The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-09-12
AGRICULTURAL HINTS.
A WELCOME.


The following poem was read by Rev. G. W
rofts at the opening of the National Farmers
ongress, at Council Bluffs, Ia.
Hail, benefactors Of our race,
OF brain and Drawn and honest face,
For you my harp gladly string
And join this hearty welcoming.
From every portion OF the land.
From prairie mount, and ocean strand,
From where the blue st. Lawrence flows
To where the yellow orange grows,
From Chesapeake's storied harbor bay
To that Of golden Monterey,
From tasseled fields on boundless plains
To where the peariy cotton reigns,
From soil where first our fathers trod
To soil just as it came from God,
You come with thought and purpose true,
Right royalty we welcome you.
You come like spring whose magic wand
To verdure woos the wintry land,
Like sun-kissed sail from DER the sea
With spices Of blest Araby.
You stand, rot as the Pilgrims stood,
On barren rock, mid dusky wood;
You wake not in some dread surprise
To meet the CLEAN of savage eyes.
The wilderness has passed away,
The gloomy night has turned to day,
And through this fair Edenic bloom
With songs of triumph you have come.
And here you come TO represent
A land Of freedom and content
The brightest, fairest meath the sun
Since history its page begun.
For since blest Paradise was lost,
And man 70 sink or swim was tossed,
No land no time has eoualed this;
No passing hour so full of bliss.
And let il be forever known
That freemen sitting on the throne
OF learning, justice and OF State,
Have made the Nation good and great.
That industry end thought combined
Have TO the past its dead consigned,
And placed the living in the van,
And unified the race OF man.
This brotherhood of thought aud toll
Has wreathed with flowers the virgin soil
From north 70 south, from east to west,
And made the world welcome guest.
Arms wide we fling to ali who come
To make our land their chosen home;
What'er their color or their speech;
But loyalty we ask Of each.
One flag, the stars and stripes" to float
One land, however parties vote;
One law, and that the peoples will;
One impulse, moving upward still.
And yet, there is a primal force
The soul of empire and its source,
And one TO which all others bow
The silent gliding Of the pillow.
OF all things this lies at the base;
As this shall fail so fails the race;
As this succeeds, so all things tend
Forever toward higher end.
Tue man who turns the generous sod
Walks closest with his maker. God
In faith he looks to Him who gives
The elements by which he lives.
To Him who makes the seasons new,
Who sends the sunshine, rain and dew;
Who broods DER orchard and DER field,
That to His smile their fruitage yield
There's purity in every breath;
There's purity above, beneath;
There's purity where'er he goes,
And pure the bio cd that In him flows.
And so he makes the desert bloom;
The air floats soft with sweet perfume;
Bis products on our board are spread;
The feathered songsters, too, are fed.
Not harvests only does he bring,
But cities rise and spindles sing;
The iron horse and palace car
Follow the gliding of his share.
Aad from the farms strong men are born
The highest places to adorn,
And purity Of brain and heart
They bring to council hall and mart.
And il our cities we shall save
From rank corruption's yawning grave,
Where vice and awful vortex swirls,
Twill be by country boys and girls.
o, for the full and throbbing vein,
The honest heart, the thinking brain,
The buoyant step, the sparkling eye,
And, charm of all, simplicity,
o, welcome then, thrice welcome ALL
May richest blessings on you fall!
May wisdom, concord, and goodwill
Like dew OF Heaven on each distill.
And while success you seek to gain
Let dull dependency be slain;
With courage true enter the lists,
A noble band OF optimists