The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1900, 1889-01-26
The One Hundred and Thirtieth An.
niversary OF the Birth OF
Scotland's Bard.
THE SCOTS OF dREAT FALLS GEL.
EBRATE THE DAY.
A Night of Feasting, Speech Making,
Song and Dance, in Honor
Of Robert. Burns.

ANY, ~ was dn hub bpNlOuS OCCASION.
The refreshments we're good and the
music delectable.
DIR. Gordon acted y chairman Of the
evening, or toast master.
The toast Robert sRurns" was respond
ed to by ]. B. Leslie, whose response was
meritorious indeed. He said that Bobby
Burns was raised in the midst of poverty;
he was never great a. q jurist, warrior
or statesman. Notwithstanding these
facts the immense pssemblage was
tribute to his mem4ry. Robert Burns
was one of natures snoblest poets. By
the inspiration of HE poetic genius,
truths unmistakeablA everlasting, have
been Incorporated inIhis poems. He has
written the "Home, Sweet Home" of
Scotland. 1t is impossible to estimate
what his poetry has wrought for the
human race. Its work is silently and
sweetly done. The poems of Robert
Burns are the cOnsummation of the poetic
art.
''There was Laddr was then sung by
Mr.. Findlay, and much applause was
ELECTED,
Mayor Gibson responded to the toast,
"Our City and Commerce" in substance
as follows:
Ladies and gentlemen: members of the
Caledonian club of Great Falls, l am
glad to be present with you tonight, and
join with you in celebrating an event
which is being celebrated every where
throughout the civilized world and which
will be continued to be celebrated each
recurring year so long as civilized man
shall live upon the face of the earth. In
considering the toast assigned to me that
you gentlemen, descendants of the Scot
ish race are not the first men of the race
to inhabit this grand country, although
you are pioneers in Great Falls and this
section of Montana. Forty years ago,
fifty years ago, yes, seventy years ago, in
trepid Scotchmen occupied this country,
which extends from the shores of Lake
Superior to the Pacific ocean and north
ward from where we are now distance
of thousand miles. Those men carried
on important commercial relations. They
were masters of the situation and dis
SnoMh ser aSafH 2ear race
cept what l have cleaned in casual
way, from those men who occupied this
country at that remote period, certainly
would place your race in the foremost of
all civilized races Of the earth If you
discharge the duties that devolve upon you
with such fidelity and honesty, you will
reflect credit upon your native country
and the country Of your adop-
ton. believe on the shore of the Pa
citic ocean will spring up several cities
of great importance, cities which will
count their population by hundreds
of thousands, and after = while
by millions Of people. Between the Pa
cific ocean and Mississippi river, large
inland cities will be built, and of the
cities which will occupy this great
country between these two points, in
my judgment, Great Falls will be the
most prominent Of them all [Applause. I
and the most important Of them all as
regards its industries, its commerce and
it's population. This is my honest con
viction upon the extraordinary advan-
tages which kind Providence has placed
here. Never in all my travels and ex-
periences in the United States have
seen a place which has such extraordin-
ary advantages and vast resources as the
town Of Great Falls. If its chief advan-
tages were its water power alone it would
in time become great city. With that
important auxiliary of vast field Of ex-
cellent coal adjacent to it the rich ores in
this vast region may be treated. There
may be water powers as large as this
here, but know Of none as available. 1t
seems as though the Almighty had in
view the treatment of these ores
when he built these falls and
rapids. The time will come when
the banks of the river along these
falls will be lined with great works ror
reducing ores. This townsite is located
in country which possesses more
mineral advantages than other section
Of the United States. According to the
most recent reports we have received the
mineral output last year was 5000, 900;
surprising that Of any other State or
Territory Of the Union. When any per
son will point out to ME or show ME place
within the limits of Montana that pos
sesses greater advantages for treating the
ores Of this country, then | will yield
that that point is superior to Great Falls.
No man has been able to find the place.
There is no other place like this, and
lust as sure Us the sun will rise tomor-
row morning, just SO sure you will see
on the banks OF this beautiful river in
dustries which will give employment to
many thousand men. / have heard it
suggested that the city ofGreat Falls will
be the centre Of great industrial activity,
but that it will not be town Of much
commercial Importance. Now, it has al
ways been my belief that Great Falls will
in time become the leading commercial
city in the West. This firmly believe
and l will give you my reasons for it:
During long period of my past life |
lived in the city Of Minneapolis. have
seen that city grow from a small
village to city of magnificent pro-
portions. 1t is one Of the grandest
cities on the American continent. | can
hardly realized the results which have
been accomplished there during the past
twenty-five years. What produced these
results? 1t has been the development of
the water power of the falls at that place
and the establishment of a single industry
which of its kind is unsurpassed. Al
Minneapolis is ground a large proportion
of the wheat which is grown in the
State of Minnesota and the great terri
tory of Dakota Its famous flour is sold
in the large cities and villages of the
interior, and it crosses the ocean
and is sold in Glasgow, Liverpool anc
London. By the means Of that immense
output of flour Minneapolis has establish
ed commercial relations with the whole