enforced idleness and crowded poor-houses, despite
the rise of colossal fortune and scarcity of money
among the working classes, despite the rapid change
in public sentiment the alien stream continues to
swell.
Long established laws have a charm. It is a
weakness to cling to the old. Still reforms must
come. They steal upon us as the morning light
a quiet, health-giving, resistless presence. Civiliza-
tion follows no beaten path. The course society
should take can never be definitely mapped out.
Political Economy is not an exact science. As the
individual advances in thought, so does society.
Fixed laws cannot meet the demands of an unfixed
people. Certain liberties may bring harmony to
one generation, but cause confusion and war in the
next. No matter what our past policy has been
toward immigration; our government should not
hesitate to alter that policy if the welfare of society
demands a change. The law, good in a new and
sparsely settled country, becomes bad when the
struggle of life is intense and when tramps and
paupers multiply.
In history's drama we see two forces battling;
one for more liberty, the other for more law. These
SOUTH DAKOTA 39
factions have played their parts in leading society
on and up. Yet with all our freedom and our learn-
ing the heritage of centuries we are unable to
reach the most practical boundary between freedom
and restraint. But we approach it as legislation
is shaped to fit the changing moulds of progressive
society.
Count the great nations ruling in other ages.
Where are they now?
"Gone, glimmering through the dream of things that were,
A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour."
To conquer the world was their ambition,
physical and moral neglect their error. The strength
and dignity of a nation consists not in its acres, gold,
or cities, but in a united and homogeneous people.
It is not enough for a nation to frame a model
government; it should maintain the mental and
physical qualities of its people, that they may be
true to that model.
The mingling of peoples differing in environ-
ment and in habits brings disastrous results.
Ancient history proves this many times; I cite but
a single case. From the time Alexander captured
the key of the Orient at Arbela, Greece declined.
True, she Hellenized Asia; but a re-action in morals
and manners came. " 'Twas Greece, but living
Greece no more." Patriotism, oratory, and intellect
bloomed in the "age of Pericles." By the influence
of the Oriental mind, weakened under the yoke of
despotism, and blinded by the darkness of centuries,
they were crushed and poisoned. But why go back
so far in history? The effect of mingling different
bloods is seen today in our own land. The red man
has united with the white only to produce a de-
generate offspring; while the Mexicans, represent-
ing the amalgamation of widely separated families,
now feed on revolution and chaos, though their
40 WINNING ORATIONS
land is one of richness and beauty, such as only a
Prescott can describe. These people have a strong
hold in south-western United States. They impede
progress. They are un-American. Education must
soon lead them to appreciate American citizenship,
or force expel them. The proclamation declaring
freedom to the Negro bound our nation to provide
that race with a home by itself. Nature teaches
that amalgamation of races, or widely separated
families, is often a step toward national decay.
During the last twenty years two potent social
factors, hidden in the rapid rush of progress, have
quietly arrayed themselves for battle, and now ap-
pear under the names of Capital and Labor. Agi-
tation is concentrating their* forces. Time only
widens the gap of hatred. Under these threatening
circumstances an average of one thousand foreigners
is daily added to Labor's army. Ignoring the en-
croachments of Capital and the demands of Labor,
ignoring the efforts put forth by philanthropists
and statesmen to harmonize all social factors, they
throw themselves into the already crowded indus-
tries, lower wages, then lead an excited mob in a
lawless demand for a wage-increase. Who felt not
the shock of the bursting bomb at the Chicago
Hay Market! What face can hide the blush of
shame as the honest wage-workers of Pennsylvania's
mines are displaced by Poles and Hungarians? Mr.
Gladstone's argument in favor of home rule is that
the Irish vote blocks legislation. So, in this country,
legislation in behalf of Labor is prevented by the
"foreign vote" so largely influenced by party bosses
and whisky dictation. Look at Chicago! Look at
New York! It is here that the alien controls the
ballot-box; it is here that municipal government is
most corrupt.
