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


man.
ADDRESS of Hon. W,a. N. EUdrtS.
Mr.. President Willard and gentlemen,
our fellow citizens and former guests
l shall find it easy to conform, for my
share of it, to the distribution of the en-
tire time which has been accorded for this
striking ceremony, to make the date and
place of the completion of this great
public work. Your own address of vel
come, Mr.. President, has recalled to atten-
ton the principal steps and methods by
whicht this noble consum mation has been
| reached, and the eminent gentlemen who
| are to follow me will illustrate, from every
point of view, the magnitude of the
achievement, and give eloquent utterance
| to sentiments of admiration for the great
qualities and congratulation upon the for
| tunate Influences which have secured
| the result sentiments which
1 see, as look around me,
swell every breast and brighten every eye.
Indeed, am very glad to feel that thus
| placed between what has gone before and
what is to come after, my short speech
| may be fairly treated as mere parenthe-
| sis, which, the grammarians tell US, may
always be omitted without injury to the
sense.
| 1t is true, if were to make the very
| briefest allusion to the manifold interest
| ing incidents, if / we're merely to touch
| upon even the many great things which
| have marked the progress of this enter
| prise through all its vieissitudes toits final
| success, if were to exhibit only its most
| notable contests with and triumphs over
| the difficulties which nature-human, alas
as we'll as material-had put
in its way, should transcend
all limits of time and your
| patience before mad got as far as Helena,
starting at either end. But of such en-
largement, even, the subject has no need.
In all the long route from st. Paul to
Portland and Pugent Sound, the work has
| spoken and will speak the praises of its
conception, Its projection, its completion,
in more impressive tones, and with juster
emphasis, than words can express. If ]
can only run single furrow through the
wide field of observation and illustration
open before,us, if can barely mark the
| bright track of prophecy, faith and
| works which have wrought out the grand
contamination, the demands of the oe
| =
| satisfied.
1 have spoken OF prophecy, faith and
! works as all contributorY to the success of
this enterprise, and so, indeed, they have
been. Neither of them could have been
| spared from this, or from any weighty and
| imposing task of human endeavor. Fore
cast, confidence and labor will accomplish
whatever is within the compass of mans
power. Let Us consider little the part
| they have each played in the work com
plete, which now, in our presence, its
builder, the Northern Pacific railroad
company, has crowned with its last hand
| fortunately for Us, neither English nor
| Spanish explorers of the west coast had
| discovered the mouth of the Columbia
river before our independence was estab-
| lished. fortunately, also, after that event.
| though both the English and the Span
| iards continued their explorations on that
coast, it was New England trading cap
tian. Robert Gray, of the ship "Columbia,' -
| that first penetrated the mouth of this
river, to which he gave its name, and veri-
| fed and recorded it as discovery which.
under the rules then prevailing, carried to
his country the sovereignty of the region
drained by the river and its tributaries.
The| accurate and circumspect entry
made in his log book by this intelligent
New England shipmaster, was the title
deed of the United States
to the region embraced in the
state of Oregon and the territory of Wash
ingtoa against subsequent claims of dis
covery made by Great Britain, and, in
| some sort, by Spain. 1t was upon this
title that We maintained footing of joint
occupation with Great Britain, and finally
| by the treaty of 1916, of exclusive title up
| to the division line of the 49th parallel
| By the treaty of Washington in 1871 under
| the arbitration of the Emperor Of Germany
! our construction of the division line in
| Puget's sound and the communicating
| channels was established. Until the acqui
sition of California, as the result of the
Mexican war, this region was our sole
| footing upon the Pacific ocean, and this
| excited the interest and ambition of the
nation for an overland communication
with this remote and unpeopled posses
sion. Immediately upon the Louisiana
purchase in 1903, the forecast and energy
| of jefferson was shown in the project of
| the survey of the vast wilder
ness intervening to discover a prac-
| tlCdUlo IOuGO lOI mISIdtl duU
traffic. Congress voted the money for an
expedition to trace the Missouri to- its
source, to cross the highlands, and to fol-
| low down the water courses to the Pacific
ocean. Lewis and Clarke executed this
task. Starting from St. Louis in May.
1904, they wlntered fifty miles above the
| present town of Bismarck, and came in
sight of the ocean on the 7th day of No
vember, 1905. Commencing their return
| in March, 1906, they reached st. Louis in
September of the same year. Thus, under
instructions drawn by the hand of Jeffer-
| son himself, the route now occupied by
the Northern Pacific railroad was opened
to the attention of the people of the
United States, and has from
time to time engaged their
interest, till the dream, the prospect
the project, and the efforts have ended in
| the work here and now. Henceforth the
transit from the Mississippi to the mouth
of the Columbia, and the return, will be
made in nine days for the round trip,
which occupied the first explorers two
| years and half.
| The prophecy and advocacy of a railroad
to our Pacific coast possession, to the Col
umbis river and to Puget's souLd, follow
ed close upon the first introduction in this
| country of this system of traffic and travel.
AS early as 1884, when the arrival and de-