer on any man, and he lived
a useful life. He was not deficient in education, but with all you will
hear of his grand career, and of his services to his country and his
fellow citizens, you will not hear that either the high place he reached
or what he accomplished was due entirely to his education. You will
instead constantly hear as accounting for his great success that he was
obedient and affectionate as a son, patriotic and faithful as a soldier,
honest and upright as a citizen, tender and devoted as a husband, and
truthful, generous, unselfish, moral and clean in every relation of
life. He never thought any of these things too weak for manliness. Make
no mistake. Here was a most distinguished man, a great man, a useful
man--who became distinguished, great and useful, because he had, and
retained unimpaired, the qualities of heart which I fear university
students sometimes feel like keeping in the background or abandoning.
There is a most serious lesson for all of us in the tragedy of our late
president's death. The shock of it is so great that it is hard at this
time to read this lesson calmly. We can hardly fail to see, however,
behind the bloody deed of the assassin, horrible figures and faces from
which it will not do to turn away. If we are to escape further attack
upon our peace and security, we must boldly and resolutely grapple with
the monster of anarchy. It is not a thing that we can safely leave to be
dealt with by party or partizanship. Nothing can guarantee us against
its menace except the teaching and the practise of the best
citizenship, the exposure of the ends and aims of the gospel of
discontent and hatred of social order, and the brave enactment and
execution of repressive laws.
Our universities and colleges can not refuse to join in the battle
against the tendencies of anarchy. Their help in discovering and warning
against the relationship between the vicious councils and deeds of
blood, and their unsteadying influence upon the elements of unrest, can
not fail to be of inestimable value.
By the memory of our murdered president, let us resolve to cultivate and
preserve the qualities that made him great and useful; and let us
determine to meet the call of patriotic duty in every time of our
country's danger or need.
DECORATION DAY[5]
BY THOMAS W. HIGGINSON
Friends:--We meet to-day for a purpose that has the dignity and the
tenderness of funeral rites without their sadness. It is not a new
bereavement, but one which has softened, that brings us here. We meet
not around a newly opened grave, but among those which Nature has
already decorated with the memorials of her love. Above every tomb her
daily sunshine has smiled, her tears have wept; over the humblest she
has bidden some grasses nestle, some vines creep, and the
butterfly,--ancient emblem of immortality--waves his little wings above
every sod. To Nature's signs of tenderness we add our own. Not "ashes
to ashes, dust to dust," but blossoms to blossoms, laurels to the
laureled.
The great Civil War has passed by--its great armies were disbanded,
their tents struck, their camp-fires put out, their muster-rolls laid
away. But there is another army whose numbers no Presidential
proclamation could reduce, no general orders disband. This is their
camping-ground--these white stones are their tents--this list of names
we bear is their muster-roll--their camp-fires yet burn in our hearts.
I remember this "Sweet Auburn" when no sacred associations made it
sweeter, and when its trees looked down on no funerals but those of the
bird and the bee. Time has enriched its memories since those days. And
especially during our great war, as the Nation seemed to grow
impoverished in men, these hills grow richer in associations, until
their multiplying wealth took in that heroic boy who fell in almost the
last battle of the war. Now that roll of honor has closed, and the work
of commemoration begun.
Without distinction of nationality, of race, of religion, they gave
their lives to their country. Without distinction of religion, of race,
of nationality, we garland their graves to-day. The young Roman Catholic
convert who died exclaiming "Mary! pardon!" and the young Protestant
theological student, whose favorite place of study was this cemetery,
and who asked only that no words of praise might be engraven on his
stone--these bore alike the cross in their lifetime, and shall bear it
alike in flowers to-day. They gave their lives that we might remain one
Nation, and the Nation holds their memory alike in its arms.
And so the little distinctions of rank that separated us in the service
are nothing here. Death has given the same brevet to all. The brilliant
young cavalry general who rode into his last action, with stars on his
shoulders and his death-wound on his breast, is to us no more precious
than that sergeant of sharpshooters who followed the line unarmed at
Antietam, waiting to take the rifle of some one who should die, because
his own had been stolen; or that private who did the same thing in the
same battle, leaving the hospital service to which he had been assigned.
Nature has been equally tender to the graves of all, and our love knows
no distinction.
What a wonderful embalmer is death! We who survive grow daily older.
Since the war closed the youngest has gained some new wrinkle, the
oldest some added gray hair. A few years more and only a few tattering
figures shall represent the marching files of the Grand Army; a year or
two beyond that, and there shall flutter by the window the last empty
sleeve. But these who are here are embalmed forever in our imaginations;
they will not change; they never will seem to us less young, less fresh,
less daring, than when they sallied to their last battle. They will
always have the dew of their youth; it is we alone who shall grow old.
