The Alaska daily empire., 1915-10-13

Miss Crystal Snow. accompanied by Miss Alice Margrie, sang Pattlson's To vorrei Tu vuoi with her weli- known charm and was called for an encore.
 Governor J. F. A. strong was intro duced by Mir. McKenna as the speaker of the evening Perhaps ] need hard ly say" said Governor Strong, Chat it Is with O feeling Of great pleasure that ] come before you upon being ac- corded an opportunity to address you concerning a man whom 30 many cit- ies throughout the country today arc honoring, the fame and name of whom are familiar topics an over the world. It is especially familiar to the American people, and there is not an American school child who is not ac- Quainted to @ greater or less extent with the history of Christopher Colum- bus
 An Evolution, Not An Event
 CT sometimes fear. however, that we give but little attention to tho re- suits of that great event Of l2S years ago. John Fiske. the American his- torian. was one of the first to state that tho discovery of America was not Q single event. but that it was a very gradual process. It.was not Ike Q special creation, but Ike o process of evolution. and the voyage of 1492 was simply the epoch-making incident in that evolution Mir. Fiske goes on to say. however. that this in no way detracts from the courage and hero ism that enabled Columbus to achieve the great result Of finding the Ameri- can continent
 Precursor of Nation
 'Tt is fact well known in history that the coast of America had been discovered and explored many years previous to the discovery of this con- tinent by Christopher Columbus. But eventually the knowledge that had been gained of this continent by Lief Erlcson and others sank back into ob- liyion by a slow process of starvation, and it then remained for this Illus trious man to figure as the precursor of the foundation of O nation that stands first for liberty and equality among all tho nations Of the earth.
 Little Is said about the trials of Columbus and untold disgrace he suf- fered after being taken home from San Domingo in chains which he said he wore 'as @ memento of the ingrati- tude of fate. and although today we find in his natal city. Genoa, a host of guides who arc willing to take us to view the house in which the gov ernor of the city resided at the time Columbus was about to start on his great voyage. and although we see at every corner almost. monuments commemorating tho man and his deeds, we know that in his own day he knew no such fame, that he re- ceived none of the gratitude of a world that now realizes the full import NA NNN NNNA NANAn MNAN AAN AsNN"AAA NAAHAA7 ed. And back of it an we again lose sight of he(iact that it was 9 wo- man who said to Columbus when he made his last appeal for funds to un- dertake the juorney, T will assist you even if ] have to pawn the very jew els in my crown. "a sacrifice which was ultimately demanded
 While the nations of Europe today are involved in that deadly struggle for God knows what, l am certain that I do not. in that mortal combat where in brother is killing brother father killing son. I thank God for the great Christopher Columbus, the dis coverer of America, a country of peace among the nations of the earth in the midst of the greatest war of the
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