JUDGE C. E. S. WOOD’S
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
Students of Washington State University Hear a Splendid Oration—The
Path of Social Progress Is Pointed Out-Truth
Defined and Described.
I do not regard this as an occasion
when I am to till a line of your printed
program and occupy an hour’s time
ill saying agreeable things to you. I
regard it as a great privilege to be
able to speak to the coming genera
tion, and 1 consider it my solemn
duty to say those things which I truly
believe—those things which I hope
may be of some help to you, so that
you may begin your life where I end
mine.
It is as if a torch bearer began mil
lions of years ago running down the
ages with his light, at tirst but a<
feeble spark, which as he fell breath- i
less he passed to another and he in
turn to another, the torch growing'
and flaming more brightly until at
last it has been committed to our
hands, and I as one of the humblest
runners of my generation offer into
your hands this torch which 1 must
let fall. You are the torch bearers
who must in your turn take up the
running. You are the warriors for the
coming fight—the endless light which
the human race is making lor a
higher and « sweeter life.
What shall we §ive to the young
men who are going down to battle?
With what shall we arm them? We
will give them Truth for their shield
and Freedom for their shining sword.
And what is Truth? It is that
which always is, which altereth not,
which is the harmony of the universe.
The law which holds the planets in
their orbits is a part of it. The light
of the sun and the life of the earth
are Truth ; and the deatii of the moon
and the life and death of man are
Truth. Truth is that which was from
the beginning, and is, and ever shall
be unto the end. It is that which in
the midst of change in all things,
chaugeth not. It is itself the very
rule and order of change. To know
Truth is to know that eternal change
is the order of the universe. All
things have been changing, and are
now changing, and will forever change
—the earth and all the inhabitants
thereof, man and all his institutions.
There is nothing which can be kept
nuchauged or which ought to be kept
unchanged; for if there be no change
then Death has indeed come. While
the earth lives, man will live and must
continually change; and all those
things which are of him'and from him
must change except in so far as they
are founded in Truth.
You do not step from this hall out
into the streets of Seattle, you do not
take up your own paltry struggle for
existence; but you step out iuto the
universe, and you take part in the
evolution of man. You take part in
the evolution of mind. Evolution itself
is part of the great universal dootrine
of change. It is part of the invincible
Truth which is to be your shield.
1 have heard it said by some that
the doctrine of evolution brought only
despair to the world; that its fruit
was bitterness; that it takes away
God and heaven aud the immortality
of the soul. Hut Truth is the har
mony of the universe, aud I deny that
the truth can ever be bitter to the
children of men.
If we have lost a god that wa6 a
dictator of the skies, choosing men
and races of men according to his
whim, and visiting vengeance upon
the poor ignorant insects at his feet,
we have gained the idea of a Creator
who is impartial in all things aud
beneficent in all things; who has set
in motion eternal laws which make
man himself creator of his own des
tiny, maker of his own heaven and his
■own hell. It is said that by Truth we
have lost the idea of a redeemer, the
Sou of God, sent to save mankind;
but I say that if we have lost the idea
of an iuterceder before a judge who
could be swayed by prayers and peti
tions, we have gained the idea of
Christ, our dear and sweet brother,
who was man as we are men, close to
us, one whose patience and love aud
charity we may hope to emulate. And
as the supreme triumph of Truth, ris
ing like a pean of joy to the everlast
ing skies, we exchange the tradition
of original sin and Adam’s fall for the
glorious discovery that the human
race has never, in all the millions of
eons of Time, fallen by the estimation
•of a hair; but has steadily pushed
upward, from the feeblest and hum
blest beginning to the present, when
the mind of man is seeking in humil
ity and not in pride to untavel the
mysteries of the universe, filling the
hearts of men with poetry and beauty,
singing songs which rejoice the heart,
.harnessing the lightning and weighing
-the stars, questioning all things as it
lias good right to do, and giving hope
of a glorious progress for untold ages
to come.
