The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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I I 1 , , 1 1 i i 1 x 1 I 1 4 a yn E1 I if l w 1 4 I 5 4 ,'!.. .. ..a. ,.,,,,..,,,,,, r 148 triumph it is not at liberty to disregard the sanctity of the Sabbath and rob the people of their day of rest, or free by speculative schemes to ex- ploit the mass for the benefit of the few, or by means which entail moral degradation and promote lawlessness and the excesses of working men's unions to create a condition of things as danger- ous to wealth as to virtue. fAppZause.D It is well at 'such a time as this to recall the Revolution era. The contrast between thosedays and our own is impressive. There is no reason to assume that refinement, culture, and .splendor are fatal to the vigor and perpetuity of freedom. In the course of human affairs changes in many re- spects are unavoidable. Customs, fashions, modes of administration may change, and liberty sur- vive and flourish. For she is no hot-house plant, no weak exotic ready to perish when the seasons blow hot or cold. 'The eternal years of God are hers. Bent by the blast she may be, scorched by the heat of excessive prosperity-but when all the little actors of the hour have passed on she will renew her youth. Still, we should remember that her perpetuity is grounded in the ethical. For as I study the past I am convinced that there is no liberty without justice and no real justice apart from liberty. I-Iow can justice be expected at thebar of tyranny, and how can liberty endure if the Sceptre of justicefails to enforce equal law and equal right? Here justice has reared its de- fences around liberty. Barriers sufficiently strong to guard her against destructive inroads have been reared by constitutional law, We need 'no new 80Ve1'11II1ent and hardly any new safeguards. We have enough, if they are only respected, and if,

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147+ , and thelf 10st Belgium in 1830, for the operation of the Dutch tariff Was- onerous to the Belgians. The .Powers declined to interfere, for they thought it Wiser that the new State should be recognized than that 'War should devastate the land. ' ffhus in our day the intensity of the business spirit may carry us too far, and in our anxiety to develop national riches and attain to unrivalled commercial supremacy may lead us to adopt methods and policies which ultimately may react against us and may impair our prosperity at home and our prestige abroad. For the sake of any conceivable' gain to take advantage of our own citizens or to ignore the rights of the Weakest friendly nation, is at once indefensible and peril- ous. Adam Smith inquires Whether a trading government is not the Worst of all? I am not sure that it is, and I am sure that it is 'not as bad as military or even ecclesiastical rule. But, nevertheless, it needs to be constantly Watched and preserved from excesses. Trade is jealous of its sovereignty, is sensitive to criticism, and in the consciousness of its value to society is in danger of ignoring' all other values. When manhood protests against this recurring indifference, it is often criticised as stupid and as blind to the importance of material prosperity. But the criticism misses the point of the protest. It is not a protest against money honestly accu- mulated, or against industry reasonably and equitably fostered by the state, or against com- merce honorably extended. It is only an appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober, a remon-- strance that the trade-spirit is not superior to all laws human and divine-and that to insure its

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149 . when they are threatened, they are only at once maintained. Eternal vigilance is as needful HOW as in the past. Our chief peril is undue confidence and neglectfulness. Rudyard Kipling draws a picture of this kind. He portrays the people of Holland as failing to care for and strengthen the dykes that keep out the sea. They go on in this folly until a storm arises, and the galloping breakers stride and dash through the decaying embankments. Devasta- tion and death are everywhere, and the retreating 'citizens take up the wail: l gs Now we can only wait till the day, wait and apportion ' our shame! . . 'These are the dykes our fathers left, but we would not , - look to the same. H Time and again were we 'warned of the dykes, time and 4 ' again ,we delayed: , I - A ' .Now, it may fall, we have slain our sons as our fathers we have betrayed! H 4 No Hollander in Holland would act as guiltily toward his country and jeopardize life and prop- ertyg and surely the descendants of Holland in America will guard the dykes for their great profit and care 'reared to defend liberty and free institutions. r And instead of this lament, they and their children shall' sing: ll For the peace is not gone, nor the profit gone, 1'10fI' the Old sure day withdrawn, .And we will keep the dykes as firm and strong as they were at the break of dawn. I -THE PRESIDENT: We are highly honored by havin with us to-ni ht the representative at 8 8 Washington from the Flowery KingdOII1, the EHVOY