Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], November 10, 1910, Page 4, Image 4

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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4
GROUP CORNER-STONE LAID
WITH IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES.
BLOCK SET BY MAYOR LATHROP.
ADDRESS BV DR SI. L. BURTON. ,
Two Casket* o< Relies, City Dorn
arnti. Etc.. Placed Within the
Stone City Official* Hi Many Clti- ,
sen* Attend Exercise* at Foot of j
Tower anti in Court Square The
afer.
The corner-stow of fid's Tifw inu- !
nicipal group «>,< l|id Wednesday last j
neck with ceremonies made pat
ticuUr’y impressive by their marked
simplicity, dignity and histories! sig
nificance The exercises were in
t*ij parts. The first was the setting of
the limestone block at the lias? of th?
lofty campanile, and the second was the
complementary program in Court Square
theater. Mayor Edward H, Lathrop di
rected the placing of th? corner-stone and*
inserted flip < '>pp«r casket containing rei
iea and keepsakes of ail sorts, documents
and.valuaoiis to the number of more than
X'»> aim .declared the stone formally and
finally laid. At the theater Mr Lathrop
spoke again and was followed by Rev I>r
. .siii.n ~i i.oy Burton. the new president
of Smith college, who gave rh? chief ad
dress of the day, a scholarly and wholly
admirable effort, George liwigbt Pratt,
chairman oi the municipal building com
mission. presided both at the group exer
cises and in the theater.
While the conditions, so far as the
weather was concerned, were not of the
• best, the building commission were fortu
nate in that, the rain, which threatened j
early in the afternoon, and then came
down in earnest just at the completion of
the out-door exorcises, held off as long as it
did. The number of those who attended
the ceremonies, vas probably somewhat
smaller rhaji would have been the case had
the day been wholly fair, but a good-sized
company partly surrounded th" speak- ,
inc platform out of doors. Those who !
went to the theater were well repaid. The
mayor’s address was typical of Mr La- J
Throp. while that of Dr Burton on hi*
introduction to Springfield people was ex
ceedingly eloquent. Prior to tne exercises
at the font of the tower the 2(1 regiment
hand played od the temporary stand back
of the First church and then repaired to ;
the theater tor a short opening concert.
Mayor Lathrop'N Address.
Mr Pratt then introduced Mayor La
throp. whose address was cordially re
ceived by those present at the theater. It
dealt the history of the building of
the old City hall and the ceremonies at
tending the laying of its corner-stone. The
mayor told how the estimated cost of that
structure had been $40,000. but that the
final cost figures reached SIOO,IIOO. When
he wondered if that experience was a
prophecy he brought a laugh all over the
theater. The mayor’s address was in part
as follows —
Historical accounts conflict concerning
the dedication and the laying of the cor
ner-stone of the first City hall. King’s
history fixes the date of the stone
laying by saying that. "On the Fourth of
July. 1854. the corner-stone was laid with
a few simple ceremonials The hall was
finished in 1855, and on the first day of
January. 1856, was dedicated. On that
occasion Dr .T. G. Holland delivered an
address, which was published by order
of the city council.” Green's history says:
" The new City hall was dedicated Janu- |
ary j, 1855. The corner-stone had been laid ,
June 4. 1854. by Mayor Tvler and by j
Mayor Rice Judge O. B. Morris delivered j
an address.”
Mayor Trask, who bad been a member j
of the building committee, had energet
ically pushed the work forward, but it ,
was found that the city had a $100,060
building, rather than a $40,000 structure,
as first planned. "On dedication night, j
with a hall overwarm through the zealous j
concern of the janitor,” Mr Trask and
Mr Rice and Dr Osgood and Dr Holland
and members of the city government, all
on the platform, proceeded with the pro
gram. Dr Holland, the historian.—orator
of the occasion, was introduced by Mayor ;
Trask, and after the dignified hour was
passed, there was dancing until a late |
hour, while in the basement rooms re- I
f refitments were served.
This confusion of dat»s and seasons
is somewhat confusing to ns of to-day.
and the statement of one of the historians
that the corner-stone was laid with "a few
simple ceremonials." and one by the
other historian that "Judge O. B. Morris
delivered an address." is startling to the
older people who remember Judge Morris,
and who will agree that no public occa
sion of this character would he concluded
with "a few simple ceremonials” when
he delivered the address, for there was
no man of his day who could and did in
vest a public function of this character
with so large an atmosphere of import
ance and large dignity as Judge Morris.
No "simple ceremonial" was this when
the stately judge projected his great
figure and splendid Head upon the atten
tion of the 3000 fellow-citizens gathered
upon that occasion, and delivered to them
an oration that was profound, and elo
quent with rhetoric, research, gratulation
and humor. It will be remembered by
few people now that the judge had op
posed with vigor the building of the City
hall as an unjustifiable thing to do for so
young a city, because of the large expenses
to be incurred and because the city could
with propriety do its civic business in the
old town building until its financial con
dition grew into larger proportions, justi
fying its expen*e. The prediction that the
hall would cost more than the builders
and projectors estimated was fulfilled. Is
this ancient condition now prophetic?
