The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-04-16

WIN Oe6ulttul, green groves ana pleA6.
ant farms and thriving villages and
mighty cities, the result OF their cour-
age. wisdom. and perseverance. Back
OF all this, our fathers were God fear.
Ing men. For their worship have
grown churches. small and large, poor
and rich. Where fifty years ago arose
the war-cry and the death-chant, now
ascends to heaven the hymn Of praise.
From God they received their homes;
to God they gave thanks.
Yes, our fathers were strong men,
strong, wise. and patient: but their.
strength would have been without
fruit, their wisdom without profit,
their patience without reward IL It
had not been for those brave. free
hearted women. our mothers. Dakota
could never have been Dakota without
the courage, cheer. an dove OF those
sweethearts and wives, those women
who left home. friends, the comforts
Of civilization, all that Was dear to
them for the wilderness and the men
they loved. Think of the work they
did. toiling even In the fields. Of the
loneliness they suffered, the privations
they endured. the anxieties they un-
derwent, and OF their cheerfulness,
their hope, their love in the midst
of 1t. Oh! they were worthy helpers
for the men who have made wilder
ness garden in lifetime. We have
a right to be proud to call the prairies
of Dakota ours.
The virginian Is proud to claim the
Old Dominion for his birthplace. and
well he may be; for among his fathers
are numbered great lawyers, fiery
tongued orators and more presidents
than have come from any other state
of the union. The New. Highlander
points with pride to the pilgrims and
the glorious statesmen and powerful
ministers who are his fathers But
among them all were no drawer,
truer men than our fathers. the
pioneers who have made this valley
a land of homes.
They have done their part and done
1t we'll The foundations of our state
are laid. They have fought their
fight, they have made their sacrifice,
they have given their lives. And for
what? Is it only that you and 1 may
have larger herds, more bushels of
wheat, finer houses. greater cities?
No, it is not! That is what Babylon
stood for, that is what the Egypt of
the Ptolemes worked for. that is what
Rome fell for. Virginia has raised
her thousands of tons of tobacco. but
1t is not for this that we honor her
as state. In New England have
whirred and whizzed millions of
spindles, monsterous fortunes have
been amassed and great business
houses founded, but it is not for these
that we read of her in history.
Our fathers had their battle, their
struggle. their problem; their battle
to subdue nature, their struggle with
the soil, their problem to get for
themselves and for their children the
material necessities of life But be-
cause our fathers fought and con-
quered are we to have no battles?
Must we follow only the path they
struck out, of raising wheat and build
ing railroads? No! theirs was the
old struggle of laying the foundation,
ours is the new struggle of rearing
the superstructure. In place of the
conquest Of nature stands the con-
quest of evil; the strife for clean
government, the fight for law enforce
ment and the battle with that great,
fat giant, self-seeking commercialism.
In place OF the Sioux stand the relent-
less savages of Drink and the Social
Evil. No! No! the battles are not all
fought, the victories not all won!
Our states foundation is laid deep
and strong with the rock of our faith
er's effort. But while the stones of
foundation may be rough and rugged
as nature leaves them. the stones of
the superstructure, though just as
strong, and just as firmly laid, must
be ground and smoothed and shaped
symmetrically. each to it's own place.
So our work must be finer and smooth
er and more symmetrical than that
of our fathers. We too, must strive
for the strong and good, and always
for the higher and more beautiful.
Yes, for the beautiful, for we need not
go to foreign countries to find beauty.
Mountains and cathedrals and painted
pictures are not all that Is beautiful.
Where are there fairer skies. and
where more glorious sunsets than in
Dakota? Beautiful to me are the
prairies where l can be free, and see,
and see, and see and there Is nothing
to shut me in; where may feel the
boisterous Dakota wind laden with
the smell of the prairies. the wind that
tanned my cheeks when as a boy 1
herded my fathers cattle. But there
Is more than pleasure in life. We live
for purpose. Each has his work in
Gods great World Plan, work of
unself1sh service; and to truly live he
must put his life into that work. To
see Is more than sight, to work is
more than labor, to live is more than
life. And our fathers have founded
schools and our mothers given their
best years that we might learn to see,
and to work, and to live.
They have fought their fight, they
have. made their sacrifice. they have
given their lives. And for what? All
that our state shall be. lies with us,
for We are the first generation whom
God has created from the soil of Da-
kota. Ours Is the opportunity, ours
the responsibility of leading this
commonwealth on to the place where
God wants it in the march of this
mighty nation.
New occasions teach new duties
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still. and onward,
who would keep abreast Of truth;
Lo, before us CLEAN her camp-flres! we
ourselves must Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflour and steer boldly
through the desperate winter sea,
Nor attempt the Futures portal with
.the Past's blood-rusted key"
PROHIBITIONIST AGAINST FUSION
Harrisburg, Pa, April 16.-In re-
Spouse to the call of Chairman Nc
Callmont the members of the prohibi-