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feat and glory in the preservation of the nation which they once sought to dismember. No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends. But let me quote again:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Aye, let us here dedicate ourselves anew to this unfinished work which requires of each generation constant sacrifice and unceasing care. Pericles, in speaking of those who fell at Salamis, explained the loyalty of his countrymen when he said:

It was for such a country, then, that these men, nobly resolving not to have it taken from them, fell fighting and every one of their sur vivors may well be willing to suffer in its behalf.

The strength of a nation does not lie in forts, nor in navies, nor yet in great standing armies, but in happy and contented citizens, who are ever ready to protect for themselves and to preserve for posterity the blessings which they enjoy. It is for us of this generation to so perform the duties of citizenship that a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

As a conclusion for this sketch, I have asked the publishers to give a picture of our library, the place where Mr. Bryan spends most of his time when at home and where, as he has often said, his happiest hours are passed. Our collection of books is more complete along the lines of economic subjects and in the works and lives of public men. The orations of Demosthenes and the writings of Jefferson afford him the greatest pleasure.

To give an estimate of his character or of the mental endowments which he may possess, would be beyond the scope of this article. I may be justified, however, in saying that his life has been one of earnest purpose, with that sort of genius which has been called "a capacity for hard work."'

SPEECHES AND INTERVIEWS OF HON. W. J. BRYAN ON IMPERIALISM.

INTERVENTION IN CUBA.

"Yes, the time for intervention has arrived. Humanity demands that we shall act. Cuba lies within sight of our shores and the sufferings of her people cannot be ignored unless we, as a nation, have become so engrossed in money making as to be indifferent. to distress.

"Intervention may be accompanied by danger and expense, but existence cannot be separated from responsibility and responsibility sometimes leads a nation, as well as an individual, into danger. A neighbor must sometimes incur danger for a neighbor, and a friend for a friend.

"War is a terrible thing and cannot be defended except as a means to an end, and yet it is sometimes the only means by which a necessary end can be secured. The state punishes its own citizens by imprisonment and even death when counsel and persuasion fail. War is the final arbiter between nations when reason and diplomacy are of no avail.

"Spain might not resist intervention; it is to be hoped that she would recognize the right of the United States to act, and immediately withdraw from Cuba, but whether she resents intervention or not, the United States must perform a plain duty.

"Our own interests justify intervention. Spain has governed Cuba so badly as to excite continuous re

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volt, and, after exciting revolt, has shown herself powerless to restore order and enforce law upon the island.

"Spanish rule in Cuba has disturbed the United States, interfered with business, increased the expense of guarding our shores and drawn upon the resources of our people to care for those made destitute by war. We have as much right to demand the cessation of war in the interest of the United States as Spain has to demand its continuance for her benefit.

"If the question is to be settled upon the basis of human rights, surely our people have waited long enough; if, on the other hand, pecuniary interests are to be considered, then it must be remembered that the loss suffered by the United States and Cuba together far exceeds any gain which Spain could reasonably expect to secure even if she had a hope of recovering Cuba by force of arms.

"Spain has only herself to blame for the condition of affairs in Cuba. If she denies to her former subjects the rights of war and calls the Cuban army a mob, let her remember the words of Victor Hugo: 'The mob is the human race in misery.' No nation can afford to make its people miserable.

"If the Cubans prefer death to Spanish rule it must be because Spanish rule has robbed life of joy and hope. If a nation sows the wind it must reap the whirlwind."

FIRST SPEECH AGAINST IMPERIALISM.

"Nebraska is ready to do her part in time of war as well as in time of peace. Her citizens were among the first to give expression to their sympathy with the Cuban patriots, and her representatives in the

Senate and House took a prominent part in the advocacy of armed intervention by the United States.

"When the President issued a call for volunteers Nebraska's quota was promptly furnished and she is prepared to respond to the second and subsequent calls.

"Nebraska's attitude upon the subject does not, however, indicate that the state is inhabited by a contentious or warlike people; it simply means that our people understand both the rights conferred, and the obligations imposed, by proximity to Cuba. Understanding these rights and obligations, they do not shrink from any consequences which may follow the performance of a national duty.

"War is harsh; it is attended by hardship and suffering; it means a vast expenditure of men and money. We may well pray for the coming of the day, promised in Holy Writ, when the swords shall be beaten into plowshares and the spears into pruning hooks; but universal peace cannot come until Justice is enthroned throughout the world. Jehovah deals with nations as He deals with men, and for both decrees that the wages of sin is death. Until the right has triumphed in every land and love reigns in every heart government must, as a last resort, appeal to force. As long as the oppressor is deaf to the voice of reason, so long must the citizen accustom his shoulder to the musket and his hand to the saber.

"Our nation exhausted diplomacy in its efforts to secure a peaceable solution of the Cuban question, and only took up arms when it was compelled to choose between war and servile acquiescence in cruelties which would have been a disgrace to barbarism.

"History will vindicate the position taken by the United States in the war with Spain. In saying this. I assume that the principles which were invoked in

the inauguration of the war will be observed in its prosecution and conclusion. If, however, a contest undertaken for the sake of humanity degenerates into a war of conquest, we shall find it difficult to meet the charge of having added hypocrisy to greed. Is our national character so weak that we cannot withstand the temptation to appropriate the first piece of land that comes within our reach?

"To inflict upon the enemy all possible harm is legitimate warfare, but shall we contemplate a scheme. for the colonization of the Orient merely because our ships won a remarkable victory in the harbor of Manila?

"Our guns destroyed a Spanish fleet, but can they destroy that self-evident truth, that governments derive their just powers, not from superior force, but from the consent of the governed?

"Shall we abandon a just resistance to European encroachment upon the Western hemisphere, in order to mingle in the controversies of Europe and Asia?

"Nebraska, standing midway between the oceans, will contribute her full share toward the protection of our sea coast; her sons will support the flag at home and abroad, wherever the honor and the interests of the nation may require. Nebraska will hold up the hands of the government while the battle rages, and when the war clouds roll away her voice will be heard pleading for the maintenance of those ideas which inspired the founders of our government and gave the nation its proud eminence among the nations of the earth.

"If others turn to thoughts of aggrandizement and yield allegiance to those who clothe land-covetousness in the attractive garb of 'national destiny' the people of Nebraska will, if I mistake not their sentiments, plant themselves upon the disclaimer entered by Con