In those days everyone knew everyone
else in Springfield, and when the leaders,
political and social, realized the force of
the opposition of the judge, and the vehe
mence with which he drove it in public
and private speech, they concluded that
some way should he devised to disarm or
placate the judge, win him with his per
sonality and power to stand in line with
the municipal administration in its first
large step m civic improvement and dig
nity. Some one, who knew the large
character, ability and kindness of heart,
together with his real pride in the ad
vancement of the young municipality, sug
gested inviting the judge to deliver the
address upon the occasion of the laying
of the corner-stone. The old judge was
caught through liis heart, and instead of
a “simple ceremonial." the oration was a
hartistn of sense, eloquence and approba
tion. itjfused with an old matfs enthusi
asm wtlen judgment was convinced and
the advancing pathway of new civic ac
complishments and possibilities was blazed
to his eight.
The population of the city at this time
was 13-780. The old building, object of
so much justifiable pride and endeavor,
fulfilled its purpose until January 5.
1005. when the great structure, that had
looked so imposing in its architecture, had
pervaded the sense, and really the civic
affection of trie people so long, went out
in a blaze of fire, so quickly that when
the people found that in only 11 minutes
from the time the great hell in the tower
first clanged out the clamor of its alarm,
it gave its last resounding signal as it
fell with the tower where if had served
so tong and «o well, they said: "W* will
hnild bigger and better. We will illus
trate o»r city and our people of to-day
and our advancing generations, justifying
our faith in our civic future, by this
artistic and practical illustration of the
spirit of this, our time, by the building
of the new."
We arc come to a new epoch. From a
few people, nearly oil of native birth and
breeding, in those e.tiiy dais, we are
advanced ;o a ~-ity *■’ 9n.oiV) howogoueon*
people, energerii. purposeful, prosperous,
justifiable in our civic pride and larger
civic possibilities and purposes, and with
the ambition to attain them.
After a iap»e of 55 'ears we bring the
salutation of the new advance. New men.
nee method*, larger accomplishments, but
with the same purposeful outlook as had
the people of 1855. we face the civic
future reinforced with over a half-century
of experience and constantly occurring
opportunities, and larger and wider hori
zone.
This occasion is made auspicious now.
as ! present with pleasure Dr Burton of
Smith college, a new and gracious acquisi
tion of rlie Connecticut ’•alley, accom
plished. wife, enthusiast!", -ted whom we
welcome to this our occasion.
Thus introduced. Dr Burton said he
would much rather listen to t! e elo
quence of Mayor Lathrop than to talk
himself. He took for his subject "The
THE GROUP AS IT WILL APPEAR WHEN FINISHED.
call of patriotism.” It was his fivst ap
pearance in Springfield since his inaugu
ration as president of Smith college, anil
his reception by the Court Square au
dience was corfiial and appreciative. He
held his hearers at close attention for
an hour, and at the end the. applause
showed the impression he had made. He
said in part;—
The laying of the corner-stone of the
great municipal buildings of this city is
the occasion of our gathering to-day. Those
buildings represent our common life. They
utter the message that no man lives to
himself. They tell us that the community
has interests which alt men must respect.
The city is in its turn a significant, part of
a state and a nation. It is most fitting
and appropriate, therefore, upon this day
so important for the city of Springfield
that we turn our attention to those ques
tions which concern every citizen and take
as our subject "The call of patriotism.”
Onr Heritage.
If we are at all appreciative of the
past we will find n very welcome note Of
that call in our heritage as a prople. We :
purpose to make no effort tb' wfaiw you
with statistics nor invidious comparisons
with other countries, but surely the Amer
ican citizen has every right to find much
inspiration in the remarkable resources of
his country. When we pause to consider
the marvelous area and unbroken extent
of our territory, the thousands of miles of
coast line, the large inland lakes and nav
igable rivers, we must realize at once that
toe United States possesses the physical
basis for a powerful empire. But mere
largeness is no promise of national great
ness. The significance of this expanse of
territory lies in its boundless forests, its
rich mines and its fertile soil. The un
measured wealth of America in her coal,
iron, copper, silver and gold mines tempts
the imagination. While these renditions
meet the requirements for the necessities
of life, we may above and beyond these
riches rejoice in the pleasing variety of
our climate and the beauty and grandeur
of our scenery.
Fj'om a political point o{ view the cit
izen of the United stares possesses a her
itaee without a parallel in the history of
the world. Enjoying as we do the fuil
benefits of freedom, democracy and equal-
I ity, we are liable <o forget at times the
; depth of their significance and the glory
which they impart to life. Freedom of
! thought, of speech, of the press, democ
racy giving adequaie recognition to each
' individual, equality before the law and in
1 opportunity to make the most of one's abil-
I ity and time, these are poiitieal blessings
which the struggles of centuries have made
| possible. The opportunities offered by our
educational system of free public schools
ana state universities where a child may
be trained from the kindgerarten to the
professiouai school affords a practical illus
tration of the actual privileges which our,
country offers. As a nation we are not
harassed by religious wars and persecu
tions which have been the curse of many
peoples. One of our fundamental princi
ples which, let us hope, will never be ques
tioned is toleration in religion.-- a principle
which permits every person to worship his
God in his own way.
Though the life of our nation has been
brief, nevertheless we hare in our history
no mean heritage. Since ITftO less than
I 4,000,000 people have become, 80,000,000.