SOUTH DAKOTA 41
Twenty years ago a city in Pennsylvania con-
tained a population of thirty-five thousand. Happy
Americans they were, toiling all day in the mine
and at evening gathering round a fire-place of their
own. The city was filled with homes of love and
contentment. Children romped on the lawns and
voiced sweet music in song and play. No thought
of "strikes" ruffled the simple life or disturbed the
quiet work of the miner. Labor, child of God and
gift to man, blessed all. Enter that city today.
You see but a remnant of that happy people.
Italians and Hungarians fill their places. True
happiness is unknown to these. Slavish drudgery is
their lot. The day is worn away for a scanty pit-
tance; and at night they crowd together, thirty or
forty in a single shack. Children are pushed into
the streets to tramp and steal, to beg and steal,
as children before them have done for centuries in
another land. In such a place Freedom's voice is
hushed. The Stars and Stripes fade away.
This nation has a lofty mission to perform; it
is destined to carry moral reforms not to individuals
alone, but to nations. With God in its constitu-
tion and freedom its ensign, it is bound to turn the
currents of mercy and good will where they are
most needed to flow. How can this noble work be
accomplished? Shall we make our land a home for
the oppressed of other nations, regardless of inter-
nal conditions? Democracy means co-operation; the
requisites are harmony and homogeneousness.
Without these, great moral reforms cannot be
carried beyond our borders, because all moral forces
must constantly work at home. Example is the
greatest teacher. If our duty to other nations is
reform, let us hold up before them a unified people;
thus saying, "Go thou and do likewise." The in-
discriminate absorption of society from the over-
42 WINNING ORATIONS
burdened nations of Europe, not only deteriorates
our own people, but prevents these other nations
from rectifying social wrongs. "Let England break
up her parks and game-preserves and give Ireland
a good land bill. Let Russia either exterminate
or pacify her revolutionists. Let Prussia and Italy
and Austria disband the armies which starve one
part of their population by keeping the other part
in enforced idleness. Let the great powers form
alliances in behalf of their people instead of their
crowns; instead of emigrating, these oppressed
multitudes should stay and hammer the doors of
palaces and gates of hedged forests and untilled
parks, and cast their burdens of military despotism
and taxation and groaning want upon the floors of
Parliament and Reichstag, demanding relief, and
taking it if it be not granted."
"Failure" is stamped on the present immigration
law. To enforce it is impractical. How many men
are necessary to guard our border line of thirteen
thousand miles? What statute provides for the
expulsion of the alien when once he has crossed our
threshold? The provisions of the law are such as
to admit the unconvicted anarchist and assassin, but
drive back across the sea the family which can show
no visible means of support. They admit thieves
and murderers having booty to show efficiency in
their devilish trades but debar the wage-worker
merely because he has no money.
In the name of God! Is character put at
naught? Can American manhood be bought with
gold?
In brief, the immigrant should bring from his
home a certificate of character showing the nature
of his past occupation and an upright life before
the law. This should be signed by a local official,
then endorsed by an American consul at the port of
SOUTH DAKOTA 43
departure, and at last presented to the American
commissioners at the port of landing. With such
a provision the cost of American citizenship would
not be wealth but character.
On a pile of granite in New York harbor is
the Goddess of Liberty. High above her head she
holds a torch to welcome all. Life breathes in the
majestic image. Beauty plays upon her countenance
and the wisdom of Minerva beams from her eye. She
is the incarnation of all that is good and great.
See! her arm rises; her hand extends toward the
tenement-house districts of New York City, where
every trace of American manners is eliminated by
clannish foreigners. Now her body turns. She
points beyond the steeples and towers of Brooklyn
to the poorly paid factory workers of New England.
Now she stretches her hand toward that little city
once filled with happy homes, but today the center
of misery. From east to west, from ocean to ocean,
the arch of blue is hung with golden letters. She
reads: "To thee, Nation, it is given to bring light
to the world." A sound of dashing waves is heard.
She looks. A ship glides into the harbor laden with
people of another clime. Her head turns. Her eyes
seek the Capitol at Washington. She speaks: "In
behalf of the American people filter the stream of
immigration."
