Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-09
address of President Tillcrd.

It is my agreeable duty and very great
pleasure to offer hearty welcome to this
distinguished assemblage on this memora-
BILE occasion and in these remarkable sur
roundings. To you, the representatives of
foreign nations, the members of the exec
utive, legislative and judicial branches of
the United States government, the govern
ors of the states and territories, the repre-
sentatives of the European and American
press, and our guests from abroad and at
homeigenerally, to you, one and all, beg
to offer in the name of the Northern Phoific
Railroad company, profound thanks for
your kind presence and particip in
this the most important event Of our cor
porate existence. Our work means the
conquest Of new fields for general COM
merce and industry. II creates new high
way between Europe, America and Asia.
The population of the states and territories
traversed by our road is largely made up
from the European nationalties represent
ed here. We deemed it fit and proper,
therefore, to bid, so to speak, both the old
and the new world to this celebration, Or,
| in other words, to arrange sort of inter-
national festival. Many Of you have
crossed the ocean, and all have travelled
great distances in order to be with us to-
day. Be pleased to accept my assurance
that we gratefully appreciate your sacri-
| fee of time and comfort. In return, we
earnestly wish to do our guests all possi-
bic honor and to give them all possible
pleasure, and we trust that this transcon-
tinental journey has been and will be an
unalloyed enjoyment to them. We hope,
moreover, that as in this hour a new and
| indissoluble bond will be formed between
the countries to the east and to the west
of the Rocky mountains, this gathering
may also strengthen the ties of good will
and friendship between the republic of
North America and the parent countries of
Europe.
Thanks to the foresight of President
Thomas Jefferson, well nigh four score
years ago, Lewis and Clark toi1ed through
these mountains as the first explorers of
Anglo7American origin, and lifted the veil
that hid from. civilized mankind the re-
gions wateIed by the upper Mississippi,
the Yellowstone, the Columbia and their
tributaries. The exploits of these gifted
and fearless men were tho rich germ
the full fruition of which we celebrate this
day.
More eloquent lips than mine will de-
scribe to you the long and singular, but
interesting process of evolution, by which
our enterprise slowly grew out of the dis
coveries then made with so much courage
and intelligence. They will tell you hov
, the record of these discoveries first CAV
rise, as long as nearly half cen
tury ago, to prophetic visions
of tfanscontiuental railroa,
along Lewis and Clsrk's route, and how
within ten years after these visions wer
first embodied in print, they filled the min
| of one man with such fire of enthusiasm
as to move him to go forth, like anothe
a apostle, and to spend the best years of hi
life and all he possessed in the propaga
ton of his faith. You will learn how il
the end he became very martyr to hi
belief, but how the project of a railroad
4 the Pacific, despite the failure of its frs