A great continent has been conquered, its
fotver harnessed and its wealth revealed,
n war as well as'in peace we have much
' to gratify us. Four times have our army
and nary gone forth to battle, and four
times have they returned 'victorious. Oner
hare we survived the awful test of civil
j dissension. Great men have arisen in
every crisis to defend the principles and
I maintain rhe ideals of our beloved nation.
We are rich uot only in things material.
' but things spiritual. An inner spirit has
| pervaded all our history which from the
earliest days m America has esaited right
-1 eousueas and created manhood and wom
anhood. Honesty, integrity and upright
i ness were marked -haracteristics of our
forefathers The founders of the Ameri
can republic had a clear sense of right and
wrong, the leaders of our nation in the
i Spanish-American war were actuated oy
I the highest motives of justice and hurnani
i tarianism. Surely every citizen of Spring
-1 field to-day must hear the call of patrint
! ism in she splendid heritage which is ours
i as a city and as a nation.
Otir rroblem.
But w> must hear this call not only in
j the past but in the present. We have a
: heritage in which we rejoice, but we have
present-day problems which challenge us
Ito become worthy of our heritage.
Among these questions, none is more
vital than that of the city, it not
only attracts our youth from the country
i side, producing the conditions which now
| prevail in rural districts, but has a tend
ency to minimize the importance of the
home. At any rale, the home life of a
large . prppprtifin of the resident* of. tha
city and the denizens of the tenement is
THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 10. 1910.
j scarcely worthy of the name. Childhood
! is robbed of its natural .iojs itjud pleasures.
, Until our large metropolitan centers recog
• nixed the necessity of playgrounds our
i children of. the Mte.ct know little of the
j t*o«-,bi!itjos <>f childhood. Over the whole
j citv has flowed the dark, deep tide of im
i migration with its present problems and
: ultimate blessings for our country.
When in addition to the condition-, which
( confront ua in our cities we consider the
i social evils of impurity and intemperance,
j when wo behold the defects -if our polis
■ ica! machinery and observe the tardiness
| of our courts, when we realize the mat!!-
I fold ramifications of the race p -or b-m at
' the Benth. when o> sense the hitte- an
tagonism frequcnflv manifested in indus
: trial fife, when we will!*** open violation
;of the law apd n o’, violence, tln-n we
anno? be blind to the necessity of meet
I tug courageously the ueeris of our nation
to-day.
Moreover. cert::,o American traits, such
ns our incessant daruor for the spectac
ular. our insistent demon- 1 for oj,. rt
of hnrritJ 51 ctio, ovr otto, inahiiite to en
joy real quiet and restful m- -fit -th n. nor
.-(•nietitpcs boa ufr.l on re- "t,.■*,;
withal our apparent suf-crlk iulity, all of
these hold before ns definite duties de
manding constructive genius.
But the real .issues of tile day involve
the relationship of our'old ideals to new
situations. The paramount question to
day concerns special rights and public
welfare. In the last analysis it becomes
a question whether democracy is a success
in the midst ofduv complex life and wheth
er the fights of the individual and the
public are to be sacrificed to special priv
ileges. Certainly the call of patriotisrit,
rings’ clear and loud in the vital amfY’pnftl
plicated problems of the present.
Onr Duty.
In the light of our heritage which holds
before us the highest standards of onr
country, and in tile presence of the actual
conditions in the midst of which we live,
which at certain points reveal how far we
have failed to realize those ideals, what
do we conceive to he our duty as citizens?
What are the specific things which we
must do in. response to the call of patri
otism?
First of all. We may sav with great em
phasis. the conservation of our heritage.
Out politicians may discuss the best ways
and mean? for the conservation of our
physical resources, they may determine
upon federal or state control or both, but
our highest task lies in the careful con
servation and utilization of bur political,
moral and spiritual heritage. For the
future we need forests and mines, hut we
need more real freedom and trite democ
racy. We do well to preserve out- wealth,
but we must develop character and citizen
ship.
Secondly, duty demands willing adjust
ment of our ideals and forms of govern
ment and administration to new condi
tions. All life is a constant adjustment to
environment We must have a new civic
spirit, to meet the new problems of the
city. We must create a new soi-ia] mind
edness to answer our crying social needs.
We must reinterpret and reformulate our
fundamental virtues in the light -of new
and complex relationships in the midst of
which it is often difficult to anticipate the
full ramification of methods and often
well-nigh impossible to find the center of
diffused responsibility. The form and or
ganization of our local, state and federal
government must be adapted to the chang
ing and enlarging demands of our present
life.
Again, we should let our heritage be
.come the measure of the responsibility
which we feel. If wp .possess a large
heritage, we hare a correspondingly large
obligation. If the American citizen to
day enjoys particular blessings, he must
inevitably carry larpe burdens. This is a
fundamental principle of all life. To
whomsoever much is given of him shall
much be required. It is simply an im
possibility to enjoy large freedom and
not to carry a commensurate obligation.
Noblesse oblige. We cannot have the
privileges o’s democracy and the irresponsi
bility of the slave of the despot. If we
enjoy being free we must accept our
obligations to maintain that freedom.
