The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-29
TRIBUTES TO MORTON
STATUE IS UNVEILED IN NEBRASKA
 CITY.
Grover Cleveland, His Chief, and Hillary f A, Herbert, His Cabinet Coi- league, Eulogise Character
 of the Dead.

crate ceremony. a statue of J. Sterling
 Morton, Secretary of Agriculture in tho last Cleveland Cabinet, and founder of
 Arbor Day. was unveiled at Morton Park this afternon.
 Principal of those present at the ceremony were former President Grover Cleveland. former Vice-President Adlai
 E. Stevenson. Governor Mickey, Hon. l Hilary A. Herbert, David R. Francis and others associated with MT. Morton l during his term of office. Sterling Nor ton, a grandson of the Secretary. drew aside the curtain which exposed the | statue to view.
 There were six addresses. principal of l which was that of Mir. Cleveland, which | was a touching eulogy of his former ] Cabinet officer and personal friend I Other addresses were by Governor Mickey, who welcomed the visitors, and Hon. Hilary A. Herbert.
 Mir. CleveIand's Speech.
 I have not come to the surviving family of J. Sterling Morton, and to those who were his intimate friends | and neighbors. for the purpose of bringing from afar superfiuous recital l of his virtues and mental endown1ents. | You who, within the sacred precincts | of his home, knew the warmth of his | love, you. who daily found cheer and | delight in the sunlight of his steady, | constant friendship. and you, his im- ! mediate fellow citizens, who have been | stirred to admiration and attachment of his unselfsh and effective labor in behalf of those with whom his lot was cast, need no words of mine to arouse I in your minds the sentiments which befit this commemorative occasion. l Even though all were silent. the beautiful monument here erected would itself eloquently signify the love and friendship and admiration which are today revived by the recollection of an affectionate, dutiful and useful life.
 Not Without Mission.
 But I am not here without mission. I would fain interpret this monuments message to me, as 1t recalls my close companfonship and cooperation, in | the discharge of the highest public duty, with the man we honor I am here to. give evidence concerning the
 things he revealed to me in the light of that companionship and co-opera- tion. This is but to testify to his lofty civic righteousness, his simple and
 sure standards of public morality. his
 stern insistence on official honesty. his
 sturdy adherence to opinions deliber-
 ately and conscientiously adopted, his
 generous concession to others of every
 result of their efforts, and his passion- ate desire to serve the best interests in
 his ellow-countrymen.
 I am not required. for the sake of ex-
 aggerated tribute. to insist that in the
 mere possession of these virtues our
 friend was distinguished above all
 others. But it must be said that he
 stood out from amidst vast congrega-
 tion of others who believed and knew
 the right, because in defense of the
 right as he believed and knew 1t. he
 was willing to fight and suffer. not | only in a small arena of private and
 social existence, but in the fiercer.
 deadIier amphitheatre of public life. He believed that the same care and
 good faith exacted by trust under
 taken for an individual were due to the ) | people from those who assumed official
 responsibilities; and he believed that waste in public expenditures was sin. Net Mere Comfortable Sentiments.
 These beliefs were not in his mind } mere comfortable sentiments, mildly | stimulating to self-righteousness, but } were active incentives to battle. The
 noxious atmosphere of governmental | extrayagance could not blind his eyes; nor could the ridicule of those who had
 learned to scoff at official economy. or the threats of those who perfidiously contrived to appropriate public funds } to private gain. drive him to compro- mise with wrong. Bold and defiant in the midst of 1t all, he took brave coun- , sel of conscience. as did the daunt- , less Father of Reformation, who cried out to his tormentors: T cannot and . will not retract anything for to act against conscience Is unsafe and un- holy."
 Thus itwas that our friends fine nor al perception and his live of rectitude shed a bright and unwavering light on
 the path of official obligation; and thus
 did his clear discernment of duty lend {. impressivenes to his efforts towards
 the highest usefulness in public office. l It was, however, his keen intelligence
 and his worldly wisdom that taught him , that an effective equipment for the best ] public service needed large admixture of sterner stuff, and there was never a
 servant of the people who, in their l cause, met misrepresentation and un- just accusation with more fortitude, or saw the submergence of friendly rela- tions with more resignation, or dealt
 harder blows to dishonesty and wrong, whether lurking with friends or foes. No Bitterness of Heart.
 As a pioneer among the settlers Of the great West he espoused with af- fectionate zeal every movement or in-
 terest that promised Its development | and prosperity; but even this he did with such strict subordination to the
 commands of conscience, and with such
 courageous eliance upon the strength
 that comes of clear conviction, that in . advocating his beliefs on economic and financial totpics. he did not hesitate to l attack the Oplnl JI5 anu OA i those with whom he had made his
 home. There was no bitternes of heart
 in all this; but there was tho positive rukJ ed earnestness of Il strong. deter mined man, quite content to trust time
 ard sober second thought for his vim
 dication.
 Our friend loved Nature with con : stancy and delight; and through Nature he was led to a reverent love of the | Maker of the Universe. He served the purposes of God on earth and taught
 his fellow -countrymen to realize their | relationship to Nature and the Father
 of all created things, when he estab-
 lished the planting of trees as custom
 of general observance among our peo-
 ple This work was done without
 trumpeting the praise of the man who
 founded Arbor Day. and without per | verting it's beneficent design to the eX-
 ploitation of his fame. It was done
 modestly and quietly-in keeping with
 the disposition of its promoter and ms
 estimate of reasonable service.
 A Fitting symbol
 No beautiful crest or elaborate coa'
 of arms would so well illustrate his grand simplicity. or typify the spirit m which this project had it's rise anc , completion. as it's symbolization by [ growing tree surmounting the homelS . legend, Plant Trees"
 Though the erection of this monu' , ment nay have had its beginning in thu ~ H. nIo oAsa ,n