The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1905-10-29
CLEVELAND'S
ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT UNWILLING OF
j s. MORTON MONUMENT.
Pays Magnificent Tribute to Deeeas-
ed Nebraskan, Whom the ES-
President Termed "a Man Of
the West.

lS dDSlIdtl bl lne duuleSS OF eN-BIeS-
ident Grover Cleveland delivered
here today at the unveiling Of the
monument; o. j. Sterling Morton:
/ 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 afdr superfluous recit.
al of his Virtues and mental endow-
ments. You who within the sacred
precincts of his home. knew the
warmth OF his love. you who daily
found cheer and delight in the sun
light of his steady. constant friend
ship. and you. his immediate fellow
citizens who have been stirred to
admiration and attachment of his un-
selfish and effective labor in behalf
of those with whom his lot was cast,
need no words OF mine to arouse in
your minds the sentiments which
beft theis commemorative occasion.
Even though all were silent, the
beautiful monument here erected
would itself signify the love and
friendship and admiration which are
today revived by the recollection of
an affectionate. 6utiful and useful
life.
Dul dul uOl ntIt NlNnOuA
sion, | would fain interpret this mon
uments message TO me, rs II recalls
my close companionship and cooper
tion, in the discharge of the highest
upblic duty with the man We honor.
| am here to give evidence concern.
ing the things he revealed TO me In
the light Of that companionship and
cooperation. This is but to testify
TO his lofty civic righteousness, his
simple and sure standards OF public
morality. his stern insistence on Of
fetal honesty. his sturdy adherence
to opinions deliberately and consci-
entiously adopted. his generous con.
cession to others of every result OF
their efforts. and his passionate de-
sire to serve the best interests of his
fellow-countrymen.
am not required. for the sake of
exaggerated tribute, to insist that in
the mere possession of these virtues
our friend was distinguished above
all others. But 1t must be said that
he stood out from amidst vast con
gregation of others who believed and
knew the right, because in the de
fense of the right as he believed and
knew II. he was willing to fight and
Nuutls bpl OHl9 III ON III tl 5htb VI
private and social existence but in
the fiercer. deadlier amphitheatre Of
public life. He believed that the
same care and good faith eXacted
by a trust undertaken for an indi-
vidua were due to the people from
those who assumed official responsi.
bilities; and he believed that waste
in public expenditure was sin. These
beliefs were not in his mind mere
comfortable sentiments. mildly slim
ulating to self-righteousness, but
were active incentives TO battle.
As pioneer among the settlers of
the great West he espoused with af-
fectionate zeal every movement or
interest that promised its develop
ment and proserity; but even this
he did with such strict subordinatlon
to the commands of conscience, and
with such courageous reliance upon
the strength that comes of clear con
viction, that in advocating his be
liefs on economic and financial topics.
he did not hesitate to attack the
opinions and prejudices of those
with whom ne had made his home.
There was no bitterness of heart in
all this; bu' there was the positive,
rugged earnestness OF strong de-
termined man quite content TO trust
time and sober secohd thought for
his vindication.
Our friend loved nature with con
stancy and delight; and through ma
ture 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 established the planting OF
trees as custom of general observ-
ance among our people. This work
was done without trumpeting the
praise of the man who founded Ar
Dor Day. and without perverting its
beneficent design to the exploitation
of his fame II was done modestly
and quietly-in keeqng with the dis-
position of its promoter and mis- es-
innate of reasonable service. NO
beautiful crest or elaborate coat OF
arms would so well illustrate his
grand simplicity, or typify the spirit
i'm which thi project had It's rise
and completion. as its symboii2atlon
by "a growing tree surmounung the
homely legend, plant Trees.
Though the erection of this mon
ument may hove had It's beginning
in the loving appreciation of Arbor
Day. we cannot escape the feeling
that it would tell but little of the
story OF the life and career OF the
founder of that day if there were NOT
imperishaoly inscribed upon 1t the
words pioneer, Statesman, Scholar
as well as "Tree-Planter."
If our people ever return again to
their trust in character as a steady
ing force in our restless enterprise
and immense material growth, 1t VIII
be when they take to heart the full
significance of such commemora-
ton as this. We memorialize a man
who not only earned the lasting hon
or of his countrymen, but whose lie
in all things worthy of high endeaVor
was abundantly successful, As a pi-
oneer who labored to improve the
new country of his home, he lived
to see It blossom as a rose; as a
scholar he cultivated his own men
tol nouarc and apuuirpQ l{nOWlpug IN