--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - William A. Hyde collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 5 number: 9 published: 1902-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'William A. Hyde, "Fourth of July Oration," *Improvement Era* 5, no. 9 (July 1902): 692–699.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0509unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0509unse start_page: 692 end_page: 699 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1902-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0509unse publication_year: 1902 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1902, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Fourth of July Oration NATURE IN THE TRUST BUSINESS. 691 economical; for it is much more expensive to produce a pound of animal flesh than a pound of vegetable substance of equal nutritive value. It may be said here, also, that our gardens do not contain a sufficient variety of vegetables. The ordinary vegetables found in most gardens may be counted on the fingers of one hand, when, as a matter of fact, there are dozens of health-giving, nutritious vegetables that can be grown in this climate. When a greater variety is served on our tables, and more care is given to methods of cooking, vegetarianism will not seem the hardship that it appears at the present to those who are accustomed to the daily steak or chop or roast. If the present meat trust shall succeed in bringing about a better realization among the people of the possibilities of vegeta- bles as human foods, it is to be hoped that it may continue to grow in strength for many years to come. And should it go still further, and show the people that mankind may do without animal flesh al- together, and consequently, that we may get along without the filth and cruelty and barbarism of our slaughter houses and butcher shops, we should bless it as a great benefactor. Meanwhile, let it be remembered that of all trusts yet formed, the meat trust has the most dangerous opponent, for nature, with her great vegetable kingdom whose members feed on pure water, fresh air and sun- shine, is able to feed the world with foods that have not caused the shedding of a drop of blood. FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. BY W. A. HYDE, PRESIDENT OF THE POCATELLO STAKE OF ZION. Peoples and nations live to a great extent in their traditions as well as in their written histories. Their early glories and accomplishments, as handed down from father to son, influence their lives today, as their written history assists in the moulding of their national character. We would not be without these treasures —they are part of our make-up, and one of the sources of our patriotism. I treasure highly, as a choice jewel which is mine to wear personally, that my great- grand-father, with other sturdy patriots in the village of New York, sat round a cauldron of molten lead and made bullets which should hum the^requiem of soldiers of his majesty in the American struggle for freedom — and that later they fired these same bullets in that cause. Some of you may have similar traditions, and some of your forefathers are now lying under the green sod of Eng- land or among the hills of Sweden; but they may have fought under Cromwell or Charles the Twelfth in the same cause for which the American patriots battled —the betterment of the condition of mankind. The Germans delight in the traditions of their fatherland, and these traditions furnish inspiration for the policies of their nation. They will not soon forget the great Frederick nor the Man of Iron, and their youth today partake to some extent of the prevailing characteristics of these great men: sturdy and indomitable,they will stand aided and inspired by their heroic example. The French- man's heart swells with pride at the mention of his country's mar- tial heroes; and the dashing and impetuous character of the French — FO UR TH OF JUL Y OB A TION. 693 is in no small extent due to that masterpiece of audacity — the world's great genius of arms —the wonderful Napoleon. The newer nations look with common interest and common enthusiasm on the struggles on the early battlefields of advancing claim common civilization, and, by right of benefit in their results, pride. And so the whole wide world is linked to the past by mem- ories, by words and deeds of the great and the deserving. Today we meet on our Nation's birthday to awaken old thoughts, and to revive pleasant memories of our young country. It is pleasant to feel patriotic: the heart thrills at the sight of our flag, the symbol of our country, and its greatness is a sen- sation akin to love of parentage and home. True patriotism, then, I think, is of God. It is good to think lovingly of our country's past, and hopefully of its future —to search the gems of character among our great —to draw inspi- ration from their unselfish labors for our good, and to resolve, under that inspiration, to be great ourselves in the things that go to make worthy citizenship of so grand a country. Americans by birth and by adoption, are one today we share — with you, as you accepted by oath, the work of the past, and for today we forget all fatherlands but this, and turn to its treasures of history and tradition for new hope and energy. Philadelphia was the birth-place of liberty; the East was the cradle in which it was rocked; it grew to maturity in sight of the Atlantic Ocean. To what, then, can the West, which now sits under its sheltering mantle, lay claim? How have we aided in our country's greatness? Must we wait some future peril to prove our loyalty, or has the past some evidence of our devotion? What have we conquered in liberty's name? Not alone in the cannon's roar, nor in the smoke of conflict, are civilization's battles fought; but by the plow, by the pen guided by the tired brain, by the skilled mechanic's hand, by the keen- eyed searcher after the secrets — in these fields are of the arts great victories won for