And, again, what a wonderful purifier is death! These who fell beside us
varied in character; like other men, they had their strength and their
weaknesses, their merits and their faults. Yet now all stains seem
washed away; their life ceased at its climax, and the ending sanctioned
all that went before. They died for their country; that is their
record. They found their way to heaven equally short, it seems to us,
from every battle-field, and with equal readiness our love seeks them
to-day.
"What is a victory like?" said a lady to the Duke of Wellington. "The
greatest tragedy in the world, madam, except a defeat." Even our great
war would be but a tragedy were it not for the warm feeling of
brotherhood it has left behind it, based on the hidden emotions of days
like these. The war has given peace to the nation; it has given union,
freedom, equal rights; and in addition to that, it has given to you and
me the sacred sympathy of these graves. No matter what it has cost us
individually--health or worldly fortunes--it is our reward that we can
stand to-day among these graves and yet not blush that we survive.
The great French soldier, de Latour d'Auvergne, was the hero of many
battles, but remained by his own choice in the ranks. Napoleon gave him
a sword and the official title "The First Grenadier of France." When he
was killed, the Emperor ordered that his heart should be intrusted to
the keeping of his regiment--that his name should be called at every
roll-call, and that his next comrade should make answer, "Dead upon the
field of honor." In our memories are the names of many heroes; we
treasure all their hearts in this consecrated ground, and when the name
of each is called, we answer in flowers, "Dead upon the field of honor."
FOOTNOTE:
[5] Delivered at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass., Decoration
Day, May 30, 1870.
FAITH IN MANKIND[6]
BY ARTHUR T. HADLEY
In order to accomplish anything great, a man must have two sides to his
greatness: a personal side and a social side. He must be upright
himself, and he must believe in the good intentions and possibilities of
others about him.
The scholars and scientific men of the country have sometimes been
reproached with a certain indifference to the feelings and sentiments of
their fellow men. It has been said that their critical faculty is
developed more strongly than their constructive instinct; that their
brain has been nourished at the expense of their heart; that what they
have gained in breadth of vision has been outweighed by a loss of human
sympathy.
It is for you to prove the falseness of this charge. It is for you to
show by your life and utterances that you believe in the men who are
working with you and about you. There will probably be times when this
is a hard task. If you have studied history or literature or science
aright, some things which look large to other people will look small to
you. You will frequently be called upon to give the unwelcome advice
that a desired end can not be reached by a short cut; and this may cause
some of your enthusiastic friends to lose confidence in your leadership.
There are always times when a man who is clear-headed is reproached with
being hard-hearted. But if you yourselves keep your faith in your fellow
men, these things, tho they be momentary hindrances, will in the long
run make for your power of Christian leadership.
There was a time, not so very long ago, when the people distrusted the
guidance of scientific men in things material. They believed that they
could do their business best without advice of the theorists. When it
came to the conduct of business, scientific men and practical men eyed
each other with mutual distrust. As long as the scientific men remained
mere critics this distrust remained. When they came to take up the
practical problems of applied mechanics and physics and solve them
positively in a large way, they became the trusted leaders of modern
material development.
It is for you to deal with the profounder problems of human life in the
same way. It is for you to prove your right to take the lead in the
political and social and spiritual development of the country, as well
as in its mechanical and material development. To do this you must take
hold of these social problems with the same positive faith with which
your fathers took hold of the problems of applied science. To the man
who believes in his fellow men, who has faith in his country, and in
whom the love of God whom he hath not seen is but an outgrowth of a love
for his fellow men whom he hath seen, the opening years of the twentieth
century are years of unrivaled promise. We already know that a man can
learn to love God by loving his fellow men. Equally true we shall find
it that a man learns to believe in God by believing in his fellow men.
FOOTNOTE:
[6] The concluding part of a baccalaureate address to the graduating
class of Yale University, June 27, 1909.
WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN[7]
BY MARTIN W. LITTLETON
The strongest thing about the character of the two greatest men in
American history is the fact that they did not surrender to the passion
of the time. Washington withstood the French radicalism of Jefferson and
the British conservatism of Hamilton. He invited each of them into his
cabinet; he refused to allow either of them to dictate his policy. His
enemies could not terrify him by assault; his friends could not deceive
him with flattery. In this respect he resembled in marked degree the
splendid character of Lincoln.
The single light that led Lincoln's feet along the hard highway of life
was justice; the single thought that throbbed his brain to sleep at
night was justice; the single prayer that put in whispered words the
might and meaning of his soul was justice; the single impulse that
lingered in a heart already wrung by a nation's grief was justice; in
every word that fell from him in touching speech there was the sad and
sober spirit of justice. He sat upon the storm when the nation shook
with passion. Treason, wrong, injustice, crime, graft, a thousand wrongs
in system and in single added to the burden of this melancholy spirit.
