Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-10-28
The NATIONAL FLOWER.

the National flower. and | am not 90
ing TO pay Messrs. Whang & Co. TWEEN
ty-hve cents for the privilege either.
Talk about corruption In our Nation al !
elections. there has been moro money
spent in this flower campaign, right ut
tho polls. and openly. too. than would
elect councilman. Fellow citizens,
Indians not taxed, Cinnamon and
women. l give my hand and my
vote to the humble and obtru-
sive plantain. She needs no en-
comium from me. There she stands,
or rather squats. WhereP Right
there, right where you are looking at
this minute II there is spot OF ground
six inches square within half n mile
OF you. In the velvet lawn that cost
you four dollars a square foot, in the
pansy bed; In the tub wherein grows
the accursed Oleander breaker of hui
man backs, In the garden Of roses, in
the toothsOme bed where the south
wind letters amid tho loud breathed
onion. stealing and giving odor;
wherever you have planted any thing,
whoreveT yOu haven !. On the hill
sides OF New England, On tho
bleak and rocky coast OF Maine.
In the orange groves OF Florida,
on the great aika;i deserts Of the wild
and wooi;y West, where Shasta hoary
head lifts Itself to the clouds. crowned
with eternal grandeur. and where the
giooering tourist cack:es and chatters
tn FnTnh TIM ~ Mo,,-k l.
ington; wherever tho foot OF man has
trod. and everywhere that it hasn't,
there springs this radiant weed OF
hope, eternal on the mundane breast;
there strikes Its ell long root,
this he b OF truth, though ofttimes
crushed TO earth, rising again
stronger than ever. and spreading
itself over tho adjacent grass. like q
true born American hogging four
seats In a railway car. Oh. citizens.
i do bespeak your ''most sweet
voices" for the plantain. II knows
no East. no South. no North. no West;
IL has no sectional pre;udices. no
local pride or Limitation; just wher-
ever the soil 10 fertile or barren it
lays hold on life, it comes to stay. il
gets there. Eli. Where nothing else
will grow 1t flourishes IKE the grass
hopper; whore smartweed peri5hes
because II has no root the plantaiu
makes crop A few short weeks in
Siushy spring the Mayhower hides its
pretty bloom in mountain slopes and
eastern hills. a transient quest OF
local fame and brieiest life When
autumn filings her gorgeous ban
ners to the skies. tho golden
rod. for a few passing weeks.
makes radiant the meadow. glen
and hill. and then departs to hide
away the year, but thou. OH plantain
OF the sandy craw thou hast tho grip;
thou art q slayer, thou; thou art
laster from Wayback; thou art the
first to come. the last TO 20. Thee.
the all beholdlng sun upon his annual
farewell tour secs all the time. max.
Ing glad the door yard OF the poor.
and playing merry Cain upon the rich
mans lawn. Thou thrivest upon per-
secution; thou turnest rot back from
them for the grasshook. and sayest
among tho lawn mover. ha. hal The
rains nour:sh thee. the sun burned
drought maketh thee strong, a black
frost tingeth thy leaves with luster
life and a six foot freeze that Kills the
east-iron hitching posts Is pie for the
plantain. 1t is American clean
through. this fresh and cheeky weed.
1t has an imported nams-p;antag-
fnace@, and Is proud OF It,. as any
American when she has invented q
coat OF arms and married an ances-
Tor. That IS It's family name, tho
plantain which claims the honor Of
being the national flower has O name
as purely American as the continent
ftself--Piantago major. Long live
the majori Forever foat that stand.
ard weed, where--Ehp What's thatp
lit isn't an American plant at all; IL
is found al over the inhabited and
uninhabited world?" Well, Jeemses
River! Isn't that Americana Rise
M. major YOU are eiootnd 49, Rnt,a RI