268 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



her Dominion Day, which is a feeble imitation of our 

 Fourth of July. 



A few years ago I was passing through Canada, and on 

 looking out of the car window, in the morning of her na- 

 tional holiday, I saw the people in crowds in gala attire, 

 and asked the car porter what it all meant. Said he, 

 "Boss, this is the birthday of one of the queen's chil- 

 dren, but I don't know which one." But there is no mis- 

 taking our holiday for any other day of festivity. It is 

 like nothing else on earth and well it may be, for no other 

 people in the world may celebrate a national birthday. 



Fourth of July orators may be called Fourth of Ju- 

 liers, but they can hardly overstate the facts. On this 

 day I wish you all joy. May the most you want be the 

 least you get. It is a school of patriotism and well may 

 we celebrate it as such. 



A foolish and imbecile king drove our ancestors into 

 revolution at a time when the king had much real power. 

 Our forefathers melted down the leaden gilded statue of 

 George the Third and fired it in the form of 42,000 bullets 

 at the invading red-coats in Connecticut. The hostilities 

 growing out of that war with our mother nation have 

 long ago ceased, and a friendly rivalry leads us to com- 

 pete with the British empire in all the arts of peace. 



Our century is the electrical era. It began with steam 

 which was the raw material of power. It is ending with 

 electricity which is the soul and essence of power itself. 



From the year 1200 to 1700 the Damascus blade was 

 the great pride of man. Steel was the weapon of death 

 and the nation was the highest in the scale which carried 

 the sharpest sword. 



In 1896 steel rails are the supreme test of our achieve- 

 ments, for with them time and space are obliterated and 

 travel becomes a. perpetual joy within the reach of the 

 poor as well as the rich. 



