The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1912-09-21

One OF the men hiOSS @'
organization of our State and its prep
aratiou for admission to the UNION
n 1918 was Nathaniel Pope, who was
ols.,sd our territorial delegate to Con
,,sss in 1916. Not only are we In
Ssbtsd 70 him for his services In this
Convection but also for the fact thai
tbe Northern boundary of our State
was fixed at its present position
while the bill for an Aet'to enable
Illinois 70 organize as state WA
pending before Congress, it was SC
amended, upon motion OF Nathaniel
D. "a 70 establish the northern
boundary of the new State sixty-on'
;r;les north of the boundary fixed by
che ordinance of 1877, which had
DIo.sd If at a line parallel with the
southern extremity Of Lake Michigan
This extension of our territory gave
70 Illinois a port upon Lake Michigan
and in the course of events has given
ne At Chicago not only the greatest
of lake ports but the greatest city o,
the interior and the greatest railroad
center in the world.
The chief object which Nathaniel
poDa had in view in securing for Hi
nois a position upon the Great Lakes
was the uniting of our political for
trres with those of the eastern and
Northern states instead Of with the
southern states, thus casting our lot
with the anti-slavery states and, IN the
event of civil disturbance over the
slavery question, making our State as
he foresaw, the keystone to the per
petuity of the Union.
This was one Of the most important
instances of the wise adaptation OF
our laws and their territorial jurisdie-
tom 70 our political conditions as fore
sean nv one of the most far-sighted
If our early statesmen. As we ali
trow now. Illinois did become, both
in the Struggle of opinion which pre-,
.edad the Civil War and in the Civil
War itself, the keystone to the per
netuitv of the Union. 1t was here
that Lincoln and Douglas engaged IN
the great debates which, though futile
n nrevent the war, clearly defined ITS
;ssues and undoubtedly controlled IN
great measure the course Of Lincoln
On the question Of emancipation and
broupht to his support his great opPo-
nent and his followers on the question
Of the preservation of the Union. 1t
vas from this State that Lincoln went
70 take charge of the government IN
the darkest hour of our history, and 1t
was from this State that, when the
call for troops was made, the great
army of 26O, 900 men led by Grant and
Logan went to join the northern forces.
The fact that our Declaration OF In
depepdenee-our great national protest
against tyranny and declaration OF the
rights of mau-was proclaimed II the
eitv of Philadelphia and that the con-
stitutional convention afterwards met
at that place TO frame our national
has caused every patriotic
Ameriean to venerate that city as the
cradle of our liberties and the birth
Mace of our national government. And
in the same way the fact that the first
stems toward the establishment Of rep
resentative government in our state
were taken here will make this city
memorable in the annals Of Illinois.
In closing, 1 viii say a word about
the beautiful monument which has
been erected to commemorate the event
we have gathered here to celebrate.
Its symbolieal figures representing Vir-
tue. Law, Education and Plenty, fifty
tvpify the origin and course of our
States progress. To the virtues of the
men gathered here we are indebted
for the law under which we live, for
the educational opportunities which our
children enjoy and for the plenty or
abundance of all the good things Of
life, physical, spiritual, moral and
social which flow from the sturdy viz
tues of the free citizen, his ready
obedience to the law and his eduea-
ton or training for the duties and re-
sponsibilities of life.