The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-12-03

ton we have much for which to he
thankful. Abundant blessings have
been bestowed upon us. No wars have
devastated our fair land. The passions
of the people have not been as greatly
excited as at some previous times. No
pestilence has spread abroad over any
part of our commonwealth. There are
cheering signs of quickening con
science, giving promise of a deep and
rational revival of religion. 1t is true,
as President Roosevelt has said in his
proclamation, that we have probably
more reasons for gratitude to God than
any other people. Good times, boun.
tiful harvests, thriving industries, gen
eral prosperity, peace with all the ma
tons and among ourselves; not few
tokens of the divine favor in our relig-
ious life; a quickening of the educa-
tional life and of the public conscience;
the emptying into every day rich bless
ing and priceless treasure from His
store-house above. For these blessings
it behooves us to come before God with
praise and thanksgiving.
And now the words of the great Jew
ish lawgiver deserve our attention
When thou hast eaten and art full
then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God
for the good land which He hath given
thee" The Jewish people were on
their way from Egypt, the land of
bondage, to Canaan, the land Of prom
ise. They had already passed Kadesh
Barnea and the brook Zered. God had
led them to the very border of the
promised land, so healthful, so fertile
'nd so rich in resources. The land was
theirs If they would but enter in. Ow-
ing to their incredulity and disobed-
ence, God very frequently encouraged
them with promises, admonished them
With commandments and threatened
them with punishments. Supreme
love to God and unfaltering obedience
to His commandments were required
of them, as indeed of us all. when
hey had eaten and were full of the
fruits OF their good land they were to
nless the Lord their God. Without any
sense of national vanity, aud without
undue play of the imagination, we may
say of our own country, our own Unit
ed States, it is good land" and
when we have eaten and art full, we
should bless the Giver. Our "good
land" extends from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and from the oath to the 49tl)
degree of north latitude, occupying, as
we all know, the central portion of the
continent. Our vast and fertile terri
tory; our agricultural and mineral re.
sources of inestmable value; our indus
tries, so firmly established; our com
merce, so extensive, now to be in part
carried through our own isthmian ca
nal our principles of government, ad
nlittedly the highest and best; the ee
ments of discord being held in check
and at many places entirely disappear
ing; our states, retaining their inde
pendenee, constantly growing int
union, so as to really form one from
many; our schools and our churches
universally acknowledged as strons
factors in our national life, should leaC
lis to give hearty assent to the doctrine
that ours Is great nation, a pre-emi
nently good land" This fact shonC
lead us to appreciate our opportunities
meet our responsibilities and esteem
the honor of being Americans. To emu
merate little more closely:
/. Ours is u good land" in materia
productions. Our barrel of meal ha,
not wasted and our cruise of oil has no
failed. At no former period has oul
material prosperity been more conspic
uous than during the past year The
bounty of God has rested upon the la
bors of the husbandman, and we have
heard the gleeful shouts of many har
-vesters. The farmer, the lahorer the