Silently, as the soul of the just makes war on sin; silently, as the
spirit of the mighty withstands the spite of wrong; silently, as the
heart of the truly brave resists the assault of the coward, this prince
of patience and peace endured the calumny of the country he died to
save.
Lincoln blazed the way from the cabin to the crown; working away in the
silence of the woods, he heard the murmur of a storm; toiling in the
forest of flashing leaf and armored oak, he heard Lexington calling unto
Sumter, Valley Forge crying unto Gettysburg, and Yorktown shouting unto
Appomattox. Lingering before the dying fires in a humble hut, he saw
with sorrowful heart the blazing camps of Virginia, and felt the awful
stillness of slumbering armies. Beneath it all he saw the strained
muscles of the slave, the broken spirit of the serf, the bondage of
immortal souls; and beyond it all, looking through the tears that broke
from a breaking heart, he saw the widow by the empty chair, the aged
father's fruitless vigil at the gate, the daughter's dreary watch
beside the door, and the son's solemn step from boyhood to old age. And
behind this picture he saw the lonely family altar upon which was
offered the incense of tears coming from millions of broken hearts; and
looking still beyond he saw the battle-fields where silent slabs told of
the death of those who died in deathless valor. He saw the desolated
earth, where golden grain no more broke from the rich, resourceful soil,
where the bannered wheat no longer rose from the productive earth; he
saw the South with its smoking chimneys, its deserted hearthstones, its
maimed and wounded trudging with bowed heads and bent forms back to
their homes, there to want and to waste and to struggle and to build up
again; he saw the North recover itself from the awful shock of arms and
start anew to unite the arteries of commerce that had been cut by the
cruel sword of war. And with this gentle hand, and as a last act of his
sacrificial life, he dashed the awful cup of brother's blood from the
lustful lip of war and shattered the cannons' roar into nameless notes
of song.
Then turn to the vision of Washington leaving a plantation of peace and
plenty to suffer on the blood-stained battle-field, surrendering the
dominion over the princely domain of a Virginia gentleman to accept the
privations of an unequal war--the vision of patriotism over against the
vision of greed.
Oh, my friends, we must live so that the spirit of these men shall
settle all about our lives and deeds; so that the patriotism of their
service shall burn as a fire in the hearts of all who shall follow them.
The Constitution which came from one, the universal liberty which came
from the other, must be set in our hearts as institutions in the blood
of our race, so that this Government shall not perish until every drop
of that blood has been shed in its defense; and we shall behold the flag
of our country as the beautiful emblem of their unselfish lives, whose
red ran out of a soldier's heart, whose white was bleached by a nation's
tears, whose stars were hung there to sing together until the eternal
morning when all the world shall be free.
FOOTNOTE:
[7] Extract from an address on the occasion of the celebration of
Washington's Birthday by the Ellicott Club of Buffalo, New York,
February 22, 1906.
CHARACTERISTICS OF WASHINGTON[8]
BY WILLIAM McKINLEY
Fellow Citizens:--There is a peculiar and tender sentiment connected
with this memorial. It expresses not only the gratitude and reverence of
the living, but is a testimonial of affection and homage from the dead.
The comrades of Washington projected this monument. Their love inspired
it. Their contributions helped to build it. Past and present share in
its completion, and future generations will profit by its lessons. To
participate in the dedication of such a monument is a rare and precious
privilege. Every monument to Washington is a tribute to patriotism.
Every shaft and statue to his memory helps to inculcate love of country,
encourage loyalty and establish a better citizenship. God bless every
undertaking which revives patriotism and rebukes the indifferent and
lawless! A critical study of Washington's career only enhances our
estimation of his vast and varied abilities.
As Commander-in-chief of the Colonial armies from the beginning of the
war to the proclamation of peace, as president of the convention which
framed the Constitution of the United States, and as the first President
of the United States under that Constitution, Washington has a
distinction differing from that of all other illustrious Americans. No
other name bears or can bear such a relation to the Government. Not
only by his military genius--his patience, his sagacity, his courage,
and his skill--was our national independence won, but he helped in
largest measure to draft the chart by which the Nation was guided; and
he was the first chosen by the people to put in motion the new
Government. His was not the boldness of martial display or the charm of
captivating oratory, but his calm and steady judgment won men's support
and commanded their confidence by appealing to their best and noblest
aspirations. And withal Washington was ever so modest that at no time in
his career did his personality seem in the least intrusive. He was above
the temptation of power. He spurned any suggested crown. He would have
no honor which the people did not bestow.