This means that our duty demands of
us loyalty to the essentials of American
democracy. As private citizens we need
the same kind of loyalty as that which
thrills the soldier or the captain of a
ship. We need whs t. Prof Royce has
defined as "the willing and thorough
going and practical devotion of a person
to a cause. ’
Furthermore, if w-e search for the con
crete duty of eaeh citizen, the call of
patriotism comes in dear tones. It. says,
Know your country, its history, its needs,
its ideals, its present issues. It demands
that every citizen in every political cam
paign should familiarize himself with the
questions involved and the record and
character of each candidate. It requires
of us all that we vote and that, too, not
for money, but for what we helieve to
be true and for the bear interests of the
community. It. calls each of us not to
seek for fame, but for the privilege to
serve his city and state and nation. It
requires of every one that ho oppose every
form of evil, corruption, dishonesty snd
double dealing. It recognizes that our
present problems exist to be solved. It
calls every man to demand law enforce
ment, to help the good, to sustain the
men of honesty and integrity. Above all,
the call of patriotism is the call lo be
a citizen of character. This is the basal
thin*. The chief difficulty with America
to-dn.v is not her institutions, nor her
industrial or social life so much as it is
the character of the individual citizen.
Let eafh of ns be a man in the noblest
sense and ‘the future of America is se
cure.
But the glory of it all is that. America
owes a duty to the world. All mankind
is interested in ns and our experiment
in democracy, \To fail would be to crush
the hopes of millions of lives to-day and
of unborn myriads. To succeed means ul
timately to wield an influence which will
free, the- Wor44. -It is at work now in
Europe. The cal! of patriotism is the
nobiest appeal that reaches the heart of
man. Make the most of yours'elf and
your country and thus benefit all man
kind. —
HR REDMOND AT PITTSFIELD.
| IRISH LEADER WIVES ADDRESS.
: Presents fame of Home Bole—Co
tnnint Thenter Crowded With En
thusiastic Audience,
John E. Redmond. Irish nationalist
I :-. r’fr in Parham"’ t. spoke at the Co
lonial theater in Pittsfield last week to a
! <to ; that taxed the capacity of the tbe
uttr- The meeting was he’d under the aus
r-c of the ibhal branch of the national
lush league. Seat?’ on th-’ platform were
ICO prominent cit: ms of Berkshire. Mr
rotui was pro fed in the sptech mak
- g by Mayor William H. Ms- lmis, whe
| : fb? hex,- city "f the rity. Judy
’ .'Vic ( <'ro.»by. >i o tot.riled uoou th
? gnslief.PCr 'i If aud's great fish’ fur
1 ’'ref-ion-, re. I It* W. .1. Dov er, pastor of
-8; Pharos ohUr'li. John F Kelley, pres:
dent of the local league, opened the meet
ing atul presented Mayor Madnnis as the
presiding officer. The amount of Berkshire's
contribution to the cause of Irish freedom
. ?s ••'stiljr of Mr Redmond's visit,
about SIOOO.
Mr Redmondls' address consisted of two
Par?*: the first considering (Abe industrial
conditions of Ireland, and the second con
sidering the political situation . there. It
was ia th? condtisiou of tii- second part
and of his yntiieo address that lie brought
his audience :to the climax • t' enthusi
asm by declaring illtat h? confidently be
lieved, that hotaecriile for'eli'eiand was nol
a subject 10 ,-jm yaguely .Jiopgll for in tlie
distant future,,fjqt ,was a fact that was
rapidly approaching and would be realized,
he (rusted.; within th» lifetime of every
lever oi liberty who listened to him last
night.
The obstacle that.. still remained to he
removed was the English House of Lords.
When the Housg. of Lords rejected the
budget presented by the House (ff Com
mons. calling for, light taxe> upon, the poor
and a graduated system of taxation on the
very rich, Mr Redmond declared that in
so doing it violated a tacit understanding
never to meddlfi with the matter of tax
ation of the people, but to leave that to
the representatives of the people in the
House of Commons, and in so violating this
understanding it aroused a spirit of semi
revolution in the hearts of Englishmen that
had been stilled for the present because
of the death of the lat? King Edward, but
which would assept itself again when Parli
ament reconvened the middle of next
month. Unless some compromise was ef
fected at the instigation of King George
if was probable, declared Mr Redmond,
that the semirevoiinionary spirit of the
people would lead up to the overthrow of
the House of Lords. This crisis would be
met at the coming general election. The
Irish nationalist party ir in need of funds
to carry on this campaign, declared Mr
Piptlmond. and it was for this purpose that
the funds to be raised in Pittsfield were
to be devoted.
Mr Redmond covered-in a brief resume
the events that had transpired affecting
Ireland since his last visit to this coun
try. Eleven years ago. in answer to the
question. "How js dear old Ireland and
how does she stand?' 1 he had heen forced
to answer that it. was "the most dis
tressed country that ever he had seen.”
But now it was different; Ireland is no
longer the distressed country that it once
w - as. Ireland to-day is much more pros
perous than it was 11 years ago. Mr
Redmond declared that he came with
a message of hope and encouragement.
The Irish problem was twofold, lie
said. It was industrial and political.
M hen Mr Redmond last spoke in Amer
ica. he said. Ireland was in the depths of
despair, as a result of thp destruction of
her industries hv acts of the English
Parliament of 200 years ago. At that
time the English manufacturers, fearing
competition with the Irish manufactur
ers. had petitioned thp English Parlia
ment for protection from the Irish indus
tries. and subsequently the English Par
liament answered this plea by taxing the
Irish factories out of business. As a re
u f 0 * being driven out of the factories,
there followed a period of migration.
