The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-07-18
An Address Delivered On
That Occasion BY H. c. Hot
aling, Editor Of MapIeton
Enterprise.

just fifty years ago that President
Lincoln gave utterance to that mas
terpiece in American literature, which
re-dedicated this nation in new birth
of freedom and established beyond
question that our government is of
the people, by the people and shall
not perish from the earth.
Our host is not an old man, yet
during the span of his life time the
first sewing machine, the Howe, was
invented and placed upon the market,
and Mrs. Phelps will tell you some
thing of the toll involved in making
the clothing for large family with
simply her fingers and a common
needle to do the work. 1t was but
the short space of fourteen years
before Mr.. Phelps birth that the first
railway in America was constructed,
and even this was but four miles
long, the rails being of oak timbers
covered with strips of thin wrought
iron. Twelve years before the advent
of our host witnessed the era of the
first locomotive, one year later the
first passenger railway and it was
not until he was three years old that
there was railway over forty miles
long in this great land of ours. At
that time road was built from Bal
timore to Washington. Think of such
a situation today when the railway
mileage of the country aggregates,
with the sidetracks over 100000
miles and carries annually nearly a
million passengers and some of the
highest mountains in our great land
are ribboned with steel and scaled
by the iron horse.
During Father Phelps short life
the electric telegraph has put in it's
appearance, the Atlantic cable laid,
electric lights established, telephones
invented the wireless discovered, the
automobile, the flying machine, the
typesetting machine and countless
other wonderful labor and time-sav-
ing devices and appliances have been
placed upon the market and before
the world. The advancement in
every line has been phenomenal.
Surgery and science with the X-ray
have brought to light many things
undreamed of seventy years ago.
Truly life is a shuttle working
back and forth bringing great devel-
opments. AS a farmer Mr.. Phelps
started in life using the cradle and
the fail to harvest the crops. Now
he has upon this very farm the self
binding harvester, the corn binder,
the cream separator, the riding pillow
and the gasoline engine, labor saw.
ing devices unknown in his boyhood
days. Truly we have progressed in
things material. But with all this
advancement, which of necessity in.
cludes the high cost of living, are
we any happier? l sometimes doubt
it when l hear the boys and girls of
other days telling of the old singing
schools, the spelling schools and the
quilting bees We are so engrossed
with our strenuous labors, so deeply
engaged in keeping up with the
struggle for the almighty dollar that
we have no time for the social duties
and the joys Of life. We are not
living by the way, but are pushing
onward at such rapid rate of speed
that we fail to notice the beauties
by the roadside, the beautiful flowers
which bloom along the pathway, the
noble traits of character which illu-
inmate the lives of those about us.
Flowers are better given to our
friends in life than, placed upon their
caskets after they have gone Com
pliments and words of encourage
ment count more if given to the
laborer in person rather than simply
placed in memories casket and I'M
spoken. So today and in the days
to come let us strengthen ourselves
by taking for our example high
ideals and lofty motives Then we
can truly say with the poet that:
I'VE live in deeds, not years in
thoughts, not breaths-
In feeling, not figures on a dial
We count time by heart throbs. He
most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest,
acts the best"