The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-01-27

But now TO SET Tile WORTH dIlSllb
Was still beyond his ken.
But soon his eyes began to close,
His weary head to sink,
His waking mind to gain repose,
His sleeping mind to think.
1t was Wondrous dream that came
And yet could scarce be called dream,
(The phantom of a waking thought)
But more a consciousness Sc borne,
That, holding every sense In thrall,
Sent heralding its great approach,
A vague idea of pending i'll.
Then earth and stars were swept away,
] he dreamer'S clay existence lost,
And naught was left but his bare soul
And space, illimitable space,
But soon this awful solitude
This loneliness, unspeakable.
Seemed as lost and cherished friend
Compared to that which advent made
A swift and awful advent made,
In manner uncomfortable,
OF nature indeScribable,
But matter, vast and meaSureleSS,
Infinite variety
Was whirling, tWirling everywhere.
With fierce, relentless energy
And naught of order was therein,
But wild disorder reIgned supreme.
All think We men, who live by law o.
Whose every thought and every deed,
Restricted is by natures creed,
What must have been that souPs distress
Alone Win uCGef ldWl6SSuoSS-
Alone within an anarchy,
A chaos of ungoverned force.
Yet darkest midnight ever yields
To glory of the dawn;
Serenely. on Stagnant pool
The sweetest blooms are born.
And out of ali transgression comes
Forgiveness of the sin,
So out of torment into peace
That soul was uShered In.
For all the warning elements
Surrounding it grew still.
And suddenly together fused
With no diScordant thrill.
And there stretched away plain
Like summers CLASSY sea,
AS smoothly perfect, and still more
1t touched infinlty.
Yet never sea so tranquil lay
So beautiful and bright.
Soft flooded with the radiance,
AS of eternal light.
The dreamer woke, his mind ablaZe,
He knew from whence the vision came.
He dared believe he has been called
To institute vast reform.
And so behold preacher strong,
And eloquent and earnest goes
Forth into all the hauntS OF men
And ever tells this self same tale
And never looks for listeners:
"Oh hear my dream, my wondrous dream
1t burns my brain, impeiS my tongue,
I saw the true significance
OF this great, turbid tide of news
That floods the land with truth and lies
And knows no law but enterprise.
l saw mans universal soul
Tormented as it now must be
BY journalistic anarchy,
And then [ saw the sweet repose,
l,Ox /, tttt1ifl nCC or Cn1
That will extend before that soul
When men together, not apart,
Control the current of the views
Control the pulsng life blood OF
The progress ofhumanity."
And thus he told his wondrous dream,
And never lacked for listeners.
Long years he labored till at last
The great news bill both houses passed,
And he, though crowned with Whitened hair
Was chosen first to fill the the chair
Of editOr-in-chief of all
Who gather news, both great and small,
Where'er the U. S. mail could go,
U. S. news agents went also,
They sought and all men helped them find
The news of value to mankind.
AS foul blood to the heart inf1ows
Is purified, then outward goes.
So streams of news. both foul and fair
To great news centres everywhere
Poured in, were purified by men
Who could discriminate, and then
Flowed out to every waiting mind
Great streams of truth, condensed, refined.
But was this freedom of the press?
All yes. my friends, | answer yes,
No law controlled opinions act.
Law simply said. II state the fact,
1.-THE truth immutable. Let men
'Denounce, approve, with voice or pen,
Discuss from every point of view
"But let the peoples news be true"
This happened when you ask of me?
In 1898,
In nineteen hundred, ninety-three.
The annual excursion will probably b
o the worlds fair. This evening TIL
members of the association and larg
lumber of invited guests were tendere
reception in Grand Army hall. 1t wa
! most enjoyable occasion. A sumptu
Jus banquet was served followed by
lance.
The present meeting of the Main
Press Association is generally concede'
o have been one of the pleasantest in it