The Washington herald., 1915-04-28
HISTORY BUILDERS.
A Prophecy Which Has Come to Pass.
! Written EXPRESSLY for The Washington Herald
BY DIR. T.. }. EDWARDS.

! Among the considerable number OF
| able men-almost all of whom saw
| active service in the Confederate army
who were members of Congress in
the administration of President Hayes
Iand later that OF Garfield and of Ar
| thur. perhaps none gained greater
tribute of admiration. in which was
infused some spirit of affection. than
| was the case with Randall Lee Glib
son. of Louisiana. He was the person
! itication of simple dignity which was
entirely without affection. His smile
was the true index of a kindly heart
and there was n peculiar flavor of
real intellectual aristocracy and the
manner which characterized the true
gentleman. using that word in its real
Significance. which served to make
, Senator Gibson conspicuous in the
, upper Chamber of Congress, as he had
been during several terms of service
in the House of Representatives.
There were some in Washington at
that time with whom Senator Gibson
was associated in his college days at
Yale. These always spoke of him as
man who in his maturity had per-
fectly fulfilled the promise of his
youth.
1t was my privilege to have several
conversations with Senator Gibson and
~ 'i'SoNei liIdt lHeIt was little or
no trace OF partisan politics in any
thing that he said in private as there
never was in anything he said or did
while a member of Congress
Recently my attention was called to
the Wonderful work which the State
OF Louisiana has accomplished in the
reclamation of swamp lands and so
retaining them that the land is
found TO be as fertile as that which
is watered every year by the Nile
! was reminded OF something that
Senator Gibson said prophetically to
me in one of my conversations with
him. The State of Louisiana ought
to be. and in my opinion will be- one
OF the greatest agricultural States in
the mon. Science Is already showing
us the way to reclaim much of the
swamp land of the State and | am
greatly interested in the prospect that
this will be done. 1t will be worth all
that it costs the State of Louisiana
TO drain these swamps. for the soil
is wonderfully rich and everything
that can lie grown in a sub-tropical
climate can be cultivated in profusion
there.
The United States ought to. and
believe will. supplement what the
state of Louisiana is certain to do in
the way of reclama ton. | am a great
admirer of the Mississippi River and
profound believer in its possibili-
ties. There should he unimpaired
navigation from the Gulf to ST. Paul
But. of course. this is work for the
government itself to undertake. The
Mississippi River can he mastered so
that its permanent navigation could he
assured. and If it is expedient for the !
state Of Louisiana TO spend millions in
the reclamation OF land II IL equally cx-
pedient for the United States govern
ment 10 spend as many millions as
may be needed in obtaining navigation
from 81. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico |
That, however. will be work for the |
generation which succeeds mine"
Were Senator Gibson now living he |
would realize with qualification that !
what he predicted in 1883 is now, in |
part at least. achieved.
Copyright. 1915. by f. j. Edwards. All rights re-
ssryedI
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell |
Where Daniel Webster Tried His
First Case"