The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-09-06
NEED FAITH OF our Fathers
Speaker Declares That the Men and
Women Of Today Should Emulate the
Heroes Of an Earlier Age and Save
the Liberty So Hardly Won.

My primary duty here today is to
pay fitting tribute to the pioneers of
the world-the men and women, who
here and everywhere laid the founda-
tions upon which the structures of mod
ern life are built With these signif
icant words Thomas NJ Kearney, Of Ra-
cine, began his address to the old set
| tiers gathered at Paddock Lake on
| Thursday afternoon. The speech, which
| followed, was a classic. Vibrant with
human sympathy and redolent of graf
itude it persuaded the thousands who
heard it that their debt to the pioneers
could be repaid in nothing less than
lives of similar devotion to country,
man and God
The services of the old settlers were
admirably introduced by Mr.. Kearney,
| when he said: ''The advantages that
we meet as we pass along, the liberties
that we enjoy, the benefits we prize SO
much and fight for so courageously are
all effects of things transpiring years
ago. Venturesome spirits, men and wom-
en- Of broad vision and of discerning
minds, started this and that movement,
way back in the haze Of history, which,
caught up by those who have followed,
have finally come to us in full fruition,
for our enjoyment and well-being.
Strong souls and brilliant minds, they
engaged in various pursuits and as a
consequence gave us a rich knowledge
of nature, of birds and animals, of trees
and flowers, of all the beauties of the
world that make our work-a-day exist
ence more nearly like the life of par
adise."
"Every element of nature,' he con-
tinued, "has been challenged by these
pioneers and each force has in turn
yielded to their efficiency and unsur
passed persistency. Even the lightnings
of heaven have been chained and man
acled and made captive by their skill
until today they are contributing i'm
measurably to the health and happiness
of all mankind. Not content with this
they have erected states, established
governments, organized dynasties, and
finally, wrought out of the wisdom of
all men and the wealth of human exper-
fence, the theory that all men are Great
ed equal, that through God they are en-
dowed with certain natural rights, of
which they may not justly be deprived,
and that to preserve these rights gov
ernments are instituted among men de-
irving their just powers from the con-
sent of the governed These were all
pioneers, and, as such, we join their
names today with those of the men
and women who built this state of ours,
brought its name into the list of Amer
lean commonwealth and added its star
to the constellation which now adorns
our nation IS flag"
Especially inspiring was Mr.. Kear-
ney's tribute to Wisconsin $ pioneers.
GAS disaster tries out human charac-
ter he declared, $50 do privation and
distress develop characters strongest
attributes. The pioneers of America
suffered much, but out of it ell was
born strength of character and fixed
ness of purpose which will endure in
their descendants for all time. And it
was the children of these pioneers and
of others of like mold, whether they
ha ,+c e Toe 81
or from far across the sea, who led the
way into Wisconsin in an early day,
who paused here where crystal lakes are
set in the landscape like pearls about
enduring richness invited them to strike
that it might give them freely Of its
| treasures
In ringing conclusion Mr.. Kearney
plead for the spirit of the pioneers in
their children of the present day. Show
ing the distinction between democracy
as represented by America and despot-
ism as symbolized by Prussia he urged
| courage and persisteney in the prosecu-
/ tion of the war for liberty. We want
peace, he asserted, severy man of us
but we want peace about which great
armies and limitless navies will not be
called upon to stand guard We ask for
ehe end of rule by the iron hand and
for the beginning of the day when truth
and justice shall sit secure upon the
throne of right. And the women and
the men of today will meet this prob
lem as the pioneers met theirs and will
SO live in this time of trial and so ac-
quit themselves in the task before them
that posterity viii applaud their acts
as we today applaud the victories of
l the pioneers. -