The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-13

are respected, SO long will the influence
of Abraham Lincoln live, and so long
will his name be honored and revered.
Comrades of the Grand Army of the
Republic, citizens of the great state Of
Kansas: Fortunate are you to have
lived in this progressive age and to
have made your homes in the very
center of our glorious country.
Il remember this region when it was
roamed over by vast herds of buffalo.
We campaigned against savage In
dams when they were devastating the
western counties of this state. Destroy
ing the homes of your citizens and
carrying into cruel captivity the inno-
cent and helpless
Now peace and plenty reign supreme
I can indeed congratula you on the
achievements of the past, not only in
war, but in far higher degree-in
the victories of peace.
You have borne an honorable part in
maintaining the perpetuity- of your
for your children's children for all
tins.
From the red fields of war. Unionist
and Confederate returned to their
homes, OF together turned their faces
toward the setting sun.
side by side and shoulder to shoulder
they have transformed this mighty
west from wild prairies and mountain
wastes to settled communities and pros
porous states. Here we have seen those
who wore the blue and the gray be-
come the home builders of this richest
country of the world. Here you have
wrought the most wonderful work of
ancient or modern times, and yet what
you have accomplished during the past
will be greatly surpassed by your
achievements in the future.
$50 to you citizens of Kansas would
say that you have at your very doors
the abundant elements of wealth and
happiness. You have a climate unsur-
passed, soil the fertility of which
will not be exhausted in a thousand
years, and beneath the surface there
lies dormant riches that will support a
population of tens of millions of peo-
Die. You need not look for other coun-
tries to conquer, subjugate or despoil.
1.-THE contrast between war and peace
is illustrated by the fact that what
treasure has been expended on the
Philippine islands would have put wa
ter on every quarter section of arabic
land in our country where it is requir-
ed. 1t would have built for the farm
erS of this country splendid system
of good roads; or for commerce, two
ship canals across the iSthmuS. And
yet with it all that is no country for
an American man, woman or family.
Within the territory of the Philippines,
an area not as large as your neighbor-
ing territory of New Mexico, there are
crowded over eight millions of Malays,
as many people as there are now living
in the entire western half of the Uni
ted States. There Is an abundance OF
room here in this glorious western
country, and there is no more honor
able life than that of the man who
walks between two rows Of corn. You
can be Just as honest; just as we'll IN
formed; just as patriotic as Abraham
Lincoln. And you may be assured there
can be no loftier or purer ambition
than to lead the honorable life of an
American sovereign citizen.
% toilers of the world, true glory lies,
Not in great empires built DER dead
mems bones,
But in those deeds of charity and love,
Which light out earth as Heaven is lit
by stars