Some went hack to the farms and tilled
the soil, but many sailed for more friend
ly shores, and during the nexl few vears.
when (he population of other countries
increasing. Ireland was being depop
mated. The Irishman going back to the
land found that industry suppressed
\vhen the English Parliament confiscated
the land from its rightful owners and
placed it in the possession of English
adventurers and the like, so that practi
cally all Ireland was owned hv 141,000
individuals, most of whom were not only
aliens, but absentees as well, and were
interested in the countrv merely for the
vents derived from their lands there.
Ihe authority of these land owners was
so broad that it practically placed the
ife of the tenant in their hands Thev
had Ihe absolute power of eviction, and
eviction meant death from starvation by
the rnanside. The authority- tvns exer
cised with little or no restraint. The ef
fect was ruin to agriculture. With the
factories closed and agriculture sup
pressed, industries were paralyzed and
ruined. Thai was the situation that <-on
tjnued up to .10 years ago. when Charles
otewart Parnell Instituted the present
irisu nationalmf tuov<nn**nf.
The policies pursued, by Parneli. and his
successors, declared Mr Redmond, had
beep those that the exigencies of the occa
sion demanded. Tiny depend, largely on
the circmiiMai,, e* stud conditions surround,
lug a situation. Sometimes it was force
i 1 need, perhaps illegal so».“, ad
mitted Mr Redmond. Other time* it was
tnild lirgiimenr and pofsiiaaion. If wps,
altogether, he/aald, n mixture of mndera-
tion and the big stick. All classes of the
Irish Had made great sacrifices in carrying
on th" bloodless revolution that had been
effected in the industrial conditions of Ire
land by the nationalist party. The prin
ciple of the land for the people had been
advocated at the outset of Parnell, and
this principle was one of the earliest that
the nationalist movement saw go into
operation To-day the oid system of land
tenure in Ireland is dead.
The party represented by Mr Redmond
is al-ont 80 strong in a Parliament of about
COO members. To these numerical odd*
add those of prejudice, indifference and
ignorance and one could gain vprue idea of
lie- handicaps under which Mr Redmond
fU' l his colleagues have been working and
better appreciate the value of the fruits of
their labors. The measures of land re
tnrni 1 h:.t tins nandfu’ of SO men hay*
succeeded in securing from an English
Parliament ha> revolutionized the indus
trial situation in Ireland. From the Brit
ish treasury Ireland obtained a large sum
of money to he used in creating a peasant
proprietorship in the land in Ireland. Bv
a system of loaning at a small rate of in
terest the purchase price of htg farm a
tenant in Ireland might buy his farm and
hv par- mg the instalment m amounts that
approximated ’its rent would pnT for the
farm in the term of a few years. Over
one-half of Ireland has been thus emanci
pated. declared Vc Redmond In a few
short years more cv>iy uirt will be owned
by thr mail who i'fi.it.
While this was the general situation
among the Irish farmers, the West of Ire
land 'present* ;i i.-cnliur situation all its
own. Redmond recited the pathetic store
of the evictions from the Connaught
farm* in the earlier da; s und fold hour
those -.vh<> ". iihstoo l the hardships and
did not find refuge in Amerb-M settled oil
(at chi s of hog* and formed what is
•known a* the < ongested population. On
'-hoc smell patches of hog <tinging to the
-itleaml h,isc of .-! mountain they eked out
:i p-1 -t-tot.A existence. Even with the ap
’piivatioii or the peasant, proprietary sys
tem here -t would have been Fit..- relief
from audition* then existing. Had
the lands occupied by ih<- west of Ireland
men been sheii to them outright they could
not ‘ha"- made a respectable living. 8o
t lie- problem was solved by the ap
pointing c|- a congested district hoard
which had authority to compel the sale of
lauds by the foreign owners to the peasan
try and tile price was to be fixed by-ar
bitration. The hoard had charge of the
.ctliignttion of the people from the bogs
;■> the fertile lands.
Now many of tiie once idle farms are
being worked ity an energetic and hopeful
peasantry. The fight of 3<i years has re
stored 3000 people to their homes. The
miserable hovels of Ireland were never a
disgrace to the Irish, declared Mr Red
mond. but to the government that made
them essnry. As far as the industry
of land Is concerned, Mr Redmond assert
ed that ti-.r nationalists had emancipated
loth the rich n\id poor of Ireland: cultiva
tion had increased 50 per cent and that
the next few years will see the value of
Irish products increase 50 per cent. "At
any rate.” concluded Mr Redmond at the
end of the first part of his address, “we
have made a heginning to revive the indus
tries and prosperity of 200 years ago.
That Ireland can never be really a pros
perous and contented country until the
irishmen of their own country have thrown
on their own shoulders the responsibility
of their own government was the convic
tion expressed by Mr Redmond. The de
mand for home rule has been insistent
and has never wavered. Ireland should
be wanted a free elective Irish Parliament
to have charge of Irish affairs. If the
matter of home rule for Ireland might go
further, -aid Mr Redmond, well, it was
for no man to set a limit to the destiny of
a nation. At present ail that is sought
by a practical Irish nationalist party is
a Parliament in Ireland, with control over
purely Irish affairs, the same as Canada.
Australia and South Africa enjoy; To
fight for this object one must rontend
against .apathy, prejudice and the too great
eagerness on the part of Some of the Irish,
Those who oppose the masses of Ireland
Wi :
‘Mil ■safety. y
p|| A T/feU?
