The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-12-15
HIstorY ina Nntahall.


The Grafton Of Senator Depew. OF New
York At the memorial services held in
Washington last night, commemoratlng
tie one hundredth anniversary Of the
death Of George Washington, was not
only eloquent in its tribute to the char
acter Of the Father Of His Country"
but instructive In its reflective features
n pointing out the marvellous growth
Of the Nation and the relative progress
Of the people since the daTs when the
first President closed his eyes In eter-
nal slumber. Figures are generally dry
reading and calculate 1as unlnterest:ng,
but Senator Depew's summary Of our
advancement in thas time is almost
fctional In It's interest. It Is unuuali-
fedly instructive, especially to the
youth Of the land. and within a COM
pressed space contains the vital fea.
lures Of the history Of our progress
IN contemplating the heritage which
now enjoy in living In republic Of
we now enjoy in living in a republic Of
forty i've states, we md 1t
has grown from fifteen. Then
our country covered eight hum
dred and i've thousand. four hum
dred and sixty-one square miles, now
three million six hundred and two
thousand nine hundred and ninety on
this continent and one hundred and
thirty thousand more In our colonial
Islands. The population Of four mill
lions has become at least seyenty-tive
mlllIons, our revenues have increased
from twelve to over six hundred mill
lions, and our estimated wealth from
a hundred million to a hundred billion
q dollars.
Further exploiting our quick step
With civilization and our expanding
wealth, Senator Depew eloquently says:
we import seven hundred millions Of
merchandise annually against seventy
nine millions in 1889, and from an exc
porting country OF seventy -eight mile
lions year, the products Of our fields,
factories and mines, exported, yield
twelve hundred and tWenty-seVen mile
lion Of dollars. The balance OF trade
against US in 1893 was exhaustlng the
slender resources OF our forefathers,
while now the opulent surplus Is making
US the richest, most prosperous and
most progressive nation in the world.
Two hundred thousand miles OF rail-
roads. and million miles OF telegraph
wires have succeeded the twenty thou
esnd miles OF postal routes on which
was then conducted the internal traffic
BY land and the dissemination OF letters
ana literature. The earnings Of the
trailroads or the output Of our mines or
the products OF our farms are every year
far IN excess OF the total wealth OF
tne country al the death Of Washing
ton. The nineteen colleges at the close
OF the last century have grown to four
hundred and seventy-two, with one hun-
dFed and sixty thousand students while
Afty thousand more are In the theologt-
cal law, medical and scientific schools.
The common school system, which hard
II existed outside Of New England, now
numbers among the youth Of our land
fifteen millions Of pupils.
There was mot boat on the Ohio tine
Mississippi OF the Missouri rivers or the
great lakes at the close OF Washingt0n'a
administration, while we close the CEN
tury with an internal commerce by land
and water greater than that on all the
seas OF the earth and all the railroads
Of the rest OF the world. We were at
that time importing everything we
used, except the products OF the fields
and forests, But to-day our agricultural
machines SOW and pillow and reap on the
fields Of Europe, Asia, Africa and Aus
tralia. Our locomotives are In Eng
land, our bridges span the Nile. our cleo
tFlcal appliances find their way Into the
colonies OF European countries and on
the continent. Our iron and steel and
textile fabrics are invading foreign mar
ketS We have become so much the
granary OF the old world that an inter-
ruptlon OF our exports for three months
would produce industrial anarchy in
England.
Every schooIboy and schoolgirl should
commit this concise compendium Of the
history of our country to memory, and
We are sure that 1t will not be injurious
reading for the adult or the aged.