The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1903-11-26

thlltu W WV vi N WI U'N'"bA WI
the serious illness of his daughter,
Miss Marion, who is there attend.
ing school. Also letter express
sive of much feeling and interest
ir the occasion was read from Dr.
l.. NJ. Perkins of Stcilacoom, Wash.
DIR. F. l.. KEITH : ADDRESS.
Mr.. Toastmastcr and Gentlemen:
Blessed is he that expecteth little
Of me. for he shall not be disappoint.
ed. Not only as duty, but with
the greatest pleasure | take adyant.
age Of this opportunity to speak Il
lew words OF communication Of the
one whom We seek to honor.
have known Or. Williams from
my early bOyhood and was associat'
ed with him in the practice Of medi-
cine for two years, and | have felt
for a long time that the physicians OF
his home county should show some
our friend, would he most migrate
full II withheld the richly deserved
words of concentration.
Carlyle says: Infinite Is the help
man can yield to man" Hundreds of
our fellow countrymen can testify
that most nobly has our venerable
friend fulfilled this saying, and with
great pride do publicly testify this
fact
Did II ever occur to you that II
Is to such bold and courageous spir'
its "a our doctor friend that We owe
the advancement OF our civilization
and the settlement Of our country?
The world stood fourteen hundred
and ninety.two years after the birth
Of Christ before this continent was
| known to exist; after the discovery
of the continent il was nearly hun
drcd years before any settlement wa'
made, and 1t was yet over two hun
drcd years before a government wal
established, consisting Of thirteer
puny colonies or states along the At
lantlc. coast.
For years the Blue Ridge Mountain
formed an impossible barrier to fur
Their western advancement.
True a handful of French had set
tied in the Mississippi Valley, havinl
come by way OF the Great Lakes o
the Gulf.
Some years after Thomas jefferson
made his extensive real estate dea
our old friend. then bold and ad
veuturous young man of twentytou
years of age, left his home Of civil
ization and refinement, climbed tn
Allegheny Mountains, descended tn
western slope and travelled toward
the setting sun until he had crosse
the great Father of Waters and hal
cd among the French settlers of Wasl
ington county, in 1S43. When 20
think that this was sixty years agC
probably before you and | were borl
and, little less than fifty years afte
we Aad gained our independence, an
onl, Nout fifteen years after the frs
white man had settled within tn
borders OF what is now Stoddar
county, you can at once realize this
our then young friend was. to ga
the least, an early pioneer. Not
Missourian by birth, but by choic
as he was born In 1919. before MI
souri, was state.
He came from Old Dominic
which has given so many great ar
good men to the West and to the n
ton. To be born In Virginia seen
to be favored of God, for the longe
ity of those born there seems to
something wonderful, but II beir
born In Virginia laid for our doct'
friend the foundation of long IL
our own Missouri must have built
lasting structure on this foundatio
: for after living nearly three tim
the life OF the average man he BIZ
fair to spend among US many mo
happy and useful years.
Unlike many who came into q
State bringing only a gun an dog,
' brought brains, a very potent tact
: in the development of any country.
S Graduating from the Military AGA
. envy Of Virginia, he was in possessi
of fine literary education, and VIII
he arrived in Missouri he at on
became engaged in teaching, a
many there are to-day who can ties
e fly to his proficiency In this line.
successful WIS he that he at orce {