The officer was a patriot when he gave his ability to his country and risked his name and fame upon the fortunes of war; the private soldier was a patriot when he took his place in the ranks and offered his body as a bulwark to protect the flag; the wife was a patriot when she bade her husband farewell and gathered about her the little brood over which she must exercise both a mother's and a father's care; and, if there can be degrees in patriotism, the mother stood first among the patriots when she gave to the nation her sons, the divinely appointed support of her declining years, and as she brushed the tears away thanked God that he had given her the strength to rear strong and courageous sons for the battlefield.

To us who were born too late to prove upon the battlefield our courage and our loyalty it is gratifying to know that opportunity will not be wanting to show our love of country. In a nations like ours, where the Government is founded upon the principle of equality and derives its just powers from the consent of the governed; in a land like ours, I say, where every citizen is a sovereign and where no one cares to wear a crown, every year presents a battlefield and every day brings forth occasion for the display of patriotism.

us.

And on this memorial day we shall fall short of our duty if we content ourselves with praising the dead or complimenting the living and fail to make preparations for those responsibilities which present times and present conditions impose upon We can find instruction in that incomparable address delivered by Abraham Lincoln on the battlefield of Gettysburg. It should be read as a part of the exercises of this day on each returning year as the Declaration of Independence is read on the Fourth of July. Let me quote from it, for its truths, like all truths, are applicable in all times and climes:

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it cannot forget what they did here. It it for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

"The Unfinished Work." Yes, every generation leaves to its successor an unfinished work. The work of society, the work of human progress, the work of civilization is never completed. We build upon the foundation which we find already laid and those who follow us take up the work where we leave off. Those who fought and fell thirty years ago did nobly advance the work in their day, for they led the nation up to higher grounds. Theirs was the greatest triumph in all history. Other armies have been inspired by love of conquest or have fought to repel a foreign enemy, but our armies held within the Union brethren who now rejoice at their own de

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

83

:|:|:

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