The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-03-18

smile on our faces, greet our neh8n-
bors cheerfully and enter into the
spirit that must pervade the town in
it's greater development.
The closing address of the even
ing was given by l.. l.. Ness, the/)c-
rotary of the Commercial Com~
His paper presented SO many good
things for the citizens to ponder
over that his remarks are publish
ed in full elsewhere in The Repub-
lican today.
Toastmaster Branson extended the
thanks to the guests for their presen-
ce and for the excellent way in which
everything had been done, and bid
them all good night, or rather good
morning, for it was long past the mid
night hour when the festivities came
to a close.
We believe that this occasion was
one of the happiest at which the
business men of Mitchell have ever
assembled, and the real intent of the
affair had been kept SO closely guard
ed that not to exceed 25 men knew
of what was going to t%ranspire out
side of the usual boosters banquet,
and when it was sprung it came in
the way of a surprise that appealed
to all as very worthy tribute.
The occasion is not often where
a man is hauled up before a crowd
of men as was Tom Burns and then
handed the praise and adulation that
was turned on him. Personally Tom
can hand out a good deal of that
himself but we have never known
him to be in a position before where
he was the recipient of it.. The thir-
ty years that he has lived in this
community have made some fast
friends for him. Coming to Mitchell
when a young man he has been as
ISOLATED with practically eyery-11-
terprise that has counted fol- I'd
growth of Mitchell. Possessing al
position of the most even kind
things in a philosophic manner,
were they good or bad, and wended
his way through the vicissitud6
with an even and calm temper.
there any soliciting to be dong
help out this enterprise or that, Tony
Burns was called upon to head the y
committee which was to pry loose
the needed amount, and he never
felt embarrassed to ask a citizen to
dig, for he usually was at the head
of the list with an amount that set
the pace for others to follow. For
a number of years he was associated
in the mercantile trade, and in the
last eight years he has held a fed.
eral position, and in both venue of
life he has been a faithful man.
Nine men out of ten have always
had a warm spot in their hearts for
Tom Burns, but just how warm 1t
was, would probably have never been
known unless this banquet had becn
proposed and it sprang into a livel,
glow as his good virtues were laid
bare before the assembled guests
with such true sincerity. 1t is a
pleasure that all men feel to honor
citizen who has done SO much
when he does it with so little ex-
pectancy of reward in any way. Tom
has always been satisfied to Jake the
brunt of the work and let the bou-
quets fall by the wayside, but for
once his friends determined to nave
him set forth in a way that time
will never efface it from mis- memory.
The good thing of it all is that Tom
is no going on the journey from
which no traveller returns-he is
young and toe ambitious for
that, but he is coming back to Mitch.
ell at the conclusion of his our year
in the United States land Of
fee, and none will welcome\ him +
home again with greater sincha.H y
than will the editor of The Rep
lican.
When the guests left the tablesA
the banquet hall a great many cD6.vi.
ed around Mr.. Burns and, peYkonally
extended their congratulations over
the affair and to say to him that
they endorsed all that had been
said during the evening. Tom accent.
ed it all with his good nature, but
he declared as a f%inality that he
coul not understand how he had been
done to such a nice brown turn
while he considered himself still a
live one.