SIXTH CONTEST (1893)
THE SPIRIT OF ROMANCE
(T. A. STUBBINS, YANKTON COLLEGE)
There is nothing in the way of man's equip-
ment for the battle of life that so drives him to the
goal of success as that power which "bodies forth
the form of things unknown." It is found in all
ages; it is present in every heart. The intellect
may grasp a scepter; the determined will may hold
that scepter relentlessly over the head of a turbu-
lent people; but it is the imagination that stands
behind them both and scourges them on to their
deeds of daring. The mind and heart may change
as the chameleon, but the spirit of romance present
in every breast, is as stable as the life of which
it is a part and endures as long as that life endures.
Think lightly of it if we will, question its living
reality and its vital importance yet it does exist
and exists to inspire the soul. It leads us on, on
and on, but at last crowns our aspirations with
success; not the chimerical success that our fancy
painted, but the prosperity that has palpability,
even to this prosaic world. It brings before the
mind magnified pictures of things which have as
yet neither shape, nor existence, but which embody
the soul's highest desires. Through it we see only
the golden future spread before us; in it we feel
our brightest hopes and most daring ambitions
realized. That mystic spirit may build tottering
castles, but experience never levels them lower than
their foundations.
When Jacob in olden times arose, forsaking his
father, mother and home, seeking the land of Pan-
dan-aram, a spirit went with him whispering tales
46 WINNING ORATIONS
of success. -He then believed that his possessions
should spread to the west and to the east, to the
north and to the south. He pillowed his head upon
stones; watered the sheep for Rachel, served many
years and "it seemed but a few days." Did not a
spirit shall we say of romance lead him on?
King Richard in his arrogant, passionate and
yet human pride, with his dark and mysterious
career, is led to all his success by a tale of romance.
William Wallace, as he sees the Highland clans
deploy upon the plains of Cambus Kenneth, never
thinks of Scotland as languishing in chains. He
sees her rather rushing through the din and roar
of battle with myrtle thrown from her brow and
the wreath of victory in her hand. Hannibal draws
his sword, and as it flashes in the air sees reflected
a vison of glory, power and success.
Today it is said that the spirit of romance is
dead that this is the age of facts and figures; of
railroads and realities; of traffic, trade, and bank
accounts. No longer does the youth go forth as a
knight errant to do battle for "honor and his lady
love;" no young Sir Launfal leaves has castle now
to find the Holy Grail; and Europe would laugh to
scorn a visionary Hermit Peter, who sought to lead
a holy crusade against the modern Saracen. The
lands have all been discovered; the seas have all
been swept; the forests have all been pierced; the
witches have all been burned; the nymphs, the
Dryads, the mermaids have all been routed from
their haunts in forest and ocean, and find no longer
a place to rule but in the fanciful retreats of Baby-
land.
But is that life? Are we all practical?
In reality we never buckle on armor and ride
forth hunting those marvels that soar beyond fact
and real life and sometimes possibility. But are
SOUTH DAKOTA 47
we not too ready to laugh at the poet and acquiesce
with the cynic? Have they indeed all gone those
fancies that built the Pyramids, chiseled the Sphynx
and peopled Greece with marble forms of beauty?
Does Jacob no longer see in his dreams the ladder
leading up to heaven; nor Joan of Arc hear a
voice whispering in her ear that she must lead the
army of France to battle?
No, they are not gone those visions. When
men cease to dream, they cease to hope; when hope
is gone, they die. It is said that upon the vast
plains of North America the shepherd lads seldom
live to see their hair grow white with years. In
the morning and at night, in summer and in winter
they sweep their eyes about upon one boundless,
measureless, changeless blank. The great plains
from every direction seem to slope downward to
the hapless shepherd's feet, until to his desolate
fancy he stands in a mammoth pit. He looks to
the west and there is no change; he appeals to the
east and there is no promise of hope. No change,
no change in sight. The remorseless plain presses
in upon him; it suffocates, it crushes him. In youth
he is haggard; in manhood his temples have
whitened; in maturity he is a maniac.
Thus must it be in life to those whom the spirit
of romance has forsaken. How few they are, the
river sedges and morgues disclose. Merely a hand-
ful from the thousands are overwhelmed, as is the
shepherd boy, by life's vast treeless plain. The
rest bear in their very souls the magic safeguard
of romance, and even while their ears are arrested
by the suicide's sullen plunge into the river of
death, their eyes are fixed eagerly upon their own
enchanting "Castles in Spain."
