The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-05-29


thirsty crimes are today studded Win
towns and villages. The little settle
ment which was made in 1865 has
grown and changed so that Florida 10
day claims it as one of her own cities
But though the Florida OF yesterday
has changed into a vastly different
Florida of today there Is the same
spirit in the people. There Is the
same tenacity of purpose embodied
in them now as when they braved the
unfriendly savage. Today their in
domitable courage is manifested In the
gigantic schemes they undertake.
They go into the swamps, enduring
the dangers and diseases, drainins
them of their stagnant water, and 10!
they change the Everglades into o
true garden spot. Nor are they daunt-
ed by the vastness of the deep, but
they span 1t with bands of steel and
drive their locomotives on the rail
road over the sea.
The Florida of yesterday, full OF
myths and legends, has developed
into Florida Of today which is full
lillment of all It's wonderful dreams.
Though the Florida OF today satisfies
the people now there will be a to-
morrow for Florida, whose dawn Will
be roster than ever with promises
that the widest fancy will become
reality. But though the people Will
pass away and the scenes will change,
the spirit of the people which comes
from nature itself will remain forever
For, as Bancroft says: ''The material
world does not change in its masses
nor in it's powers. The stars shine
with no more luster than when they
first sang together in the glory OF
their birth. The flowers that gemmed
the fields and forests before Florida
was discovered now bloom around us
in their season. The sun that shone
On Ponce de Leon shines on us in I'M
changing luster; the bow that gleam-
ed on the patriarch still glitters in
the clouds; for nature and the spirit
of nature is always the same"
Mr.. Homer Small's essay on "The
Humble Origin of Great Men," points
the way to the young graduates just
beginning on their careers, and shows
what wonderful things can be accom-
plished by pluck and determination.
We are glad to submit it in full to our
readers:
Great men-those who are the
worlds great men-how have they
achieved greatness? Some, when
conditions were favorable, when ev-
erything-the world at large-seemed
to lend aid; others, when no condi-
tions were favorable, when their
whole lives seemed a struggle, and
the path 10 greatness was narrow,
rugged and toilsome.
Men are always eager to hear the
stories of heroes and great men; of
those who have overcome difficulties,
surmounted obstacles, and won the
race in the face of all discourage
ment; the stories of men who by
their ceaseless and undaunted strug-
giles, have lifted the liberty loving ma
tions from the depths of bondage and
and have brought them up
to the summit of freedom and indie
pendence.
We admire the success of men who
start with many advantages, and, re-
fusing to spend their days in indolent
ease, are stimulated to great exertion
by great opportunities. But we stand
amazed before the success of those
who begin with nothing except the
capital of character and capacity for
hard work, and end on the heights of
usefulness and honor: men who have
no encouragement except that innate
feeling and desire for success and
fame; men who are striving, not for
wealth and luxuries, but for the up
lift of the human race; men who be- |
gin life in the lowest depths of OBJ !
security and finish in the searchlight |
Of fame.
There is no mystery about success,
no Intervention of Genii or Fairies;
no luck nor chance. The theory that |
success is a matter of accident and |
that opportunities come unsought, has |
been disproved by the lives of heroes,
who have aspired, labored, dared and |
achieved; heroes who knew nothing
Of luck and a accident, but who knew |
all of energy, integrity, courage and !,
faith.
The world looks very hard to the |