Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-07-09
A STUDENT OF LATITUDE.
An Old Mans Observations Upon the Prog
ress of Civilization


An Old Mans Observations Upon the Prog
ress of Civilization.
ibid you ever make study of lati-
tude?" remarked gray-headed reader
at the Public Library to a reporter for
the Chicago Herald. mo? Well. YOU
should, without fail. It's very inter-
esting. Every man should study the
latitude and longitude of his city.
have taught all my sons to do it. You
know the ancestors of my family land
ed at Plymouth Rock in the Mayflower.
Did yon know that Plymouth Rock il
exactly east of Chicago? Well, il is.
Queer fact, but none of our family have
ever prospered off this line of latitude.
We have had to stick to AZ degrees
north in order to get along at all.
went down South just after the war.
Nearly starved to death. Came back
North. and did well. Went into South
ern Indiana and lost money Came
back to Toledo and had good luck.
Went up to Northern Michigan and
was sick. Came down to Chicago, and
have had good health and prosperity
right along. It's just the same with
other members of our family The
farther we get away from the latitude
of Plymouth Rock the more trouble we
have to get along. | leave it as a
legacy to all my descendants to stick
close to the AID degree of latitude or
prepare to go to the poor-house.
Now. why is this so? I'll tell you
why. We Yankees are tho direct de-
scendants of the purest representatives
of the Anglo-Saxons that ever came to
this Al l. =
blood come from? Why, from the
region that is now Central and South
ern Germany, directly east of England.
The blood, then, had its origin about
latitude 81 degrees north. 1t moved
directly west aud made England. But
there it met another great race the
Romans. They contended for the
mastery, and the Saxon finally won.
But here, in effect, was blended the
genius of the two greatest peoples in
the world. One line approached En-
gland directly from the east, the other
from the south. Upon this southern
line we find the Persians, great of old,
Constantinople, the scat of Empires,
Athens and Rome. As time flows on
the northern line becomes greatest in
war and commerce and colonization,
the southern greatest in art and learn
ing But when our Anglo-Saxon fore
fathers sail from England to America
where do they land? 1t was chance, |
know, but where was it? Why at Ply
mouth Rock, exactly in the latitude of
Rome. The great northern line comes
down to the great southern line in
new land, you see, blend the sturdiness
and the commerce of the one with the
art and learning of the other and what
is the result? Along that line or near
to it you find the greatest, most ad-
vanced part of America. Along that
line in future you will find the seat of
American empire-thc centre of wealth
and culture. Mark my word. just
follow that line a moment. One end is
at Rome, to which all roads led, and
the other at Chicago, to which all
roads lead. After running through the
birthplace of Napoleon. who represent
ed the southern line in its last great
military struggle with the northern, it
traverses the ocean and strikes the new
continent at Plymouth Rock. Boston
is just to the north, Providence lust to
the south, and Rhode Island, Massa-
chusetts, and Connecticut on either
side. As time wears ON and the march
across the continent begins see how
the pure Saxon sticks to the line. First
to Connecticut, then to Southern New
York, next the Western Reserve of
Ohio, Southern Michigan and Northern
Indiana, aud finally Chicago Boston,
Providence, Springfield, Hartford, New
Haven, Troy, Albany, New York,
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Rochester,
Buffalo. Erie, Pittsburg. Columbus,
Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, lndianapo-
lis, Chicago-all along this line, or
near it. West of here we find the line
in embryo broadening little on ac-
count of the great expanse of the coun-
try, and in its sweep 10 the coast en-
bracing all the better part of the great
West. In a hundred years its center
will be due west from Chicago, along
the line taking in Dcs Moines. Omaha,
and Ogden. ] make this as an old mans
prophecy.
You think this n funny idea, but,
young man, if your blood is pure An
glo-Saxon stick as close between the
41st and 43d parallels as you can.
There's where the genius of your race
has shown itself to best advantage,
and the wise man always seeks the
most favorable conditions for any work
he may have in hand. Nor is this by
any means the only interest ng study
in latitude and longitude. The map of
the world is full of these great lines,
chiefly from east to west, if you will
only study them out"
And the grayhaired old man again
buried his face between the covers of
great auarto yolumne.