Putnam patriot., 1916-10-13

CuuHtIy lo uunof tuose, WHO nave Detu instrumental in making her name great and illustrious. On each sue. eeeding anniversary of her honored sons she renews again with unabated enthusiasm the task of recalling to the older generation and proclaimirg to
 the new the names and deeds of those,
 who make up her history of glory and
 achievement. It Is, indeed, fitting that it should be so;. for, we of the
 present rejoicing in all the advantages Of freedom and happiness, which we enjoy; of unlimited facilities iu every branch of human endeavor; In the con sciousness that there IS yet before us in
 the future the probability of greater plishments; when we take all these things into consideration, we would, indeed, be ungrateful in our selves and untrue to the ideals of pat. riotism, if we neglected to give pass ing thought to these men, whose names are inseparnbly linked with our beloved country, whose principles of l lpshSS "hu eduitS touuu eNbteostoi LII her very constitution and who in lay- ing the foundation tor future growth and greatness builded better than they knew.
 A writer once said and wisely t.o, that the mysterious hand, which gov erns the universe, seems to hold in re- serve for every period of society an ex- tFaordinary man. The man, Christo- pher Columbus, whom we honor to- day, seems to have been destined to draw the curtain of the Atlantic Ocean and reveal the continent of America to the world. Out in the great ocean, un- known to man, waiting for someone to i give it a name and place in the world affairs lay the new world. Over in the old world was the man, to whom we are indebted for the impor- tant discovery of the iifteeuth century, blending for the recognition of an idea that there must be land beyond the 1 limited vision of where the sky seem- 1 ingly met the ocean on the Western ] horizon and no one would listen to him, because his undertaking at best wns considered hazardous and his idea was absurd.
 The mind today studying map of the earth cannot imagine that the i world was ever regarded otherwise than it is at present; but it is q known truth that some five hundred years ago men knew no such survey of the world and orly those of speculative instinct ventured the suggestion that the earth was round instead Of fiht. The prevalent Idea was that there was no such thing as an inhabited globe; and all the while young navigator in Europe led the life of the seaman, sail ing through known waters and form- ing his mind in mold, which was destined to be a memorable intelleetu- al cast in history. His idea of land in the West was uppermost in his mind. No doubt, he met and talked with na- vigators. He discussed his ideas with them and, although we have little knowledge of the expansion of his ideas in his early years, we can safely say that the workings of his brain were not those of an ordinary man.
 Our great admiration. for Columbus centers itself on tine indomitable cour age, which he displayed in matching his theory with the almost proven Knowledge 'of others. Although ru- mors and opinions of the earth's roundness had existence from the time of Pagan writers, in the time of Col umbus he stood alone in his desire to put his theory to its test. Sailor of ex- perience though the was, he had to face the opposition of all. Royalty op- posed him; people ridicuIed him; ed ucation Jisproved him. Thus in the face of almost insurmountable barriers Columbus still clung to the dream of a Golden West. where Jay new land and new world.
 IA woman, sailor and a monk are the three by whom America was pointed out afar ofi." A writer thus describes the final success of Columbus plan iand the encouragement, which was given to his idea Of exploration by Queen isabella of Spain at the pleading request of Don Perez, the Prior of monastery. She influenced the Crown to open negotiations. flor the equipment of an expedition and his tory gives us the significant date of August 3, l492, when the people with heavy hearts saw Columbus depart on mission, which was regarded by all as foolhardy and one, from which he would never return. Two months later, October F, l492, is recorded the discovery of land, lthe birthday of new continent.
 These were some Of the early stfug- ] gies of the man Of honored memory on this day, who opened up destined i great continent to sGhristendom and civilization. He did not know the future of this Hand nor the power, which she would wield in history. It can hardly be said that he had visions of future America, whose boundaries would be tan asylum for all Europe,