Decorah-posten., 1877-05-24
Secorab=Y0iten
Sgttenoe MaisT Soften.
Nor,l T. lite Sios }

centuries | once heard the venerable
Charles Kingsley, late Canon Of West
minister Abby, make the statement in
q lecture at San Francisco, that when
ever he addressed an audience Of Eng
disappearing people, whether in Eng
land, Australia or America, he did
so with the conviction that one sixth
Of his hearers had the blood Of those
ancient Norsemen coursing through
their veins.
Again in the seventeenth century dur
ing the Thirty YearsWar in Germany,
we find Gustav Adelph and his brave
Scandinavian followers the successful
champions of civil liberty and the de-
tenders of the protestant faith.
These examples from history, while
they make yon and me none the bet
ter and non the worse, should never
theless serve to impress our minds with
a just appreciation Of the true dignity
Of a noble life, and our hearts with an
earnest desire to live worthy OF such an
ancestry. AS a people. we have been
in America less than half a century.
Our progress has been all that could
be hoped. We came here, few in num-
bers at first, without property and
unacquainted with the language and
institutions Of our adopted country.
We number now about eight hun
dred thousand souls. Millions Of
property have come to us as the
reward Of industry. Our churches
and literary institutions are among
the most prosperous in this land, and
tho principles cf Republican govern.
ment, so congenial to all oar traditions
and habits Of thought, have become
firmly rooted in our hearts and
minds.
AS a people we have before us the
possibility of great and a glorious
destiny to fulfill in America.
Never before have the representa-
tives Of our race, in any age or coun
try, seen spread out before them such
magnificent opportunities for the ac-
cumalation Of material resources, and
the development Of intellectual and
moral power as are now fairly within
our reach in this land and generation.
The worthy fulfllment of that destiny
lies, however, not in any se~lfsatisfied
contemplation Of the dead past but
rather in addressing ourselves conscien.
ciously and vigorously to the tasks of
the present and the living future.
1t becomes us to carry with us in
one hand all that is pure and ennob-
ling in the teachings and characters
of our fathers while with the other
we stretch forward for whatever in
American life and thought is best cal
culated to make us useful citizens of
this great Republic.
Thus alone by the Survival Of the
fittest" in traits Of character, can we
hope to contribute our share towards
enriching the elements which shall
constitute the future citizenship of
our dear, adopted country. Having
come to America we are here to stay,
and here to make ourselves useful.
This country is now our country and
its people are our people. When it
became necessary for the preservation
Of this government and the vindica-
ton of freedom that the tears of fair
women and the blosd Of brave men
should flow like q river, our tears and
blood were freely mingled in that
stream.
As our patriotism was quick to re.
spond when Columbia called for tears
and sorrow, blood and suffering, so in
the future as in the past may we re.
spond as well to her calls for muscle
and labor, for brains and learning, for
character and principle.
Wu opuartebes after 8jelterne mso
lipll8 Sang % Wuiif. bporpaa
Sr. u. &. Saacn
bolct ns~eenfaaenbe Gale. efterat
pGrs %lnirooneerst al 0assns Yrr.
Iosnt
WorIte WGnh % &uinoerl 0i
ere piitnof Snobpaasrs at ct 0aun,
riat. frit % mestiat. @i iele os
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rifanlfe Srns fraftise &inser. @i
elite aancst, ests Spros % bets
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Wobsr. Seq bile ri aloria aIsm.
me, of ri ere Norits.--a hi ere fra
ct Sane peerit moo Rore nee Inn
ssnce Slipper os imiIenbe Blom.
Tier. mee itprtenos SOsiefaIb % fi0s
elpe, mse piloe 8Ieps % peuIiae
Gale, - ct eanb. Tom bar liienfst
% Ell Mrp.
Osnne Mrp er Oct. isa piIce min.
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fisre @orse. Sen sr iiien % eosI
ben Beselitrin9. bper eate Iore.
mane felsr paa ut @orses, - fin
Woesrs Bribshsooa. Wsn eeuns
$utommslle. osnns 5at bar bum
laa bel Iorilent; lbi bun bar ifiun.