The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-08-27

OF general comradeship and social
Fellowship. There were good men and
bad men in the new communities tust
as in the old communities. and the
conditions on the frontier were such
that the qualities OF the good and
bad alike were rather more strikingly
manifested than in older communities:
but among the men who tried to lead
hard working, decent lives, there was
feeling of genuine democracy. which
represented an approach to the Amer
lean ideal which we certainly should
do everything in our power to pre-
serve. We did not try to say that men
were equal when they were not equal.
but we did our best to secure some
thing like an equality of opportunity
and an equality Of reward for good
service; and, moreover, each man ex-
pected to be received, and, on the
whole. was received, wherever he
went, on the footing that his merits
warranted.
What 10 Needed.
Now, so far as possible these quail
tiles and the conditions that bring
about these qualities should he kent
IN the great states which are grow
ties. We need to strive for the gen
eral social betterment of the people
as whole, and yet to encourage in
dlVldual liberty and set high reward
on individual initiative up to the point
where they become detrimental to the
general welfare. In continually and
earnestly striving for this betterment
OF social and economic conditions in
our complex industrial civilization, we
should work in the old frontier spirit
OF rugged strength and courage, and
yet with the old frontier spirit Of
brothefiy comradeship and good will.
DO not mean that we should refrain
from hating wrong; on the contrary,
| would preach fiery wrath against
wrong. But would not preach such
wrath against the wrong-doer; save
In those cases where his wrong doing
really is due to evil moral attributes
on MS part, and not to a wrong or
false system. of which he is almost
as much the victim as the beneficiary
Sometimes wrong represents the de-
llberate wickedness of the wrong doer,
IN which case the remedy is to pun
ISL him; but sometimes it represents
the effects Of false social system;
in which case the right course is to
alter what is false in the system. Both
principles need to be kept in view
as guides to our conduct, and it is
necessary sometimes to work in ac-
cordance with one and somtimes in
accordance with the other.
Word to the Open Country Men.
Before ending wish to say word
on something which l believe should
especially interest all men who live
in the open country, and especially all
men who during the past thirty years
have lived and worked on ranches. or
have done their life work in the wilder
parts of our land, on the great plains
or among the mountains The phase
of our national life in which the
stockman, the mining prospector. the
frontier farmer and their associates
We're the chief characters, was not
only a very important but also a very
picturesque phase. OFTEN such a phase
passes without any great artist aris-
ing to commemorate it. The old-time
baokwoodsman, for instance. the man
o. the back country who lived in the
eastern forests through which the
waters ran eastward to the Atlantic
and westward to the Mississippi.
passed away without any painter or
sculptor arising who possessed al once
both the keenness OF vision to see
what vital and picturesque figure
the backwoodsman was, and the gen
ius adequately to present that figure
The artists who saw the picturesque
ness of the backwoodsman lacked the
genius adequately to commemorate it;
while the artists Of real ability un-
fortunately had their eyes turned to-
wards Europe and lacked the robust
originality which the novelist Cooper
showed-to see where their chance Law
to do great work. But in our genera
ton, for our good fortune great art
list arose he was capabel of seeing
and OF recording the infinite pictur-
esqueHess of the life of the plains and
the Rockies. or course speak of
Frederick Remington He was one of
those Americans who by his achieve
ments distinctly deserved all OF Amer
fca. He worked with pencil, with
brush, with chisel; he was both a
painter and a sculptor. His pictures
and his few bronzes are equally
good. When my own regiment, a typ
ically western regiment recruited
mainly from the men of the great
plains and the mountains, was dis
banded, at Montauk Point, the officers
and enlisted men Joined in giving me
Remington's bronze Bronco Buster; a
gift which I thought peculiarly APP
propriate coming from such body OF
men. In Remington's pictures all the
most vivid and characteristics features
OF the western pioneer life which is
just closing were set forth. and he has
commemorated forever the men of the
plains and the mountains as they act
ually were. The cowboy in his fav-
orite type. but the mining prospector.
the frontier farmer, the man who
guides ox-wagon or mule team, the
soldier the Indian-all appear. Now /
wish very much that these men them
selves would in turn provide mon
ument for the great artist, the sum
OF whose activities represents such a
feature OF American achievement. and,
above all, represents the commence
ration of some of the most interesting
Agures that have ever appeared on the
stage OF American life. statue
should be raised to Remington by
some really first-class artist. Here at
Cheyenne in this gathering many hum
dreds Of the men have come together
who were themselves typical leaders
IN, and representatives of. the very
life wfsSn Remington so portrayed
that 1t will always live. / hope that
these men will join together, arrange
the appointment OF a committee, and
start to raise funds for the erection