JOHN E. REDMOND.
also oppose the masses of England, de
clared Mr Redmond. The working people
of England want home rule for Ireland,
for every year they are sending more rep
resentatives to the House of Commons
who favor home rule for Ireland.
If the masses of England were really
worked up to tbp right piteh. the *enn
revoiutionary point, said Mr Redmond, the
nationalists would not only seettre a meas
ure in the House of Commons that would
give Ireland home rule, hut it would bring
about the adoption of the same measure
in the House of Lords. But the masses
of England arc not that much interested
in the welfare of the masses of Ireland.
However, in the vetoing of the budget pre
sented by the House of fommons. the
House of Lords has aroused the ire of the
masses of England, and the House of
Lards trembles now. A victory for the
masses of England over the House of
Lords means much to the masses of Ire
land. It means so much that Mr Red
mond said: "It is with the utmost confi
dence that I assert that we are now on
the eve of the disappearance of the last
obstacle to the granting of home rule to
Ireland.”
FAREWELL FROM REDMOND,
Irish Envoj- Sails Away With Pledges
of SIOO,OOO of American Money Snd
More Expected.
John E. Redmond, the lender of the
Irish parliamentary party, who has been
louring the United States in behalf of the
Irish cause, gent " the following
message to the Aassociated Press at
New York Saturday before sailing.
"On the eve of my departure from
American. I desire through you r courtesy
to thank the press of America for the uni
form kindness and friendliness with which
the mission of my colleagues and myself
representing the Irish parliamentary party
has been treated. I wish to express the
gratitude of the Irish people for this re
renewed expression of American sympathy
with Ireland's cause."
Mr Redmond said that he and the other
Irish parliamentary visitors had received
during their visit pledges of $150,000 In
aid of the Irish cause and expected $50,-
000 additional. This was twice the amount
raised by him on his last trip here on a
aimilar mis-lon two years ago. He ex
pressed his gratitude to the Irish people
in America and to Americans In general
for the interest they had displayed in tha
cause. He would not discuss home rule
tffjroapecu or other political matters.
I ROOSEVELT TO BALDWIN.
—
* - • .
jHE REITERATES THE CHARGE.
! SAYS HIS POINT WAS MISSED, i
| !
| Again Changes That the Connecticut I
Judge Was l oarsgreislre.
1 The follow ing letter, the third written by J
J Co) Theodore Roosevelt in reply to similar j
I communications from Judge Simeon E.
Baldwin, democratic candidate for goter- I
j nor of Connecticut, in the recent c-ontrove-- !
sy concerning Judge Baldwin’s attitude i
: toward labor was given out at New York
, Friday night:—
; "Judge Simoon E. Baldwin
' “New Haven. Ct.. November 2. 1910.
"Dear sir: I have received your letter
'of October 81. As 1 toid you in my' first
> letter, the sentence of mine to which you
■ refer was not correctly reported, consist- ;
i inc of two sentences which have been put j
: into one. The first, sentence, nameiy, i
, ’The democratic party of Connecticut has j
nominated for governor a man Who. while
judge, occupied the most retrogreasive pos- ,
; itble position on this question of work- I
; men’s compensation,' is substantially cor- ]
, ruct. The next sentence is not given as I |
I said it. nor was it said as port of the first ;
1 sentence: indeed, as you first quoted it. j
| it was nearer light to the extent of having
’ in it the word grind' which was part of
ihe phrnso 1 had used ’by grinding need.’ ;
j o phrase which is totally absent from the
sentence you quote. Rut the sentence is j
I wholly incomplete and inaccurate. The I
| sentence as 1 actually said it, opened with i
I the use of the word ‘progressives’ or 'pro- \
, gressive’ as on antithesis to 'retrogressive' ;
i and contained a statement of your emphat
i ie dissent from the position . which I be- j
j “bribed in somewhat the language quoted,
: but not in the language quoted.
"Rut my criticisms of -you are sfit forth
j .dearly in nty second letter. In your an
, ewer to my letter you entirely miss the
, point of the criticisms. I ant not interest
-1 Ci in your opinion a* a law writer: I am
interested in your opinion as a judge. My
criticism of you as a reactionary was
lascd. not upon wluit you may hare said
ns a taw writer, but upon what you did
as a judge. Your long citations from de
. isions in courts of Connecticut are en
tirely irrelevant and beside the point. I
know, as every layman knows, that it is
not a function of a judge to make new
laws. When there i* no statute enacted
by the lawmaking bodies of the people, the
courts are no doubt hound to follow prece
dent. The question between us’does not
involve any such principle. In the Hoxie
case you had before you a definite statute
enacted by the Congress of the United
Stales declaring the responsibility of the
railroads to their employes for negligence.
