The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-01-18

20 k1lithe iS-ti ltl3tes ~ l.ts ~ EAAsA ~
sehool boss 81 West VltgInls rid &
would Be hard % 4ersaade tilai
this expert enee could have Been omit
ted in their preparation Tor great ca
reers. we have sent many Of our
grayest and best 70 other States and
other lands but we have yet at home
an army OF noble men and beautiful
women-intellectually the equal OF
anyAwho win guide our Ship OF
State" in the pathway OF progress.
honor and righteousness. And may
I tell you how generous Pennsylvania
and the other States have been with
us? They have sent us splendid clti-
zens, men Of brain, Drawn and wealth
upon whom it was an honor and pleas
use to pin the badge of West Virginia
citizenship.
Plttsburg is indeed a fitting place
to tell the story of West Virginia.
This magnificent city which welcomes
the waters of the Monongahela that
come, and gives God-speed to the
waters of the Ohio that go, occupte.;
position, strategic and unique among
the cities of the world. Whether we
ascend the one river or descend the
other, history at once begins to I'M
roll her time-stained scrolls and recite
the fascinating story of a people.
whose ancestors were wise enough to
choose from all natures domain, the
richest and most wonderful of her hab-
itations at the disposal of the human
family. One of these rivers pene-
trates to the very heart of West Vir-
GINA. the other sweeps around her
western border and forms her bound
airy for nearly 300 miles.
The story of the worlds develop
ment is for the most part the history
of its great river valleys and the civil
llzations that flourish in them. Such
is true of West Virginia; these rivers
have been more than flowing streams.
On their surface have been mirrored
the enthusiasm, the courage and the
tragedy of life. Hedging in the val
legs, are the mountains, natures arch
aelogical curiosity shops. which have
preserved the records OF human his
tory Just as fossils proclaim the evo-
luton story OF the earth.
Man is creature of environment
and the physical character OF the
country has much to do with his prog
ress and development. The mountains
Of West Virginia seem to have given
the people lofty aspirations, grandeur
and stability of purpose, while the
moving river currents suggested ac-
ton and progress. I was once with a
friend in Colorado, who pointed to u
peak OF the Rocky Mountains, wrap
ped in eternal snow, and asked me II
that scene did not represent the sub
lime in nature. I replied that 1t was
truly sublime, but I preferred our
West Virginia hills, which wore the
same white emblem of purity at the
Joyous Christmas time, and then lift
ing their coronets OF snow, and re-
vealing the fragrant flowers of spring,
represented not only the sublime in
nature, but the divine drama of the
resurrection.
The carly inhabitants OF our State
were without educational advantages
and had but little time for meditation.
"They did not read romance, they
made It; nor poetry. they lived It."
The years sped by until the descend
ants of the pioneers had to meet new
conditions. The wealth of mountain
and valley had been discovered. Cap.
ital was knocking at the door and the
line of cleavage between the old and
the new was clear and distinct. The
leisurely march OF events was accel-
Grated by the force OF irresistible des.
tiny. In forty years we have adde |
almost one million souls to our popu-
lation and almost eight hundred mil
lion dollars to our taxable wealth.
Forty years ago we had about 400
schools in the State; to-day we have
700 schools and 5000 teachers to
whom are paid annually, two million
dollars.
The worlds greatest coal field is
the Appalachian, and the heart OF this
area is West Virginia. Great Britain,
Germany and France combined, have
$4,000 square miles of coal. West vir,
ginia has three times as much. We're
it possible to capitalize the coal values
of West Virginia at 10c ton, 1t would
represent wealth of ten thousand
millions OF dollars or three times rs
great as all the gold and silver coin
in all the world, sum vast enough to