All this glorious achievement to
ward Truth could not have been
accomplished but for Freedom. You
can not bind down the limbs and have
them develop. You can not pen up
any species of animal and have it
evolve anything from captivity but
degeneration ; and it is as true of the
mind as of the body. There can lie
no evolution upward and onward save
where Freedom is. You can no more
bind the mind and have it develop
I than you can bind the arm and have
it develop. You can no more develop
morals and strength of will and of
thought for another than you can eat
and exercise and develop muscles and
strength for another. This is the
truth; this is really and literally
God’s truth, for it is contradicted
nowhere. It has always been true. It
is part of the harmony'of the universe.
You will applaud this so long as it
remains a general statement, but you
will shrink from the application of it.
Hut until the human thought is ready
to accept it fullly and completely
there can scarcely be a beginning in
the true evolution of the human souk
The whole warfare of man has been
for Freedom. All of history worth
the having is the history of the strug
gle for Freedom. Of what account
are the wars of the roses or the strug
gle of dynasty against dynasty, or
monarch against rival? The pity of it
is that so many men were always found
brainless enough to die for their
masters. Hut the real progress of the
world, the real course of history, is
the struggle of the submerged masses
against these masters; the struggle
against special privilege imposed by
the few upon the many, by law and
government and force of arms. This
has been the worlds’ history and this
is the world’s histoiy today. And
that straggle is founded in the
primeval truth that man must eat to
live and he must have leisure to think ;
that he has the right to eat and the
right to have leisure to think. This
is the struggle, and whether you like
it or not you must enlist upon one
side or the other. This struggle is a
part of the evolution of the human
mind, and it can never end till there
be freedom in all things, everywhere.
The shield which I would give into
your hands today is Truth, the truth
that there must be change—change in
the institutions of men as well hs in
the elemental mountains and that he
who advocates changes, who attacks
the existing order of things, is more
likely to be right than he who would
hold them as they are. The sword
that I would put into your hands is
freedom, freedom not only for you
and me, but for all men to work out
their own destinies in their own way.
Freedom not only of body but of
mind. Freedom uot only of speech
but of thought. Freedom uot only in
labor but in the whole struggle for
existence. If ever you are put face to
face with a problem, examine on |
which side it falls toward freedom, j
and choose that side. You can never I
be wrong in aiding freedom; can
never be right in opposing it.
I want to tell you us an eternal
truth that there is no subject which
is not better discussed than sup
pressed. If a thought be true you
can not jail it; you can not kill it;
i you cau uot suppress it. It will
' spread by persecution and live by
' attack, for the Truth never has been
i and never can be obscured. If the
' thought be untrue, the best and safest
’ and quickest way for it to reach
: oblivion is to discuss it fully and
! freely in the open air and in the" open
i light of freedom of thought and free
| dom of speech. 1 care not what the
subject is. I care not who the nan]
is. So long as it is peaceable discus
sion, there is no subject which man
kind should be by force and authority
prevented from discussing—even
though the subject be folly and error.
You lose more in violating the sacred
principle of free thought than you
gain in blotting out some body’s
absurdities, or what you may think
to be absurdities. You cau not know
whether the distasteful subject of
today may not be the truth, of to
morrow.
I desire to insist to you that there
is no good obtained by restraint of
people’s natural inclinations, or by
forcible regulation of their habits,
which is half so good as freedom
itself; that the logic of the universe
is that nothing develops which will
live except as it develops upon its
own strength. That, as Herbert Spen
cer puts it, the ultimate result of pro
tecting men from the consequences of
their follies is to Bll the world with
fools; and that just as the inflexible
laws of Nature which sometimes seem
cruel to us in their relentless appli
cation are in reality the greatest
charity and the deepest mercy, so the
truest charity to mankind is to leave
each in freedom and each to take the
consequences of his acts. The same
law which permits the fittest to sur
vive condemns the weakest to go
down and out, and this is precisely
as true of moral weakness as of physi
cal weakness. The evolution of mind
and soul will continue to be retarded
until men and women are absolutely
free to control their own habits and
their own lives.
