The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-05-31

and land with the old man at the mon
strous docks at San Francisco. We
will spend a day at the exposition
viewing wonders unthought of by the
man of Colonial days. With what
awe does he receive a wireless mes
sage from the battleship now near
ing the canal on its return voyage
eastward. We viii board transcon-
tinental train and roll toward the ris-
ing sun, swiftly crossing and tunnel
ing through the lofty peaked Rocky
Mountains until we glide gently into
the broad grain fields of our west
central states. We have crossed that
mighty Mississippi, which formed
the western boundary Of the country
over which our first president presid-
ed.
We now behold the limitless acres
Of corn on the soil of Illinois and In
diana, a land known only as a forest
at the time 81 the Revolution. Wash
ington left US a union of undeveloped
states; Lincoln, the first American,
left to US a nation struggling from
the effects of the most horrible Of all
kinds of wars, but the country we
have today is one of the powers of
the earth with the destiny of nations
in its grip, the one nation which has
not reverted to the spirit of ancient
and medieval times, and the one ma
ton continually and with unceasing
efforts attempting to settle national
affairs by arbitration. AS nation it
may be said that eve are first in
war and first in peace" Search the
annals of history in all the nations
of the earth and find one nation
wherein a treaty can be found record
ed expressing such a high type Of
humanity and brotherly love as typi-
fies the agreement between Grant
and Lee at Appomatox Court House
at the close of the Civil War. When
war threatens, our policy is to avert
it if possible, but we find that it is
inevitable we enter upon it with all
our might and we stand today as a
nation yet to be conquered. In peace
we hold the enviable reputation OF
being the most progressive nation on
the globe. Into all our island posses
ions we have carried education TO the
ignorant, built hospitals for the dis
eased and started the inhabitants on
the road to religion, civilization and
happiness
We have burst the boundary lines
which enclosed the thirteen colonies
and have expanded our continental
possessions until they now reach
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocear
and from Canada to the Gulf of Mex
leo, embracing forty-eight separate
yet united states. This territory, al
most equaling Europe in size, is sur,
passed by that of only two other ma
tons, England and Russia. This
mighty German Empire which today
defies the combined armies of Europ,
has an area Of only one seventeenth
of that of the United States, and in
deed it could be placed in four-ffthl
or the state OF IexaS.
From a population of approximat
|. ly six million, we have increased Il
lover one hundred millions of peopl
composed not of emigrants from an.
one outside nation but composed o
the best elements from all the lead
ing nations of the earth. For NOR
than a century the United States ha
, been the greatest agricultural natiol
on the globe and the American farm
er produces more wealth in two year
than have all the gold mines of the en-
world since 1892. We surpass a.
/, other nations in the production o
corn, wheat, copper, iron and cos
and no nation surpasses US as manu-
facturer of iron, copper or leather
l AS an inventive nation the Unite
States has forged to the forefron
4 and of the twenty-six important in
/. ventions in the last century, includin
! the cotton gin, the telegraph the WI
! canization of rubber, the sewing ms
chine, the telephone, photograph!
! ether, the arc and incandescent light
. the electric railway and the automC
q bile, all except five are accredited
: this country and two of this grou
4 were brought to perfection by Amer
: leans. 1t is the last century With
which the first steamboat crossed th
ocean sent from Savannah to Live
! pool; within which the first long dii
: lance telegraph was operated betwee
J Baltimore and Washington; with
I which Cyrus w. Field stretched I'll
cable connecting New Foundland wit
~ England; within which Bell inven
ed the telephone and sent the hums
q voice quivering over wires for thou
= ands and thousands of miles; ar
rn,ithin .urI,ich a.. R-rk I-oo-noks.-o