INTRODUCTORY REMARKS AS PRESIDING OFFICER AT THE DINNER GIVEN BY THE MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATION TO THE OFFICIALS OF THE WORLD'S FAIR, IN CHICAGO, JUNE 15, 1893. IT T is now my pleasant privilege to call you from the delights of the table to the intellectual feast which will be given by those who follow me, and to the flow of soul which marks the spirit of our gathering and binds us together, hosts and guests, State and State, in comity and friendship. My part to-night is a very pleasant, yet a very simple one, I speak but the prologue to the entertainment, with words of welcome. Then it is my duty to ring up the curtain, and present to you these sages and wits, these men of affairs and deeds, who, each in his way, has rendered distinguished public service. I need not, as in the prologue, ask for them your kind attention. You could not fail to give it if you would. Nor need I ask of you for them a cordial welcome. Massachusetts and her citizens ever gladly extend her greeting and her hospitality to the stranger within her gates. And when she lifts her latch-string, not to welcome the stranger in, but to wander a little from her own hearthstone, she carries with her, I believe, the same generous spirit and warm heart, the same broad sympathies and belief in a common brotherhood, which, making her at home a beloved mother to loyal children, make her, I trust, wherever she may be, a generous friend and a gracious hostess, who is glad and proud to extend her welcome to all who gather in her name. In this spirit, to-night, I speak for her, giving to you her citizens, and to you her guests, her right hand of fellowship and friendship. To-night one other thought is uppermost in our minds. We have come here officially to represent a great Commonwealth; to express her deep interest and unbounded pride in this grand exposition, which, drawing hither the products and peoples of the world, is itself the greatest national contribution to the world's entertainment, education, and civilization; and then, in behalf of our Commonwealth, to extend, with a deep sense of gratitude and obligation, her heartiest congratulation to the authorities and officials, whose work, ability, and persistent zeal have been crowned with a superb triumph. We recognize the broad spirit in which they have planned and labored, the difficulties and obstacles which with indomitable will they have overcome; the generous public spirit, municipal, state, and national, which they have aroused as a power to assure success; and the skill, ability, and ingenuity out of which has been wrought this national masterpiece. Massachusetts is proud to have contributed something of her talent, ability, and means to the development and progress of this work. With full appreciation that it, as broadly planned and carefully perfected, is the product of the united labor of all, and yet with a proud sense of part proprietorship, she rejoices in its complete success, and gladly pays her tribute of honor and respect to those upon whom have rested the labor and responsibility. But, gentlemen, I fear your indulgence and patience may tempt me to wander from my prologue to the more substantial intellectual entertainment which I was but to introduce; and so I ring the bell and raise the curtain, and usher in the entertainment. ADDRESS AT THE BANQUET GIVEN BY THE MASSACHUSETTS MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATION TO THE WORLD'S FAIR, AT CHICAGO, JUNE 17, 1893. IT T is always a pleasure to receive the welcome of Massachusetts' sons, whether within or without her limits. It is always a privilege to answer that welcome by extending to them her greeting and her blessing. To-night we meet far away from home to accept the hospitality of her sons; and, with her name upon our lips, and her glorious life in every mind, we greet her with the love and loyalty which neither time nor distance can affect. Many a time it has been my privilege to speak for her at home at her own fireside. There, where her authority is ever unquestioned, her gentle, uplifting power ever felt, her daily life marked by beneficent laws and helpful deeds, we, her sons, think and speak of her as a constant guiding influence, protecting us with her might, and enriching us with manifold blessings. Perhaps at times we who have something to do with her laws and the exercise of her authority see a little of the sterner side of her life. We may think of her then as a controlling power, binding us about with numerous restrictions and limitations, exacting from us contributions, interfering with personal liberty, and demanding obedience to her sovereign will. If she seems to us then a taskmaster, ever with the commands upon her lips, "Thou shalt," and "Thou shalt not," she really is but the lawgiver, — upright, just, and beneficent. But, after all, this is only a small part of her life. To us who gather about her hearthstone she is far less of a governing power than a guiding influence. We think of her long life of great men and great deeds; of the glorious work she has done in the fields of education, religion, and charity; of her public spirit and patriotism, and her sacrifices for independence, liberty, and union; of her contributions to science and letters; of her leadership in every great agitation for personal liberty and human rights; of the valor she has shown in every war and upon every battle-field; of the many sons she has sent forth to die for love of country. Then to us she is less a sovereign power of unbending will than "a mother State," guiding the destiny of loving children who are bound to her, not by her strong right arm, but by her heart and soul. 66 This is Massachusetts at home in the midst of her contented, prosperous, happy family. But to-night in this great city, whose energy and generosity have gathered here the States of the Union and the nations of the world in friendly competition for the entertainment. and instruction of all, we cannot content ourselves with a home-view of any subject; but, broadened by our surroundings, of necessity there enters into our conception even of a mother State a sense of comparison and proportion, and of her place and influence in the greater, grander whole. I speak to-night, therefore, of Massachusetts, not as she is to us, her children, but as she stands before the country and world for what she has done for humanity and the building up of a great Republic. Grand as this Exposition is, almost beyond the power of words to describe; successful as it is in its architecture and its beauty, and perfect in every detail; proud of it as we are, as the greatest national masterpiece yet contributed for the instruction and entertainment of the civilized world, I have felt that in this, our anniversary celebration, there was a greater thing we had to show to every nation a powerful, contented people, in the process of building up an indestructible Republic founded on the principles of liberty, equality, and self-government. Into this work have entered the contributions of all countries, creating and developing an American citizenship as the basis of a great Republic of personal liberty and constitutional government. It was an Italian under Portuguese instruction, and in a Spanish vessel, who discovered our continent. During the next two centuries English, French, and Spanish vied with each other in their further discoveries and achievements here. Note a few of the early settlements, and see out of what varied material was to come our citizenship and our Republic. Puritan settlers in New England, Cavaliers in Virginia; the Dutch on the banks of the Hudson, and the Swedes on the banks of the Delaware; Quakers in Pennsylvania, Catholics in Maryland, the Huguenots in South Carolina, Spanish and French in Florida and Louisiana, but all coming to a land of liberty, to breathe the pure air of free institutions, and to be moulded into a new type of American citizenship. Massachusetts stands before the country and the world to be judged by the part she has taken in this great work for liberty and mankind. What has been her contribution? How much has she added to the strength and glory of our common country? What has she done for independence and liberty? I do not need |