The trouble is that few of us have
nature’s courage—I will call it God’s
ccurage— to follow Truth to the very
end. We hurrah for freedom, and
then we enact slavery. We are not
free in anything in this laud of free
dom. We are not free in commerce.
We are not free in the use of laud or
air or water, though more free in the
use of air and water than in the use
of laud. We have not one single item
of economic freedom; and as econ
omic conditions are bread and butter
conditions, they are the very founda
tions of life—the foundation of morals
as well as of body. You can not get
strong and splendid offspring from
weak, half-starved parents. You can
not, as a rule of breeding,get a strong
and healthy mind from a weak and
decrepit body. You can not have
boys and girls virtuous who begin
their pitiful childhood compelled to
sell themselves for food. Great as has
been the progress of mankind, splen
din as have been the achievements of
the human race, there is more to be
done in the future than ever has been
done in the past. The evolution of
the body is practically perfected, at
least so • long as earthly conditions
remain as they now are. But the
human mind and the human soul and
the human conditions which are to
mean that life will be a joy to all, are
just in the beginning. And you are
to take part >u the evolution; you
could not shirk it if you wanted to.
At the end of your lives you will
either have stepped upward or down
ward, and you will have influenced to
some degree for good or ill those
about you.
I repeat to you earnestly that no
aouditiou in any society will ever be
right which puts the many in servi
tude to the few. I say to you,though
it may open to you the door of per
secution and unpopularity, champion
the cause of the oppressed many. And
I repeat—as I would like to repeat
many times, so that the most careless
listener here oould not choose but
carry it away with him: When in
doubt look which way freedom lies
and have the courage to follow that
path. This world has never been
moved a fraction of a step by author
ity. Force and authority not only
have accomplished nothing—abso
lutely nothing—but they have held
back the world. Compare Russia to
day with the rest of Europe. There
is suffering and oppression enough in
the rest of Europe, but it is a white
page compared to the black record of
Russia. There men may not speak
except as approved by authority. Men
may not write or red except as ap
proved by authority. The struggle
toward freedom is rewarded with the
bloody knout on the backs of the men
and the hoofs of the Cossacks’ horses
in the bosoms of the women. Siberia
and the desolate places and the damp
! dungeons swallow into oblivion those
who would dare speak for liberty.
Those are the methods of the Bastile,
and the Star Chamber, and the In
quisition ; and Russia stands today
where France, England and Spain
stood when the Bastile and the Star
Chamber and the Inquisition pre
vailed ; a land of wretchedness and
poverty and ignorance, sending up
now and again some martyr, like a
meteor in a blackened sky, calling the
> world to witness. And what does the
S martyr beg for and die for? Free
dom. And what is it which makes
the Europe of today different from
the Russia of today? Freedom. Free
dom is the food and air and light by
which man flourishes physically, men
tally and morally.
How can I number those martyrs
upon whom authority has laid its
hand, crushing out their life because
they spoke words for freedom? The
great leaders of thought and right
eouness—the Buddha, Sooratee, and
greatest of all, the Christ who will
hang forever upon the cross, eternal
symbol of the relentlessnese of author
ity against even the gentlest and
meekest advocate of universal love.
The victims of authority in the polit
ical world are all that vast army of
the unknown whose heads have fallen,
whose limbs have been crushed,
whose lives have rotted out in dun
geons since the battle between Free
dom and Authority began.
Algernon Sidney! Papers were
found in his possession in his hand
writing declaring that the people,
the plain masses of the plain people,
were the source and authority of all
law. For this he trod the gallows’
steps, deserted by ev»ry friend. And
the rule of men by the divine right of
kings triumphed; there was no ode
left bold enough to repeat his words.
Iiut the truth that Sidney saw did
not die; being Truth it could not die.
And in the progress of time we find
that stern, round headed English
gentleman, Oliver Cromwell, going up
and down the laud with his regiment
of Ironsides, sweeping it clean of the
falsity of this right of the few to rule
the many; and wrote upon the parch
ment of Parliament as the law of the
land, “The source of all law under
God is the people.”