An interesting fact--and one which I love to recall--is that the only
time Washington formally addrest the Constitutional Convention during
all its sessions over which he presided in this city, he appealed for a
larger representation of the people in the National House of
Representatives, and his appeal was instantly heeded. Thus was he ever
keenly watchful of the rights of the people in whose hands was the
destiny of our Government then as now.
Masterful as were his military campaigns, his civil administration
commands equal admiration. His foresight was marvelous; his conception
of the philosophy of government, his insistence upon the necessity of
education, morality, and enlightened citizenship to the progress and
permanence of the Republic, can not be contemplated even at this period
without filling us with astonishment at the breadth of his comprehension
and the sweep of his vision. His was no narrow view of government. The
immediate present was not his sole concern, but our future good his
constant theme of study. He blazed the path of liberty. He laid the
foundation upon which we have grown from weak and scattered Colonial
governments to a united Republic whose domains and power as well as
whose liberty and freedom have become the admiration of the world.
Distance and time have not detracted from the fame and force of his
achievements or diminished the grandeur of his life and work. Great
deeds do not stop in their growth, and those of Washington will expand
in influence in all the centuries to follow.
The bequest Washington has made to civilization is rich beyond
computation. The obligations under which he has placed mankind are
sacred and commanding. The responsibility he has left for the American
people to preserve and perfect what he accomplished is exacting and
solemn. Let us rejoice in every new evidence that the people realize
what they enjoy and cherish with affection the illustrious heroes of
Revolutionary story whose valor and sacrifices made us a nation. They
live in us, and their memory will help us keep the covenant entered into
for the maintenance of the freest Government of the earth.
The Nation and the name of Washington are inseparable. One is linked
indissolubly with the other. Both are glorious, both triumphant.
Washington lives and will live because what he did was for the
exaltation of man, the enthronement of conscience, and the establishment
of a Government which recognizes all the governed. And so, too, will the
Nation live victorious over all obstacles, adhering to the immortal
principles which Washington taught and Lincoln sustained.
FOOTNOTE:
[8] Address by William McKinley, twenty-fourth President of the United
States, delivered at the unveiling of the Washington Statue, by the
Society of Cincinnati, in Philadelphia, May 15, 1897.
"LET FRANCE BE FREE!"[9]
BY GEORGE JACQUES DANTON
The general considerations that have been presented to you are true; but
at this moment it is less necessary to examine the causes of the
disasters that have struck us than to apply their remedy rapidly. When
the edifice is on fire, I do not join the rascals who would steal the
furniture, I extinguish the flames. I tell you therefore you should be
convinced by the despatches of Dumouriez that you have not a moment to
spare in saving the Republic.
Dumouriez conceived a plan which did honor to his genius. I would render
him greater justice and praise than I did recently. But three months
ago he announced to the executive power, your General Committee of
Defense, that if we were not audacious enough to invade Holland in the
middle of winter, to declare instantly against England the war which
actually we had long been making, that we would double the difficulties
of our campaign, in giving our enemies the time to deploy their forces.
Since we failed to recognize this stroke of his genius we must now
repair our faults.
Dumouriez is not discouraged; he is in the middle of Holland, where he
will find munitions of war; to overthrow all our enemies, he wants but
Frenchmen, and France is filled with citizens. Would we be free? If we
no longer desire it, let us perish, for we have all sworn it. If we wish
it, let all march to defend our independence. Your enemies are making
their last efforts. Pitt, recognizing he has all to lose, dares spare
nothing. Take Holland, and Carthage is destroyed and England can no
longer exist but for Liberty! Let Holland be conquered to Liberty; and
even the commercial aristocracy itself, which at the moment dominates
the English people, would rise against the government which had dragged
it into this despotic war against a free people. They would overthrow
this ministry of stupidity who thought the methods of the _ancien
régime_ could smother the genius of Liberty breathing in France. This
ministry once overthrown in the interests of commerce the party of
Liberty would show itself; for it is not dead! And if you know your
duties, if your commissioners leave at once, if you extend the hand to
the strangers aspiring to destroy all forms of tyranny, France is saved
and the world is free.
Expedite, then, your commissioners; sustain them with your energy; let
them leave this very night, this very evening.
Let them say to the opulent classes, the aristocracy of Europe must
succumb to our efforts, and pay our debt, or you will have to pay it!
The people have nothing but blood--they lavish it! Go, then, ingrates,
and lavish your wealth! See, citizens, the fair destinies that await
you. What! you have a whole nation as a lever, its reason as your
fulcrum, and you have not yet upturned the world! To do this we need
firmness and character, and of a truth we lack it. I put to one side all
passions. They are all strangers to me save a passion for the public
good.