Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1913-10-16
GOVERNOR CLARK'S SPEECH
AT OLD SETTLERS pICNIC

Ladies and Gentlemen
1t has always seemed to me to be
perfectly fitting and proper to cell
ebrate occasions like this.
l want to say that would rather
go to the little town than to the
big city. / have always lived in a
little town and know the people
in these towns, know their gen
erosity and kind feeling. like the
fellowship l find there that you
cannot find in the cities. We ara
closer together in the little towns,
more interested in building up in
the little towns; you know each
other. And when say that would
rather go to the small towns Of
the state, say that with all sim
cerity.
l would have been here earlier
had l taken the trouble to look up
the trains. l never liked to be be-
hind. But this is the schedule
they made out for me. We would
leave Des Moines at $3.50. The train
was more than half an hour late.
/, Would get to Atlantic at 11:28,
and leave there for Extra at 1880.
That would have gotten me here all
rig1t but after / got startedl I
found that they had figured the
Sunday trains. The Sunday trains
only leaving at 1880 and there
would not be another train out un-
til 2;45. 1 got scared about that
and did not know whether I ought
to come. was met over at Atlan-
tic and brought up in an automo-
bile. would have started the eve
ming before had known about that
| l want to say to you that was
interested in the address just clos
ed here. am interested In all pub
lie schools, always have been inter-
ested in them. / attended a public
schoo. myself. was struck by an
observation In which it was said
that every education is future. The
enthusiasm and equality Of oppor-
tunity which are general in the
towns and country today cannot
attain it's highest unless we have
an educated people. And it was one
of tile very first duties of a people
to give to their children the advan-
tages of peace and education.
l Henry Ward Beecher was right
when he said man makes his owr
opportunities. Many of you old set
ltiers will remember the old McGuf
Ifey's Fifth Readers in use in lhs
common schools of Iowa fifty years
ago. There were many good lesson:
In the old readers and We read theI
over and over again. AS much q:
anything remember things SO of
Item read that l cannot forget them
And the old Spelling Books. cal
repeat whole lines of them; the,
have never gotten away from me
I'VE must educate. We, must edu
cate. Or we perish by our own pros
perity If we do not educate snor
will be- our race from the cradle t.
the grave And we must foun,
our state on an educated peopl
or we will indeed perish.
The fact that it we vnf11 iy VIII
addressed you shows ,nl.snt
! ment of modern edu
County Superintendent : ~
ty, Dallas, is lady and ther
been more and better work accc y,
: plished, and the schools are, in be,
e ter shape than they have been 10
: thirty-five years. Also Page count
9 has a superintendent whose NO:
n has made her famous all over u.
country, and whose writings hav
n appeared in Eastern magazines.
f That suggests another tthing tina
e want to say he.e. l would say tn
Il a civilization is measured by tn
t education that it has and the plac
in which that was won. There neI
Ter has been great people in tn
history of the world who have mao
and won high place in their wor
land race without education, an
4 just to the extent as that has bee
\ done, just alway are they a gres
people Another thing that was SUI
gested by the address that VIZ
Is made, here today was the edith
II OF the proper pamphlets and distr
s. button to the people of the countr
Ie We have all over the country tt
|, small sch dollhouse on county {
d ssction corner. Would it not I
.e much more satisfactory to maintai
is l school of three or four room
N than the nine schools with t q sau
amount of taxation and better su
iplies.? What inspiration is the