The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-09-03
CARBONDALE'S
GOLDEN JUBILEE

ICunCludCd nom rage III
youth can no more be- rc.aS,cmhlcd than the
leaves let loose on heavens air. When double
score of years have passed over our heads, the
friends ot school and childhood DAYS are dead or
lost and one must look for hiS friendships and
associates among those who, like himself, are
drifting away from the old shore on ltc's stormy
sea.
II Is solemn az well as Joyous occasion which
bring us here to renew the friendships ut ioiin'r
days We stand by the ncwmadc grave oi the
old century and by the cradle ot the new, to
note the flight of years IN the building Of city.
We here complete tho record of nifty years ot
steady progress, mauful perseverance and success.
tl effort. We, the living, offer 1t rs tribute
TO the memory " our dead, and dedicate IT TO
those who are to follow as a priceless heritage.
Some retrospect ot the half century which h1S
lust ended appears tp I've ono ct the duties oi
this occasion. | hope you will hc oharltah'y
enough inclined to pardon me for attempting 10
do what othcrs among You can more httnvly
accomplish. | have the consolation ot knowing
however that there are those hero who can 'hiScl
10 polished excellence the stone on which ! but
rudcly attempt 10 carve this hrci reference To a
oity's life. The strength and security Of the
municipality as well as the nation. rests upon
The virtue intelligence and patriotism Of lis 'i'i-
zcns In the possession of these attributes Car
b0ndalc stands rrc.omincnt among the cnics
which give strength and character to or country.
IN inc nP OF UdllbH' 'I " OI|'Hl' lI''ll'N' WY
wears have been but moment. and to those who,
life myself, have, with our city, passed the M.
ticth milestone, il SC, ms hut aS yesterday since
barefootcd and free from care We trod the green
and climbed the hills of Carbonate. have
seen the hills and valleys, the rNctS and Lakes
of all our states and have admired their grandeur
and beauty. hut nowhere have ! seen more
beautiful view than that which now looms up
before mo- in mental vision, as ! recall the slup.
ing hills, which seemed to me a. waving s"l-
nf sturdy pines and hrmlochS above the valley
n the Iackiwanna, a. they came together ~
towing embrace where the waters that poured
through Racket Brook glen and the Lackawsnna
came together.
There is not in the wide world valley SO sweet,
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters
mcct.
Tho hardy ialmias and laurel. fringinG the an.
cicnt forest. grew and houri>hcd and bloNSomcd
and withcrcd and died aud came to life again
for countless ages before civilized man set foot
between these hills. Strong hearts and manly
man were thcy who FIRST brlycd the haulShipS
Of pioneer life back in The twcntics, when the
white mans axe let the first ray of sunlight 10
the heart of the primcval forest that but short
time before gave back the echoes to th' iod
mans yell. They did not nnd awaiting them
any Of the evidences ~ civilization. Everything
was as God had planted it centuries before, and
their task was TO change the face ot nature aud
70 build town. !, has we'll been said that tire
PtrOnECSt character i NI'llGl hIl lll'NEN '''IN-
bat with adycrsty and opposition, and It can ~
well and tuthuy be said of those who founded
Carhondilc that they were strong lu resolve aud
brave in adversely Ii they had found ,iutrIu->
in the forest bridges built across tine streams,
houses erected and soil under cultivation; Z
they had found churches and tine schools await.
ing them, it would not have been necessary for
them 10 put forth the almost suprrhuman chous
which transformed wilderness into city ~
beautiful homes IN which all the advantages of
advancing civilization are in evidence on every
hand. They came here to work and not 10 Idle
the time away. They came 10 build and not TO
destroy. They did not come because they could
not ind work At home, hut because they wished
to enjoy freedom and independence in it, exercise,
hs well as IN the worship uf Most lligh They
came from various lanes. from homes they loved
dearly and well, hut in which thought and action
were Curhcd because they could take no part
in the making If Laws or in the selection of those
who were to administer them. In a word they
came TO hc free, To work Oh, the problem of lite
Tor thcn>olN Ives in a new and rmluclpatcd world.
The Scotch, the Irish, the Welsh, the English
and the German came To- the val" oi tho La,ki.
wanna from their fu.rNuy shriuos and laid their
differences oi rae, and opinion ON the common
altar for the good of all, here 10 carve 4 nov;
destiny and rear 4 city uf Nirtuous, peaceful
homes. II was love Of lhCi! that brought our
fathers here; II WIS the spirit ot nicpondon o
that demanded the establishment ot city ~
their own, 50 that local autonomy, in which each
one should hlIc hCurht and burden. might hr
recognized. They came with an exalted idea OF
the right which each man owes 10 his ncghhoJ,
and there existed Il security. even above the law.
in the prevalence oi moral sentiment winch
made it safe in that carly day to sleep witt uu.
locked doors.
Carbondalc did not exist in the heroic age II
our country or that period extending from the
middle of the eighteenth century TO the ending
of the frst quarter ot the nineteenth, which en-