Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-02-10
| LEGISLATURE

to them. It. has been the custom
since time immemorial for men who
have served efficiently and we'll in
any great body. whether, It be q
school board, a city council or a state,
or a %departent Of the state, and have
made some heroic sacrifice, and have
performed 2 service that was ,aap-
proved by every man with whom they
We're associated, that there always
has been some recognition shown to
those who served. SO faithfully.
IT went over the rolls Of our house,
so as not to omit the name Of anyone
who might have made the supreme
sacrifice. who had ben a member OF
this body while I was q member Of it,
or who served 1t. There are men who
were with us two years ago who to-
day are serving in France under the
banners Of democracy; but, thank
God, they have not been called upon
to make the supreme sacrifice. Had
they, ]. should have included them in
my resolution. 1 have named Lester
M.sSmith, not particularly to honor
n indicilual, because yout can not
honor Lester M. Smith by anything
you might do here, and you can not
dishonor Lester M. Smith, by killing
my resolution; his spirit has passed
beyond the confines of your state; his
acts and his deeds have gone beyond
the judgment Of mankind. Had 1
known that one single voice would
nave been raised against the small
recognition that + wanted to give to
a boy who sat in front Of me for sixty
days, whose face r can see as plain
as I can see the men in front of me.
whose voice still re-echoes in these
chambers as he read the bills day
aff~ HnS1 ~~L -,-~H.>Se - .A-S~A - ~.
night; If I had felt that there was a
single voice in opposition to the honor
OF Lester M. Smith-who does not ask
me for this resolution. whose is over
there and whose body Is mingling
with the soil Of France never
have introduced the resolution, Gen
tlemen,. here is what I wish you
would not forget: I want this resolu-
ton to pass, not for Lester M. Smith;
I want it to pass so it can be hung
up in the halls of the college where
he got his education, in the clubs in
want it on the resords of our journals,
so that in the future young men will
know that as they make these su-
preme sacrifices - and you can not
ask a man to do anything greater
than to lay down his life in a cause
such as he did want young men to
read that resolution and I want their
attention called to it, as the years go
by, and as long as we appreciate the
fundamentals Of democracy and free
dom of thought and action. I want
them to say in their heart: Is the
time ever comes that the supreme
sacrifice is demanded of me the great
State of North Dakota appreciates it.
1t wants that kind Of men and that
kind of women. It is not SO much
the individual, but it is because we
place our stamp of approval upon the
act itself. !.
'.The governor Of this state has
singled out q mar and set apart a day
to honor him; a man who received
the greatest number of votes ever
given a man elected to the presidency
of this nation. I ask, why did he dc
it? He did it because he believed
that that man typifed a magnificent
type OF American Independent man.
thus honored Theodore Roosevelt
He did it because he wanted to cal
the attention of this country and the
world to the fact that when men
work and fight and things such as he
did. he is singled out because he die
something. worthy of honor. I have
taken him because 1t is SO striking,
And. so I say. that I find nothing in
CONSISTENCY in the two RESOLUTIONS. ]
shalrS vote for the one that was offer
ed as a substitute when 1t comes
properly before the house, but / dc
not want it to destroy the resolution
that I have offered. My friends, there