The visions above all things that come to the
beggar, place him on a more equal footing with the
48 WINNING ORATIONS
millionaire. He wanders along the street, the cold
rain falls upon him as he shivers in his scanty
raiment. The fitful glare of the street lamps
reveals his bent and weary form. He is spattered
with the mud from the street; but he looks up with
hope in his eye. What does he see? Around the
corner warmth, prosperity and success seem to
beckon him on. They are just ahead.
The millionaire in his carriage looks out, sees
the beggar, pities him; then leans back upon the
cushions, closes his eyes, and unto him a vision
comes. He sees political fame, greater riches,
honor, and success just ahead.
An Oriental reclines, inhaling the sweet fumes
of opium; before him is a summer evening in all
its beauty. The blood red sun is setting in a bank
of pink haze which rests upon the horizon, while
the sea, undisturbed by a single ripple, shines like
a mirror of burnished gold; dark sails and hulls
of ships, white patches of sea birds floating on the
outgoing tide, and cliffs rising precipitously be-
hind, are reflected. A range of rugged mountains
is lost among the purple clouds. The murmur of
some wee streamlet tumbling to the sea is borne
to his ear. All is clad in silver and gold as he
dreams, dreams, dreams of success just ahead.
Oh thou spirit, how closely our lives are inter-
woven by thine invisible forces!
But this impalpable spirit of romance does more
than incite us to enterprise. It beautifies the com-
monplace of life. Childhood never sees the com-
monplace. To it the darkness is more than dark-
ness; it is a black horror that holds every form of
evil. To it the sunlight is more than sunlight; it
is alive and the stars are living beings. Words-
worth tells us that every creature brings from an-
SOUTH DAKOTA 49
other world the memory of a glory that is left
behind, and that in the journey of life every young
man
"Is by the vision splendid
Upon his way attended ;
At length the man perceives it die away.
And fade into the light of common day."
Ah, yes; but that "common day" never quite
comes. There is always something of the child in
us. Look into the hearts of the very aged or very
poor; in the most desolate land or the most popu-
lous, and there will always be found this element
of youth.
Far out in the west, where the plains stretch
away in monotonous expanse, and the parched vege-
tation does not even undulate in the breeze, a new
town springs into existence. The whistle of the
locomotive does not yet disturb its silence. No
crowds hurry through its streets. A few squalid
buildings, a few forlorn beasts, silence, desolation;
"stale, flat, unprofitable" existence that is all.
Is it all? A man stands upon the corner of
a future street. He is one in whose heart burns
the spirit of romance. A few hundred years ago
he would have been a knight and fought in the
crusade. Later, he might have stood with Luther
and helped shake the Vatican. Still later his hands
would have been the first to break the chains of
human slavery. Now as he looks his eye kindles.
The wretched village acquires dignity in his sight.
Its meanest sounds are as sweet as the notes of a
deep-toned bell; its huts become mansions; its
streets the fairest boulevards; and there, with
marble steps leading to its brown-stone front,
stands his home. Toil is made easy, privations
are forgotten, pain does not hurt; for he walks in
the light that reflects from a glory just ahead.
50 WINNING ORATIONS
Thus the spirit of romance given by God to
Adam for an eternal legacy to mankind has come
through the ages, overthrowing despots, setting up
kingdoms, and next to the Christian faith giving
solace to weary souls and making bright many a
life.
The world moves on in its progress. Schools,
with apparatus adapted for every kind of scientific
work, flourish; railroads intersect each other at
almost every milepost; canals wind their way
through hills and mountains; steamships plow the
waves with incredible swiftness; telescopes bring
fiery bodies through millions of miles of space and
we view them; telephones carry the voice from
ocean to ocean, and the telegraph sends a message
with the speed of the sun's rays; Eiffel towers
penetrate the clouds, and great buildings cover acres
of ground; rivers are turned from their channels,
and the whole face of the earth undergoes mighty
changes but do we? No!
"We are such stuff
As dreams are made of, and cur little life
Is rounded with a sleep."
Only when thought born of spirit shall become
fact, and all facts thought, shall we cease to look
for greater things just ahead.
