Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-09-11
AGRICULTURAL HINTS.
A WELCOME.


he following poem was read by Rev. G. w.
PITS at the opening Of the National Farmers
ngress, 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
T9 where the yellow orange grows,
From Chesapeake's storied harbor bay
T&that Of golden Monterey,
From tasseled fields on boundless plains
To.whege the peariy cotton reigns.
Frem soil where first our fathers trod
To soil jpst as 1t 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, not 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 gloomy night bias 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 to sink or swim was tossed,
No land, no time has equaled this;
No passing hour so full OF bliss.
And let it be forever known
That freemen sitting on the throne
or learning justice and Of State,
Have made the Nation good and great.
That industry and 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 and toll
Has wreathed with flowers the virgin soil
From north to south, from east to west,
And maiathe world a welcome guest.
Arms wide we fling to all 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 'sstars and stripes" to float
One land, however parties'vote;
One law, and thae 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 thingsahis lies at the base;
AS this shall fail so fails the race;
AS this succeeds, SO all things tend
Forever toward q 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;
phe air floats soft with sweet perfume;
His 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.
And 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 If our cities we shall save
From rank corruptions yawntng grave,
Where vice aud awful vortex swirls,
'T9sfll 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,
<Ald, charmpof en simplicity!
o, welcome then, thrice welcome all!
May richest blessings on you fall!
May wisdom, concord, and good will
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