Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1898 — SPEECH BY M'KINLEY. [ARTICLE]

SPEECH BY M'KINLEY.

T HjE PRESIDENT TALKSTO PENNSYLVANIA STUDENTS. Tlie Father of Hia Country a I’attcrn for All Patriots, Both in His Private and I public Life—Peerless as aStitesman, Soldier and Citizen. Example for All Americans. President McKinley addressed a large ami appreciative audience, coin).used of the faculty and students of the' University of IVnnsylvani a-‘ar.d their frieftiis. on tjic afternoon of Fob. till, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Mr. McKinley was introduced by Provost Chase C. Harrison. The utterances of the President were greeted with frequent applause, lie said in part: lu its entirety 'Washington's public life is its familiar hi flic AhiefliM'ti .student us the history of the United States. They are associated in holy and indissoluble bonds. With enduring fame as a great soldier the world recognized his equal accomplishments in tin- paths of statesmanship. As a soldier lie was peerless in the time in which lie lived, and as a statesman his rank is fixed with the most illustrious in any country or in any age. From the hour when Washington declared in his Virginia home he would raise a thousand men and equip them at his own expense to march to the defense of Boston, lie became the masterful spirit of the continental nrhiy and the mightiest single factor in the'continent's struggle for liberty and independence. Apparently without personal ambition, spurning royal honors when they were suggested to him, he -fulfilled a still .more glorious destiny" hs the guiding force of a civilization freer and mightier than the history of man has ever known. Slaveholder himself, he yet hated slavery, and provided in his will for ( Jhe emancipation of his slaves. Not a college graduate, he was always enthusiastically a friend of liberal education. Ho used to on-every suitable occasion impress upon Congress and the country the importance of a high standard of general education and characterized a diffusion of knowledge ns the most essential element of strength in a system of free government. And how reverent always was this great man, how prompt and generous his recognition of the guiding hand of Divine Providence in establishing and controlling the destinies of the colonies and the republic. At the very height of his success and reward as he emerged from the revolution. receiving by unanimous acclaim the plaudits of the people dud commanding the respect and admiration of the civilized world, he did not forget that his first official act as President should be a fervent supplication tojdie Almighty Being who rules the universe. But Washington on this occasion went further and spoke for the people, assuming he but voiced the sentiments of the young nation in thus making faith in Almighty God and reliance upon his favor and care one of tlic strong foundations of the Government then inaugurated. And proceeding, Washington states the reasons for his belief in language so exalted that it, should be graven deep upon the mind of every patriot. I

In an ago of great activity, industrial commerce, strife and perplexing problems we should never abandon the simple faith in Almighty God as recognized in the name of the American people by Washington and the first Congress. Blit if a timely lesson is to be drawn from the opinions of Washington on assuming the office of President, so also much practical benefit can be derived from a present application of portions of his farewell address, a document in which Washington laid down the principles which appeared to him “all important to the permanence of your felicity ns a people.” In that address Washington contends in part (1) for the promotion of the institutions of learning; (2) for the cherishing of the public credit; (3) for the observance of good faith and justice toward nil nations. A hundred years ago free schools were very little known in the United States. There were excellent schools for. the well-to-do, and charitable institutions far the instruction of boys and girls without means; but a free public school, open alike to the children of rich and poor, supported by the State, awaited creation and development. The seed planted by the fathers soon bore fruit, llich as are the collegiate endowments of the old world, none of them excel in munificence the gifts made to educational institutions by the people of the United States, and by their government in conformity with the "influence which sound learning has on religion and manners, on government, liberty and laws.” I have' had peculiar satisfaction in the fact that Washington in those early days, when engrossed with mighty governmental problems, dhr not forget his contributions for the education of the poor anil left in his will a becpiest to be dedicated to free public instruction. Nothing better tells the value lie placed upon knowledge ns essential to the highest and best citizenship. “Cherish the public credit.” flow much of both reflection and instruction are combined in this simple admonition of the father of his country. The United States emerged from the bitter and prolonged struggle of the revolutionary war exhausted financially, with a hundred existhig perplexities and difficulties which remained to be solved before the liuaneial credit of the new nation could bo established at home and demonstrated abroad. Hut Washington knew lmw to gather around him and pine? in positions of greatest trust able financiers and economists whose ,names the country still vcnorutoH and whose great work it still enjoys. Hamilton, Morris, Gallatin and others were successful in establishing the treasury and inaugurating the financial operations of this Government upon principles .which recognized that the most enduring basis of national credit was national honor, and that w hatever other assets we might have or netpiire that was indispensable first, last and all the time, if we .would cherish th'c public credit. We have been f..|ly rewarded nil along ottr history by adhering to the principles of Washington in keeping public faith. Before half the century passed we had paid off our national debt and had a balance'll^, thp treasury. Another debt, the greatest in our history, was incurred in the civil war for the preservation of the Union. But this did not exceed tlic resources or discourage the intentions of the American people. There were those who suggested repudiation. but the people ilcpudiated them and went on unchecked, discharging the obligations of the i Government. in coin of hon•r. From the day oifr (lag was unfurled

to the present hour no stain of a just obligation violated has yet tarnished the American name. This must and will be true in the future as it has been in the past. Some part of the column may waver and wander away from the standard, but there will-ever rally around it a mighty majority to preserve it stainless and in honor; To-day, nearly a century from \\ ashing, ton's death, we turn reverently to the study - of the lending principles of that (comprehensive chart for tije guidance of the people. It was his unflinching, immovable devotion to these perceptions of duty which more than anything else made him what lie was and contributed so directly to make 11s what we are. Following the precepts of Washington we cannot err. The wise lessons in government which lie left us it would be profitable to heed. He seems to have grasped all the possible conditions,and pointed the way to safely meet them. He established danger signals all along the pathway oi’ the nation’s march. We have every incentive to cherish the memory and teachings of Wasliingnm.-" — —: — l