CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.



   Already America is conquered by this tongue; the an-
 cient prejudices and older religions of India are quietly
 melting before the steady heat of English justice; Aus-
 tralia, like a young giant, is striding towards empire; in
 Africa the leaven has been hid in the weighty measures of
 meal. The subtle force of this civilization is making itself
 felt in China. It is a civilization and a language worthy of
 leadership.
   We are no longer pioneers: we are not called to their
work. But every day has its own problems, every era its
own questions, every State its own labors.
   We are not called to deeds of blood, of rude combat in
forst,, kuttle Struggie ;s as real, the combat is as danger-
ous. All lead oi follow. Leadership is not by accident nor
to Xhe wetak;. rnaqteryvcmes wicet to the slothful nor to the
cowardly. Kentucky can bz tiowards the head-nay at the
head, of :t.1his pn-wad rlarching column of American States.
To do this, her mines must be opened, her mountains tun-
neled, her rivers bridged, her waste land tilled; still more,
law must reign supreme in her borders, education be hon-
ored in her children, religion be obeyed in her homes. Rich
in her natural resources, richer in the fame of her sons and
the traditions of her past, still richer in the qualities of her
people, Kentucky this day turns her face from the Past to
the rising sun of the Future, and with glad, brave heart
enters into the life that lies before her. And we, her chil-
dren, with proud thanksgiving for that Past, and with
tender love for our mother Commonwealth, do here, on this
holy ground, sanctified by patriot blood and womanly
sacrifice, conscious of the invisible presence of the shades
of the heroic dead, re consecrate ourselves to the service of
the State, to the supremacy of law. to the preservation of a
true liberty, to the weal of a compacted Union, and to the
progress of a common race, appealing to the Searcher of
Hearts, who doeth His will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of earth, to attest the sincerity of our
vow, and for His omnipotent aid.



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