John Brown! He, too, trod the gal
lows’ steps alone; and for him the
gentlest and most charitable words
that could be found were, “He is a
fanatic!” A crazy visionary !” The
earth took back the body which she
had given and he was forgotten.
Slavery was triumphant. Peace
reigned. Force and authority had
stamped out the lie that man was born
to be free. But was it a lie? Was it
stamped out? It was part of the eter
nal and immortal truth that man must
and will be free. The poor, broken
body of John Brown lay mouldering
in the grave, but his soul was march
ing on.
And the soul of each one of us, if it
has grasped even so much as the hem
of the garment of Truth, will go on
forever. Some of us are great temp
ests which toss the ocean of mankind
into storms, and others are heavy
boulders which plunge from the
mountain side into the lake; but the
most of us are only insignificant peb
bles which make a few ripples in our
little placid pond. But though we be
forgotten, what of that? The sun
shines and the waters glisten and the
leaves rustle not alone for you and
for me, but for the race. Nature Is
as careless and indifferent to the name
of Aleaxnder, Caesar or Plantagenet—
aye, Socrates, Cromwell or Darwin,—
as it is to your name or mine. The
world has been moved not only by the
famous leaders of men, but by the
innumerable hosts who, consumed
with hunger for truth and loyal unto
death, have gone down into oblivion.
On these bright June mornings the
bees radiate from their hives to the
honied pastures, and each thoughtless
of herself plunders the fragrant blooms
that the hives may live. If some fall
by the wayside, if some are overtaken
by the frost of night, if some meet
death in the midst of their labors, the
hive hums on. What is it to the hive
that this one has died, or that? The
hive exists not for this bee or that
bee, or any number of bees, nor for
all the bees of the hive; it exists that
the race may ilve. So it is with us.
Climb the topmost pinnacle of fame,
write your name in letters of light
among the stars; and yet in the dull
relentless procession of Time your
name will be forgotten. Bat lift from
the clear and crystal fountain of
Truth but a few drops in the hollow
of your hand and carry them to the
thirsting lips of your brethren, and
though your name be never known
beyond your own fireside your soul
will go marching on down the vast
illimitable reaches of Time till the
destiny of the human race be ended.
If there be any that tell you that in
the history of mankind force has
accomplished anything, tell them:
Not so; the world moves by thought
alone and no idea was ever yet helped
or hindered by force. And tell them
that change is the rule and order and
destiny of the universe, of man and
of all things pertaining to man. Lift
your eyes to the heavens where at
least the stars move free and unfet
tered in the harmony of the universe,
and tell them that the world moves by
freedom alone. Freedom in all things;
freedom in every respect. Freedom
in thought, word and deed,—so only
that they be peaceable. And though
they bring you to your knees in the
public square, though they may make
your lips recant and abjure yourself,
skill I pray that your soul may utter
a whisper, like Galileo, that will some
day be heard in the uttermost parts
of the earth: “Still it moves!’’
Children of the coming generation,
I salute you—I offer to you for the
combat the shield of Truth and Free
dom’s shining sword.—C. E. S. Wood.
FROM THf
RECORDS
* FEBRUARY 12, 1908
Locations
Amended notice No. 4 Holyoke
creek, Feb. 12, 1908, Golden Dawn
Mining Co.
Conveyances
P. J. Coston, trustee, to J. M. Fod
man, May 31, 1907, lot 30, block 00,
Nome.
Lease
Nome and Siuook Co. to C. H. Frost,
Dec. 20, 1907, part of Kozah claim,
expiring Oct. 1, 1909.
Proof of Labor
Sureshot, R. L. No. 8 above Otter
creek, Angelica, L. L. Nome river,
above Irene creek, J. S. Jackson.
Rock tract, R. L. Specimen gulch,
No. 2 bench, R. L. 2 below Anvil
creek, F. M. Large et al.