SEVENTH CONTEST (1894)
THE PRESERVATIVE ELEMENT IN AMERICAN
SOCIETY
(RIQHARD F. LOCKE, SIOUX FALLS COLLEGE)
Political optimism is said to be one of the
vices of the American people. A French writer has
recently declared that there exists in this country
"a popular belief that God takes care of children,
fools, and the United States." During the last
thirty years Americans have cherished an almost
unquestioning faith in the wisdom and soundness of
their institutions. With the abolition of slavery,
which had so long disturbed the peace and threatened
the security of the nation, it was believed that the
only serious danger had been safely passed; and that
the union, having stood the test of the mightiest
civil conflict of all history, was thenceforth secure.
The years since then have strengthened this
belief. No danger has arisen serious enough to
cause alarm. While the nations of Europe have
been clouded with threatenings of conflict, our skies
have been serene. In the midst of party strife, in
commercial panics, in the jarring of social questions,
one thought has found lodgment in every patriotic
mind the thought that we as a nation are great
and free.
The real progress of the world has been along
two lines the development of the individual, and
the organization of society. Individualism is the
power which produces the social units. It secures
freedom of thought, freedom of action. Organiza-
tion binds these units into the social whole. One
is the progressive, the other the conservative force.
One gives motion, the other permanence. Upon
52 WINNING ORATIONS
the proper balance of these two forces the worth
and stability of every social system must depend.
Individualism without organization is savagery. Or-
ganization without individualism is tyranny. The
American Indian is an example of the former.
China, standing motionless for four thousand years
with her back to the future, is an example of the
latter.
In the full recognition of individual rights we
have reached in this country the ultimate goal of
progress. A step beyond is anarchy. We are free.
This has made us great. The courage and energy
which have united in our material development have
no parallel in history. The right to acquire and
possess his own has made every man a worker. It
has awakened the latent energies of every mind,
for it has set a goal of promise before every life.
Invention, the child of freedom, has unlocked the
treasure house of nature and has utilized its secrets
for the blessing of mankind. This country possesses
to an unmatched degree the opportunity and the
power to grow. In the extent and splendor of its
material achievements it has already distanced com-
petition. It is not, however, what a nation gains,
but what it keeps, that insures its well being. The
story of the condemned Sisyphus, toiling painfully
with his burden almost to the hill top only to let it
fall, has stood too long as the mournful type of
baffled human hopes.
It has been believed that we were coming to the
golden age of the world; that as the burdens of toil
were shifted more and more to "the willing shoul-
ders of Nature" there would be leisure for every
man. During the last generation the productive
power of a day's work has been doubled. But, has
it brought rest to anyone? Rather, is not the
struggle of American life growing more intense! Is
SOUTH DAKOTA 53
not the strain upon our social system constantly
increasing? During the last decade the masses of
our people have been better housed and clothed and
fed than ever before. With the application of ma-
chinery the efficiency of labor rises. It yields a
constantly enlarged return. But in spite of this
we see a rapidly growing unrest and discontent.
The truth is that the standards of living have
changed. Things which were luxuries yesterday
are necessities of life today. A new law of pro-
gress is unfolding to our view. It is this that as
civilization advances the wants of men multiply and
tend always to outstrip the power to satisfy them.
It will yet be plain to every mind, that whirling
spindles, flying looms, and swiftly rolling wheels
are all in vain to cool the fever of industrial strife.
We have been accustomed to look behind us for
the crises of our government. But there is reason
for believing that the time for the real testing of
American institutions has not yet come. The su-
preme question is this can this country develop a
conservative energy proportionate to its progressive
power? It is not unlikely that we may yet be com-
pelled to contend for life against conditions which
shall be but the logical outcome of the things in
which we have gloried most.
What are the chief sources of our pride? Are
they not our freedom, and our greatness? Aye, we
are free! The serfdom of the past is gone! The
struggle has been long and hard. Through weary
centuries of conflict, groping blindly in the fogs
of ignorance and doubt and error, breaking down the
barriers of hate and scorn which hedged his way,
pushing with deathless courage up the steep and
rugged pathway, he has come, and stands today
uncrowned, but regal in his rights the common