Section 5 of that act provides ’that any
contract, rule, regulation nr device what
soever, the purpose or intention of which
shall be to enable any common carrier to
exempt itself front any liability created by
this act shall to that extent be void.’ In
that act Congress declared that railroad
employes should have certain new legal
rights of compensation for injuries occa
sioned by the negligence of the railroad
itself. In placing this clause, which 1
have quoted in the act, Congress was no
doubt influenced by the well-known fact
that in England an employer’s liability act
enacted many years ago was made a dead
letter by employers insisting that their
employes . should sign contracts agreeing
to waive the benefits of the statute and
go without the legal rights which the
statute purposed to give them. Congress
doubtless intended that the beneficial talue .
of This federat -employers’ liability act
should not be destroyed bv any Auch pro-"
cess. In the case decided by you, which
I have criticised. Hoxie versus E. R. road,
you declared that this clause was tineon
sritutionul as being ’in violation of the
fifth amendment of the constitution of the
United States as tending to deprive the
parties to such a contract of liberty and
property without due process of law/ You
say specifically as to railway employes: ’lt
denies them, one and sli. that liberty of
contract which the constitution of the
United States secures to every person with
in its jurisdiction' Your declaration
speaks for itself: in. substance, it amounts
to stating that the employe's right to
give up their rights tinder the law is a
thing to be protected, and not their right
to receive those benefits, that the right to
contract to get killed is ’property' of which
they cannot be deprived: that the right to
get killed comes under the head of ’life,
liberty and property,’ which the fifth
amendment to the United States constitu
tion says cannot be taken away without
due process of law. Congress aimed at
giving the railroad employ.? a substance:
you construed the act as giving him a
shadow by solemnly declaring that to give
him the substance is to take awav hie
property in the shadow.
"I criticised your decision because it is
to me an incredible perversion of the con
stitution of the United States. I criti
cised it because it is not only reactionary
but revolutionary. I criticised it because
I am against socialism! and this decision
and every decision like it makes for social
ism or something worse. Every strained
construction of the Constitution which de
clares the nation is powerless to remedy
industrial conditions which cry for law,
gives aid te those enemies of our United
States system of government who wish to
furnish in its place some new, vague and
foolish substitute.
"The result which you attempted to ae
compiish in this decision would produce.
I am told, a strange anomaly. The United
States supremo court has held that pub
lic policy will not permit a railroad com
pany to make contracts with shippers of
freight: that rhe railroad company shall
not be responsible for its own negligence
in transporting that freight. You say that
the railroad cannot be forbidden to con
tract with its employes that it shall not
be responsible for mailing or killing
them by negligence. I protest that there
is no public policy which makes freight
more important than human lives, and I
criticised your decision because you say
that the constitution will not permit pro
tection of the lives of railway employes
to the same extent to which, without a
statute, freight is in the United States
protected now. My criticism in not as
some of your supporters endeavor to have
the people believe, a criticism of the ju
diciary in general. It is simply and solely
a criticism of you for haring given an ex
traordinary and unprecedented construc
tion to the fifth amendment of the consti
tution of the United States so as to per
vert its purpose and by so doing to nullify
and destroy an essential part of a most
important federal statute,
"The platform on which you are seeking
election far governor in Connecticut prom
ises an employers' liability act. How can
there he an employers' liability act in f'on
nouticut which will be of value to the em
ploye if he can he compelled to contract to
waive the benefits of that set through his
necessities? Your answer to this need not.
be made to me. It is an explanation to
which the sorting people of Connecticut
are entitled. By your decision ns judge
you have declared the powerlessness of the
stale to enact an effective law on a subject
which requires effective law. I regard your
I decision as reactionary in a matter of vital
| concern to all laboring men. I do not think
i it possible for you to explain how. ns gov
ernor, yon would obviate the effect of vour
decision as judge.
"You say you are running upon a plat
form favoring compensation legislation. The
objections made by you in the Hoxfe case
would obviously nullify as to a Terv largo
number of working people atov such com
pensation legislation. If your opinion in
the Hoxie case Is good law. no compensa
tion law for 'those who need it most is
pnzsiMe. became there would still vemsin
for the freedom of contract of the em
ployer to establish the term* and conditions
by, private bargaining as a constitutional
right which you sty cannot be invnded by
legislation, a freedom which would ensnie
him to contract with employes constrained
by their necessities to accept his terms and
cite up the benefits of the statute to gain
employment—a freedom which the just em
ployer does nol ask and which the unjust
employer Should not have. Either the Hoxie
case is good law or a false hope is being
held out by the platform on which you are
a candidate.
! ."You hare further declared in this de-/
cision that the Connecticut courts have
I the jight to refuse to recognize or enforce
a federal statute creating rights, in favor
!of crippled railway employes. On this
i .question I hare nothing to say; I refer
you, howerer, to the decision of the su
; Preme court of lowa, filed only a week
ago in the case of Bradbury against Chi
cago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad
company. This explicitly cites the Hoxie
case and explicitly disagrees with it.
pointing out that even the comity which
is granted by our courts generally to
i court s °f foreign nations has in the Hoxie
case been rMused to the laws of the Unit
ed States in tbe courts of Connecticut.
You would doubtless urge that you had
been bound by precedent in reaching your
conclusion in this regard. lam confining
myself, and have confined myself, in my
criticism of von. to matters which involve
no question ,of judicial precedent, but to
an unprecedented and am extraordinary
construction by yon of the constitution of
! the United States.
“it seems to me dear from the language
you used, m the Hoxie, .case that yon re
sumed the whole compensation theory ns
enacted by ’Congress in the interest:-, of
[ workingmen.as being unjust. .At any rate,
T lo not know what other construeti*-u
I can lie placed upon your denying wotking
j men the right to recovery under the fed
eral law denying this right among other
reasons upon the expressed ground that
the federal statnic ’would 'also compel
1 courts established by a sovereign newer
and maintained at its expense f A ihe
! enforcement of what it deemed justfe.' t->
j enforce what it seemed injustice.' In this
opinion of yours the importance of the
| maintenance and permanence of rules of
practice an.l procedure was enlarged unou.