you and for me; and, I think today of a — sturdy band of Westerners patriots every one— who dared the wild mountain wilderness, with its perils of beast and savage as our forefathers braved the anger of George the Third, for prin- ciple —who carried our flag not in conquest of men, but of the — 694 IMPROVEMENT ERA. earth, who climbed the rugged sides of Ensign peak and unfurled its folds to the breezes of heaven, and, as Columbus proclaimed the New World a colony to his king, proclaimed this mighty West- ern empire to be always and forever a part of our beloved Union. They pitched their camps in the desert; they fought not man, but the earth. They wrested from its begrudging breast the fruits of husbandry —they won the battle of bread. They established themselves as firmly as the surrounding granite hills. The tide of a western life flowed to them, and through them, and around them, and the feeders and feelers of this western land branched from this main root and support, until these valleys resounded with the song of labor. With wisdom and forbearance, they dealt with their savage foes, and made them friends. Their leader beckoned to the east- ern railway hesitating on the verge of the desert, and said, "Come, and we will bridge the continent," and a span rested on this rock in the waste, and swift commerce, with its advantages, was at our command. Villages, communities, territories, states, grew under our government's fostering care, all following the courageous leadership of these patriots. Are not these victories? yes; won by privation, in poverty, sometimes in blood, often in pain; and the barefooted soldiers at Valley Forge deserve no greater meed of praise. And then, I see another band who shouldered muskets at their country's call, marched, dragged and hewed their way across a continent in the greatest march recorded. Into and through a hostile country — their lives a continued offering to their land to finally sift themselves among their surroundings and to be lost and forgotten, except by a people which ever will hold them sac- red in their hearts. This is our history, these are our traditions. Sometime, a grateful land will accept them as a national property, and place our heroes among the founders and defenders of our republic. Treasuring these events as distinct to ourselves, we have also great pride that the West in common with the East met with decision the new crisis in our history, and brought renown to our arms and fame to our land. The war with Spain was to the honor of a united nation. "No East, no West, no North, no South" in ; FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 695 this issue between despotism and liberty. If there had been sec- tional f eelings,they were forgotten: animosities,however occasioned, were done away, and every city and village sent its man, its com- pany, or its regiment, not so much to avenge a national wrong as to strike a blow for the liberty of our brother man. But not without serious consideration was the call to arms sounded. Our martyr president debated, hesitated and prayed; the thoughtless multitude clamored, while the patient and considerate called for peace. The taunting old world looked on and laughed but, humane and forbearing, we withheld until Prudence stayed her hand, and Mercy and Justice said, strike! and we arose to bat- tle in the might of an unanswerable cause. We all shared alike in the fears, the successes, and the triumphs of that memorable struggle. At every cross-road and congregating place through- out our land, men and women talked of the day's incidents as of their very personal lives and hopes. We almost worshiped for the time and made everlasting heroes of our Deweys, and Hobsons and Schleys; and when the development of the conflict carried us across the world into another sphere, though we watched with appre- hension, it was nevertheless with pride that we saw our statesmen and warriors meet each coming emergency as became so great and humane a people. A nation, infantile in experience, was thrown into our arms by fate; like an untamed tiger it fought, and bit the hand that would have caressed it, and a mission, not often — known before in history, fell to us that of convincing by cruelty that we were kind. Then followed the task of subduing this mis- guided people. Though a hemisphere divided us, we watched our Western boys in the marshes of Luzon, and saw them stand the peers of the East in valor, and their superiors in the hardihood, to face those trying conditions. Their labors, their sacrifices, their blood, ever an increasing argument, if any were needed, that in patriot- ism we yielded the palm to no state throughout our union. The past year has witnessed the consummation of our hopes. Though at great cost, yet have we conquered, but not as mercen- aries for blood-money, but for principle; and the world's history must record a magnificent stride for the betterment of mankind; and the credit is ours — it is yours, and mine, and every man's 696 IMPROVEMENT ERA. whose sympathies and hopes went out in this struggle that civil- ization might win, and enlightenment triumph. Fathers, brothers and sons, are lying under the sod of Cuba and the Philippines, the nation's gift to the world's advancement; and when the first bitterness of weeping is over, mother's and sisters and sweethearts shall know that a nation's sympathy is theirs. A nation's? Yes; it shall sometime be the world's! The old world stands in wonderment b3fore a new diplomacy and statesmanship such as this nation has shown in the birth of the new republic, Cuba, in which man's inherent rights were considered before national advantage. Such public policy shows in its orig- inators a high type of national perfection. And, too, when a na- tion may rise above feelings of revenge, and, though smitten may forgive, it is a morally strong nation far removed from the pet- tishness and low ideals of the common. Fortunate were we that new prece- at this critical time, when the circumstances justified