went behind these names, and extracted only that which could be of service in a free commonwealth, whose whole foundation is based upon the equality of

man.

As Grey was the first to apply the principles of electricity to the telegraph; as Edison was the first to apply them to the electric light, and Bell to the telephone, so, America was the first country, since the beginning of civilization, to apply Republican principles to the Government of a Continent and a great people.

Republics had existed before, but they were limited to small Cantons, or cities, and their dependencies.

Contrary to the predictions of the Kings and statements of the Old World, it grew and strengthened until today, and for upward of one hundred years, America has been the watchword of hope and progress, throughout the world.

And just here, before I proceed to trace the growth and progress of the glorious Republic under which we live, and its gradual evolution to higher and better Government, I want to make a remark which I deem pertinent to the occasion, and to the subject.

It seems to have become popular, with a certain class of our citizens, to scoff at the discussion of such subjects as that which I have chosen for my theme this evening; and to ridicule all efforts to rekindle, or keep

alive the fires of patriotism in the hearts of our people.

Such discussions might have been useful in the infancy of our Republic, they say, but today, it is a waste of time and of sentiment.

Young ladies and gentlemen and fellow citizens of South Dakota, don't you believe it! There never has been a time in the past, and it will never come in the future, when it will not be profitable for the American people to drink deeply at the fountain of patriotism, and to ask themselves these questions: "From whence came our Republic? What has been its past? What is its present condition, and what its future mission?''

Should the time ever come, God forbid it, when the citizens of the Republic cease to be interested in these questions, its dissolution will be near at hand.

And tonight, if I can impress upon the minds of the students of this University a deeper respect, or a warmer affection for the Government under which they live; if I can make them feel how grand a thing it is to have been born a citizen of America, I shall feel that my time has not been ill spent.

Standing upon the crest of time, and looking back through the years that have come and gone since the birth of our Government to the Republic in embryo, we can but marvel at the proud position she has attained, among the Nations of the earth.

The remark once made by the father of Napoleon, himself a patriot, briefly tells the story of our success and greatness. "Few Nations," said he, "have attained the blessings of Liberty, because they have had the energy, courage and virtue to deserve them."

Our Forefathers possessed all these essentials in an eminent degree. They not only had the physical energy, but the moral strength and resolution, to plod, uncomplainingly, through more than a century and a half, building up an asylum for the downtrodden of every race and clime. Some there were, it is true, who were, perhaps, too enthusiastic for religious liberty, and became themselves oppressors; but, even in New England, where religious fanaticism reached its highest point, was kept in view that great primal truth, that all men are created equal.

It was with them on board the Mayflower when the solemn compact was signed.

It was in their minds through the struggles of colonization; it pervaded all the thoughts, words, and acts, until at last, it was proclaimed to the world in that incomparable instrument, the Declaration of Independ

ence.

And our Forefathers were men of matchless courage.

They were so imbued with this manly attribute, that death would have been preferable, to being made the

dupes and slaves of a weak and vacillating monarch. They had the valor to lead in the wars on the frontier; to toil and drudge while poisoned arrows were falling thick and fast; to fight shoulder to shoulder with the disciplined soldiers of England against a formidable foe; to resist the churlish insolence of a venerable and powerful empire, and to vindicate their cherished rights, when the ministers of that empire overleaped their bounds, and our Forefathers had the virtue to deserve the blessings of liberty. No people were ever more deserving. They had endured all manner of hardships and privations; had suffered untold misery, and yet, with Christian fortitude, had borne it all without complaint. They persevered through many generations, and this virtue of perseverance, at last, brought them to the goal of their aims and aspirations.

If we but reflect, for a moment, how many times the colonies were brought to the brink of dissolution; how often their fortunes seemed trembling in the balance, we cannot otherwise than have increased admiration for their fearlessness, faith and purity of purpose, displayed alike on all occasions.

From the time our budding Nationality received its first baptism of fire, to the time Washington became the first President of the United States, the original Thirteen States passed through many trying vicissitudes. During this important period in our history, we

lived under, at least, four distinct forms of Government at different stages in our progress, and each change brought a revolution in itself.

First, we looked for authority to King George, and Parliament; then, when Sovereignty passed from Great Britain, our steps were directed by Revolutionary Congress; when Peace was restored, and this Congress had outlived its usefulness, we were marshaled under the Confederation; and when this form of Government proved unstable, and failure inevitable, a Convention was called for the purpose of revising the articles of Confederation.

The illustrious body of men called together for this purpose, after many weeks spent in heated discussions and acrimonious debates, finally, with disinterested patriotism, gave us what they thought would be, and what has proven to be, the best for the public weal-the Constitution. We have now lived under this sublime instrument one hundred years, and prospered far beyond the most sanguine expectations of its framers.

This seems to us but a short span in the history of our Government, "And yet," said that most eminent of American historians shortly before his death, “And yet, this Government by the people, for the people, is the oldest form of Government now existing in the civilized world, this side of the empire of the Czars." Since the inauguration of Washington, Portugal and