The property right of the carrier was
i given Us due importance. Bnt not a line
appears -which can he distorted into the
slightest recognition of the right to life and
limb of the employe, into the slightest
recognition, of the grave perils of Inc men
engaged in railroad work: not a word ap
pears in the whole opinion as to the glare
importance of ,he question from the point
of view of tboasuiids of tailroad men an
nually killed and hundreds of thousands
annually injured in their dangerous call
ing. Yours truly.
Theodore Roosevelt.
BALDWIN TO SUE ROOSEVELT
FOR .VEW HAMPSHIRE STATBMEST
Connecticut Candidate Fail* to Secure
Retrnctton From ex-Prestdent of
Charges of Retrogressive Policy.
Judge Simeon E. Baldwin, democratic
nominee for governor, Saturday announced
at New Haven that he will bring suit
against former President Roosevelt on ac
count of certain statements reported to have
been made by Mr Roosevelt in a speech in
New Hampshire relative to Judge Baldwin'*
attitude on labor legislation. Mr Baldwin
said he had asked Col Roosevelt to retract
the statement and that the latter had failed
to do so. The statement referred to was re
ported to have been made in a speech at
Concord, N. H.. by Mr Roosevelt, and was
to the effect that the position taken by
Judge Baldwin on the employers' liability
question was retrogressive. Mr Baldwin
was asked if he had received Mr Roosevelt's
letter of November 2. He said that he bad
received one bearing that date, signed “The
odore Roosevelt,” inclosed in a letter signed
"Frank Harper, secretary." in which tie
latter stated that the letter had been dictat
ed to him by Mr Roosevelt and that he was
signing and sending it on November 4.
Judge Baldwin then said: “Assuming
this letter to be authentic, the matter
stands tljjjs. I have asked President
Roosevelt to retract, a statement which ha
made in a speech in New Hampshire, as
to my holding a certain Tiew of a point
of law. He denies that he made the state
ment, in the form in which it is reported
bv the stenographer, and widely published.
He also, if I understand his letter of No
vember 2. has written me that the state
pient. if made, was true. I shall waste
no more words upon him. but intend, when
I have leisure to attend to it. to bring suit
CS account of his making the statement,
which I have no doubt was..in fact, cor
rectly reported. I should have been bet
ter pleased if he had made a frank re
traction. As no has refused to do this,
I regard it as my duty to bring him to
justice.” ,
FROM THE GOLDEN BOOKS.
Democracy at the Cross-Roads.
[Charles Ferguson: "The Religion of Democ
racy."] •
Democracy stands to-day at the grand
junction and cross-roads of history. The
world antinomy now announces itself ill
uPescapable contradictions. The old order
nnd the self-made man have now at length
to reckon.with the new order and the
man of the modern spirit. We . can post
pone the issue no longer. Democracy now ,
at length, the world over, takes in the
last man. and that is fatal to the old way
of the world. For the .“last man" is a
million, -a hitherto bulked, the estimated
multitude. It was something that the
masses should get themselves enumerated,
and should become a multitude. But that
is nothing to what is, in store,—the count
er* are going to take a hand.
'*'*•"*
This is the very whirlwind of moral evo
lution. The world has never seen any
thing like it. Always heretofore revolu
tions have meant merely some wider
distribution of privilege, more top-hats and
togas, and that ten thousand instead of
ten should mulct the multitude. But now
ai length it has been decided that the
multitude should not be mulcted any more.
* » »
Now the broadest, the basic fact of the
old world which democracy comes to de
stroy. i» that it has got its bread with
injustice. The old world has been, by
the witness of'all the wise, a world of
dreams and inveterate illusions. And the
spring and source of all its lives is theft
* * *
Always one class has preyed upon an
other class. The strong, from the begin
ning, have stolen their bread, and what i*
worse, they have despised their bakers.
They hsve discredited the natural factor
of alimentation, and they have sponged
upon the poor. What hope of wise, de
liberate science, of joyous, perennial art.
and permanent civic glory in a world that '
is ashamed of its stomach, filches its food I
and despise* the souls of laborers? What
hope of religion if you Hout the central
sucrtnient?
« * » c
To be sure, therc has always been a rnanl
who would not lie,—Hn artist, a poet;
there have been true books and pictures,
and perfect deeds, an unbroken tradition
and prophecy of democracy. Nobody ever
wrote, ruled, carved o r painted, arid left
anyone out. without leaving himself out,
and being forgotten. The torch has heen
carried on, but flickering, like a candle in
a cave. And the prophecy is still wait
ing for its fulfilment. Do you wonder that
the fine arts are overfine, or underline,
that their beauty Is wistful; that the lit
eratures lapse and die. nnd the great scrip
tures of tits world, given for joy, sound
in our cars only judgment; that history
swtrls in dizzy, bewildering cycles;' that
science is full of panic and terror, and
philosophy is only n worn surmise. It is
to he written on the sepulchers of the
old cities: They took the bread of tile
poor, and they despised the souls of the
laborers.
Over f 1,000.000 seres of lend are under
tobacco cultivation in the world.