dents, we had men who make them so broad and strong could as to forever settle the question as to our position when great moral issues of international importance shall arise. From an influence narrowed and confined to our own sphere, we have en- tered into the world's threatre of action where we may predict, by the past events, that our efforts shall always be righteous, humane and restraining. We have accepted a great responsibility; the forces of the world look our way, and behold our strength, and see the slum- bering power that may arise at necessity's call. They see the mighty depths of our stream of commerce — the tide of an im- mense internal development —they see us entering new of fields industry, conquering and to conquer — our goods going to every mart, our influence growing on every sea. They see us arising as a powerful athlete, and they ask the question, "What will this young giant do?" Though fortified by hundreds of years of martial training and soldierly traditions, they yet stand in awe of that born soldier who comes from the ranch, the plow, the shop, the store or the counting room, strong in high resolve —instinct in daring, quick in energy, forceful in action, having always breathed the air of liberty —the type of the world's great free- man! Before such as these, aggression must always stand amazed. ! FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 697 So we are no more America's people alone, we belong to the world, to carry out our part in its redemption. On such questions as this, I think there should be no partisan- ship —they are too broad for politics, in the sense in which the word is generally used; they call for that patriotism that shall, if necessary, bend or sweep aside technical objections, and rest the case on deep foundation principles, deeper than constitutions as construed by man, upon the very basis of God's will to the world From a past record of which no American citizen need be ashamed, we must now turn hopefully to the future. It is full of promise to us. There are great; deeds to inspire us, great lives to emulate. Though we face serious and perplexing problems in our industrial life, we will solve them if we are true to ourselves, and I think our destiny will be to multiply in greatness. Prophetic eyes foresaw the downfall of Babylon, of Greece, and of Rome. Their fate was written long before their greatest successes were accomplished. It needs no prophet to read the end of those nations in which there is not the elements of strength and endurance. An immoral, an unvirtuous or tyrannical nation cannot long remain. Weakened by its own corruption, or disin- tegrated by its own dissentions, it must sooner or later be ab- sorbed by the forceful powers of the earth. Let us prophesy good of our country; let us say that soon we will settle these ques- tions of tariff, and trusts, and labor, upon the basis of the best — good to all that we will listen to the clamors of no class,but that Justice, which should ever guide us, shall have control. Let us say that the powers of the central legislative department shall sometime be freed from the influence of gold, and directed solely to the benefit of our people. Let us say that part of our ever accumulating wealth shall be turned to our internal development, that forbidding and arid lands shall smile and blossom, that our children and our children's children may find abiding places! The Jews as a people look with the certainty of the divine word to the re-establishment of their kingdom in power, and it will be done. We here today may trace our history, past and to come, in pages that to us are no less divine; but that the feelings of the most sensitive may not be aroused by a religious controversy, on 698 IMPROVEMENT ERA. a matter supposed to be wholly political, let us admit that this book (Book of Mormon) which purports to be the ancient history of our country is merely the coinage of an imaginative brain, and place it by the side of those other works of fiction that have as- sisted in moulding public sentiment. Then, in this light, let us turn to these pages that have in- fluenced the lives of three hundred thousand Americans, and read these dreams of this boy, and see as he saw our country — old and new. He saw it desolated and scourged, its temples thrown down its cities depopulated — a mighty but despotic nation swept into oblivion by an angered God, whose fiat had gone forth that this land the choice of all the earth, should forever be the abode of liberty. He saw it, the spoil of a conquering and degenerate race, who roamed its boundless plains, threaded its matchless woods walked — silent and wondering amidst its ruins, until Heaven directed, that from across the seas there should come the man who should reveal it to an incredulous world. He saw it awaking from sleep under the feet of the adventurers and pilgrims of the mother countries. He saw a people grow, though trammelled and restrained by the despotism across the waters; he saw them rise, as if inspired by God's decree that this should forever be the land of liberty, and throw off the chains that bound them. He saw a great light come to them —the light of independence, of truth, and of a mighty in- telligence; and now the vision merges into the future with these words still ringing, "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage and captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifest by the things which we have written." This is part of our literature; if divine, as we testify, it is wonderful and inspiring; if fiction, it is still inspiring as possessing the very elements of truth. Who that has not felt within his soul that this land was or- dained to be the abode of liberty? Who that has not seen the All- powerful Hand in the shaping of our republic! Who does not be- lieve our Constitution to be inspired — our Declaration of Inde- pendence to be as the call of some warrior king of Israel for his hosts to battle! Who that has not seen in our example to the