Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-10-01

increased $50 per cent and 1T is confl-
m rs ny pred icted that there are still
W oOo, 900 of acres Of arid land In our
state which by scientific cultural meth
, nus !, can sa be transformed into wav-.
i!Iig nelds OF golden grain. The Great
l y, lSs desert of the days OF John
y " Z, fremont is rapidly decreasing and
VIII VET furnish hornes and abundance
Tor. Millions of people. s3
AS tAs LOOK over this vast ooncourse of.
People, OF free American citizens, sur.
rounded on all sides by the fruits of
toil ana industry, | feel to congratulate
you IN, having your lot cast In pleas
ant places. 1t was related Of an Og-
sden man, who was favored in being
escorted through heaven by benign
SAINT Peter, that as he approached one
very beautiful and fertile region, with
lowering mountains and inviting can
san retreats. with broad bouleyards
and crystal streams dashlng and
splashing over the rocks, q stretch OF
fertile, sloping country, of golden
Iields and ripening orchards, extending
IRON the marking of the lake that lay
glistening In the morning sun like bur-
snished silver, that Saint Peter grew
animated in descanting upon the mar
velous and Incompatible beauty and
fertility of the country and this en-
4thusiastic Ogdenitc delightedy cX-
claimed: 'This is like the region OF
the Big Four Counties, that has Og-
den for Its lnetropois!''
Certain 1t is that you have everything
to be thankful for. This splendid ex-
hibition of cereals. grasses and fruits
bespeaks the strength and fertility of
your soil and climate. and the skill
and Industry OF your people. This
splendid display of manufactured ar
tlcles to be seen here Is proof of your
advancement s and progress iii manufac-
turing. And yet when l see these
splendid evidences Of your toll and In
8dustry, l must take a glance into the
dim and distant vista OF the past. I
can scarcely believe that such a trans
formation has been wrought. A little
over sixty years ago, d band of foot
sore. weary wanderers reached the
heights of the surrounding mountains.
t'rom those heights for the first timo
they looked down upon these valleys,
their distant future home. AS Moses
stood on Pisgah's height and viewed the
promised land, so they from those ST.
lent peaks viewed their asylum of rest.
around them silence and desolation,
the DISSOLUTION Of centuries. Rugged
mountains, silent sentinels OF past ages.
majestic and grand, raised their tower
lng SUBMITS into the domain of the.
clouds, rich and splendid beyond de-
scription. Far below them the blue
waters of the great Dead Sea OF Amer.
ica. glttering In the morning sunlight
ike silver shield and as far as the
eye could reach stretched the arid des-.
ert. miles and miles Of sagebrusl1 and
snow white alkall. Yet to them it
was home and at the sight their hearts
were glad. They descended into the
valley and pitched their tents. Al
though the country to which they had
come was then under Mexican rule,
they unfurled tho Stars and Stripes on
Ensign Peak and In solemn assembly
expressed their reverence for the Con-
st1tution of the United States as d.
vinely inspired. They knew no such
word as idleness, no such word as
worked with a will. They cleared the
ground and sowed the seed. They
went into the hills and chained the
mountain streams and brought the
magic element of water upon the tl1ir-a
sty soil, transforming the desert wastes
into fertile fields and happy homes. oh.
think of the toll that has changed the
;sagebrlsh to waving fields Of golden
grain and swaying forests of orchard
trees. cabins to houses and houses to
mansions and palaces! Think of the
toll 1t has taken to change the earthen
floors and bare walls to carpets and
pictures! Think of the inventions that
nave changed famine to plenty, toll
to happy. prosperous labor and poverty
to wealth! Think of the time and the
toll and the money that have changed
that old rock schoolhouse to the graded
school, the academy, the college, the
university, in order that our sons and
daughters might be educated! Think
of all that has been wrought and en-
dured and accomplished for our good,
and then remember with gratitude and
love and tears the brave men and pa
tient women who toiled and endured
for US. In order that it might be brought
about.
I'VE spring from sires whose lives We're
pure,
Whose eye was single and whose foot
steps sure.
May their children's children in their
day
Bless the fathers fathers when they
pray!''