Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-03-21

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%zzzEbf~LNN@ of the Santa Fe
" IW/< railroad at Tope-
n.y. = duced as "a law
N yer. a gentleman
and a prince of
GEORGE R. PECK. good fellows" His
theme was "The Light of Other Days"
and he spoke as follows:
You remember-do you not?-how the
stories which beguiled the happiest
hours of childhood began with the pre-
liminary words: "Once upon time"
In some form or other, these words
creep into all the annals of human life
and of human affairs; not always ex-
pressed, but always understood. Once
upon time there was man in the land
of Cz whose name was job and then
there is unfolded to our gaze one of the
noblest dramas of all literature. The par
ables of the New Testament, with which
the Great Master illuminated His teach
ingS, and which point uneeringly to the
lesson He wished to incuicate, illustrate
this rule of narration, for the mind
consciously supplies the words. Once
upon a time "a certain man planted
vineyard and set hedge about it, Once
upon time there judge that
feared not God" Once upon a time
there was a certain rich man which was
clothed In purple and fine linen and
farede sumptuously every day" Once
upon a time "a certain man had two
sons;'' and then we have the story
true to human nature of the prodigal
and his Jealous elder brother, who re-
manned at home-not much to his adj
vantage, we learn from the story.
You remember the rapturous sonnet Of
Keats. which begins:
''Then I felt like some watcher of the
skies
And yet, all his ecstacy arose from the
eli Tarlfa 1cal of fhof IN,
which deep-browed Homer tells how
.once upon a time Achilles and Aga
memnon led the embattled Greeks to the
plains OF Troy. where they fought the
hosts of Priam to the tragic end.
We trace the currents of human life
by gathering up stories. traditions, leg
ends and sagas of the past and from them
extract history. Thuycidides, Tacitus.
Froissart, Clarendon and the rest have,
far beyond their own intent given
glimpses of things they did not fully see
themselves.
And now come to my excuse for so
long a preface. You do not know-at
least, you do not all know-the pleasure
feel in being here tonight Naturally.
one must be gratiffed when he is per-
mitted to mingle in the company of
distinguished portion of the American
bench and bar. But this is not all
though surely that were enough. "Once
upon a time" more than 80 years ago
Ehue! fugaceS labuntur anil stood on
the brow of yonder bluff looking out on
a land Of promise. and wondering if it's
beckoningS were honest ones, only the
mirrored pictures of my too ardent imag-
ination. Kansas City was then, now,
the gateway of the west. That day it
was 6. prophecy, now it is the fulfill
ment of a prophecy. Then 1t
dream, now it is a dream come true.
You have, believe, always admitted that
your growth, your prestige and your
commercial Importance have come large
ly-I had almost said principally-from
Kansas, that great, noble happy I'M
happy state. 1 remember hearing her
called Cinderella. How often have her
beautiful eyes been wet with tears, but
where are they now? Kissed away by
the protecting genius that has cherished
her in good and in evil days. Though 1
am now alien in citizenship, I can never
be an alien in heart. When Kansas first
became my home, her broad acres were
a border land, and her horizon the rim
and margin of all my hopes. Those were
the days of cheerful yesterdays and con-
fdent to-morrows; of loyal friends land
their adoption tried of poverty and
contentment, twin blessings that bring
Joy to every home in which they dwell.
My Kansas was clad in beauty every
day, and on her brow set the seal
of courage and of faith. When 1 hear
of the newcomers who are now finding
homes within her boundaries I wish them
well and congratulate them upon the
wisdom that has led them thither.
think how they will add to her wealth,
her property and her honor, and then
indulge hope that they will not tram
pie out the wild roses which used to
scent the morning air, nor disturb the
yellow sunflowers that ''once upon
time made the prairies glisten like
golden shield.
1 pray you. do not blame me for this
sentimental affection for your neighbor.
I ams mindful that this city is in Mis-
souri,, and I know, too, that Missouri
is an imperial realm whose resources
cannot be measured whose wealth is
boundless, whose destiny is secure. And
yet you are Kansas City. I am sure
you would not change that name; and if
you should mediate such step, all
Kansas would rise in indignant protest
at wanton violation of her time
honored rights.
subtle, sweet and indefinable. 1t is like
the sea, with its breath of unsullied
breezes. And there too, the people, freed
from the conventionalities of older COM
munities, revel in the privilege of being
natural. I count any man unfortunate
whose fate has not permitted him, at
some period of his life, to call Kansas his
home. Perhaps he is not to blame. but
surely he is to be pitied. AS I look back
upon those days. which had in them so
much of laughter and so little of tears, .
think of the lines with which Wods-
worth opens his great ode, the "Intima-
tions of Immortality:"
There was time when meadow. grove
and stream,
The earth and every common sight
To me did seem
Appareled in celestial light.
The glory and the freshness of a dream"
Then everything-even the sunshine
seemed young. But, after all, so far as
we know, one part of the earth's sur
face is as old as any ether. 1t is only
we who change. shifted hither and
thither by that silent mechanism which
controls all the generations OF men. ,