The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-09-22
CHAPTER I.

America than usual, and the Panama
canal had come to the front in a promis
ing and progressive way, but the Repub-
lie of Aureataland was certainly not In
q fourishing condition. Although most
happily situated Git lies on the coast,
rather to the north) 1, and gifted with an
extensive territory, nearly as big as North
Dakota, it had yet failed to make that
material progress which had been hoped
by its founders. 1t is true that the State
was still in it's infancy, being an offshoot
from another and larger realm, and hav-
ing obtained the boon of freedom and self
government only as recently as 1871, af-
ter series of political commissions of
violent character, which may be studied
with advantage in the well-kIown history
of THE Making of Aureataland,' by
learned professor of the jeremiah +.
jocks University. This profound histo-
rian is, beyond all question, accurate in
attributing the chief share in the national
movement to the energy and ability of
the first President of Aureataland, His
Excellency President Marcus w. Whit
tingham, a native of Virginia. Having
enjoyed personal friendship with that
SuiOhtcu hdu, as w III subsequently dppCdi,
l have great pleasure in publicly endors-
Ing the professors eulogium. Not only
did the President bring Aureataland into
being, but he moulded her whole consti-
tuition. at was his genius" (as the pro-
fessor observes with propriety) which
was fired with the idea of creating truly
modern State, instinct with the progress
sive spirit of the Anglo-Saxon race. 1t
was his genius which cast aside the worn
out traditions of European dominion, and
taught his fellow-citizens that they were,
If not all by birth, yet one and all by
adoption, sons of freedom Any mis-
takes in the execution of this fine con-
ception must be set down to the fact that
the Presidents great powers were rather
the happy gift of nature than the result
of culture.
To this truth he was himself in no way
blind, and he was accustomed to attrib-
ute his want of liberal education to the
social ruin brought upon his family by the
American Civil War, and to the disloca
ton thereby produced in his studies.
Starting under the auspices of such a
gifted leader, and imbued with so noble
zeal for progress, Aureataland was, at
the beginning of her history as a nation,
the object of many fond and proud hopes.
But in spite of the blaze of glory in
which her sun had risen, her prosperity
was not maintained. The country was
well suited for agriculture and grazing,
but the population very queer mixture
of races-was indolent, and more given
to keeping holidays and festivals than to
honest labor. Most of them were unintel-
ligent; those who were intelligent made
their living out of those who weren't,
method of subsistence satisfactory to the
individual, but adding little to the aggre-
gate of national wealth. Only two classes
made fortunes of any government
officials and barkeepers-and even in their
case wealth was not great, looked at by
an English or American standard. Pro-
ductien was slack, invention at a stand
STILL and taxation heavy. The Presi
dents talents seemed more adapted to
founding a State in the shock and turmoil
of war, than to the dull details of admin
istration and although he was nominally
assisted by a cabinet of three ministers,
and an assembly comprising twenty-five
members, it was on his shoulders that the
real work of government fell. On him,
therefore, the moral responsibility must
also rest-a burden the President bore
with a cheerfulness and equanimity al
most amounting to Inconsistencies.
When | first set foot in Aureataland
/ was landed on the beach by boat from
the steamer at the capital town of Whit
tingham. l was a young man. entering
on my twenty-sixth year, and full of pride
at finding myself at so early an age sent
out to fill the responsible position of man
ager at our eataland branch. The
directors of the bank were then pursuing
what may without unfairness be called an
adventurous policy, and, in response to
the urgent entreaties and glowing exhor-
tations of the President, they had decided
on establishing branch at Whttingham.
] commanded a certain amount of inter-
est on the board, inasmuch as the chair
man owed my father a sum of money, too
small to mention, but too large to pay,
and when, led by the youthful itch for
novelty, | applied for the post, l sue
ceeded in obtaining my wish at salary of
q hundred dollars a month. l am sorry
to say that in the course of a later bust
ness dealing the balance of obligation
shifted from the chairman to my father.
an unhappy event which deprived me of
my hold on the company and seriously in
huenced my conduct in later days. When
/ arrived in Aureataland the bank had
been open some six months, under the
guidance of Mr.. Thomas Jones, a steady
going old clerk, who was in future to act
as chief and cashier under my orders.
found Nottingham a pleasant little
city of about five thousand inhabitants
picturesquely situated on a fine bay. at
the spot where the river Marcus debouch
ed into the ocean. The town was largely
composed of government buildings and
hotels, but there was a street of shops of
no mean order, and a handsome square
called the Piazza 1871" embellished with
an equestrian statue of the President
Round about this national monument
were a large number of seats, and. hard
by, cafe and bandstand. Here, | soon
found, was the center of life in the after
moons and evenings. Going along a fine
avenue of trees for half mile or so Won
came to the Golden House," the Presi-
. dents official residence, an imposing villa
OF white stone with a gilt statue of An
reataland,' female figure sitting on a
ploughshare, and holding a sword in the
right hand and cornucopia in the left.