No 0 bench, L. L. 40 Dry creek,
Chas. Cavy.
Irene asso., on Irene creek, R. L.
Flambeau river, J. W. Barber.
FEBRUARY 13, 1908
Locations
No. i> on Loadstone creek, trib. to
Taylor lagoon, Jan. 27, 1908, J. M.
Stanley.
Lease.
W. P. Armstrong et al to T. J. An
derson et al, Dec. 19,. 1907, No. 12
fraction, Otter creek.
Mortgage
Alex M. Smith to M. W. Griffith,
Oct. 2, 1907, lot 27 block 12, Nome.
Proof of Labor.
Bench No. 1 below, R. L. east fork
Jackson creek, No. 2 above and Ad
vance group on east fork Jackson
creek.
No. 1 Guerda gulch.
No. 1 and No. 2 Cadallac gulch.
Bar fraction, Mystery creek, Wo.
Kernan, et al.
No. 2 and No. 3 above on Little
oieek; Tomey fraction and Mojava,
Little creek; I. X. L. and four-cor
nered and O. K. claims near Cooper
gulch; Salem, New York, Fargen and
1320 feet from discovery near Mountain
creek; No. 1 Gold Pan guloh, E. V.
Winter et al.
No. 8 above discovery, Dry creek,
J. M. Stanley.
FEBRUARY 14, 1908.
Locations
Montezuma, R. L. Sitwook, Jan. 1,
1908, D. Y. Williams et al.
Gondollier, R. L. Sinrock, Jan 1,
1908. D. Y. Williams et al.
Li Capitan, R. L. Sinrock, Jan. 1,
1908, D. Y. Williams et al.
Canyon Asso., L. L. Sinrock, Jan.
I, 1908, D. Y. Williams et al.
Yosemite asso., Independence creek,
Jan. 1, 1908, D. Y. Wiliiams et al.
Snow Shoe creek, Jan. 1, 1908, D.Y.
Williams et al.
Grace Alice, L L Nome river, Jan 4,
1908, Peter Lee
Mortgage
Nome Mining Co to Bankers Trust
Co, Dec 21, 1907, property on Bourbon
and other creeks as shown in lease
from Anvil Hydraulic and Drainage
Co to E E Powell, dated April 19,190G.
Proofs of Labor
Discovery on Banner creek; No 1
and No 2 on the L L of Dexter creek,
Thomas Dingwall
No. 1 and No. 2 Afton water claims
on Dry creek; Francis Olive fraction,
Belmont Point, Marie and Annie
claims, Snake river; Discovery claim
on Concord creek ; Carmie on Concord
creek and Berkeley on Moose creek.
J. S. Watte et al
FEBRUARY 15, 1908
Locations
The Tinean claim on tundra about
1,000 feet south of Dry creek, Nov 16,
1907, A F Olander et al.
Proofs of Labor
King association. North Pole asso
ciation between St. Michael and Os
born creek, F. M. Warsiag et al.
Jack Pot association, Golden Gate
association, between St. Miohael and
Osborn creek, F. M. Warsing et al.
No. 5 above discovery on Mystery
creek, W Sedlacek.
Commerce association, Cunning as
sociation, Warren association,Winter
set association and the Summerset as
sociation on night and left limits of
Snake river, Geo. T. Cahiel.
De France and Thesse on right limit
of Snake river, Helmer Hansen et al.
Deeds
L. Field to C. MacLean, one six
teenth interest Argyle group on right
limit of Otter creek.
The City Bath and Barber Shop is
now reopened. Fresh hot water baths.
Next Industrial Worker office. l-3tf
Lawyer—When the defendant’s wife
left home, have you reason to think
she went to the suburbs in the in
terim?
Witness—Contemptuously—Law me,
no. She couldn’t afford no such
travelin’. She went in the 5-cent
trolley. —Exchange.
Granite Mining Candles are the best
Union Men—Advertisers in your
paper are entitled to your patronage.
Granite Mining Candles are the best
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