The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-03-27
"reminiscences OF KANSAS

| nEmaVlOUlSUkO VI NtisouO
Proud of Kansas! Yes / am
Always foremost in the van;
Leading upward to the stars,
Eager now to talk with Mars.
In the founding of the state
Freedom found an advocate,
Not alone her cause to plead,
But in her defense to bleed.
Winding slowly DER the plains.
Note the long and sinuous trains
As they wind along the trail;
Not. as now, on BeSsemer rail-
Covered wagons, kids and things
Form the bulk of all he brings,
With stock of brains and brawns
All by patient oxen drawn.
His motto. not I'm God we trust"
But for HIS slogan, kansas or Bust;
Returning later. It's little wonder,
Bearing the legend. Busted by thunder"
Our hero went back to his wife's relations,
But always returned the following year,
To astonish the world with corn in the ear.
Soon transformed by patient toll,
BY these tillers of the soil,
Prairies blossom as the rose
Homes are built whateer oppose
Springing from that eastern stock,
LANDED IlrSL plymouth pOCk,
Sturdy yeomen, men of nerve,
First in freedoms cause to serve.
When the call to arms was made,
Lo, from every hill and glade,
From the dugout and the cot,
Rang the challenge rifle shot
Bleeding Kansas! Hear the name
Echo thru the halls of fame,
And resounding DER the plains.
Marked the break in slavery's chains.
When the war-god's lurid glare
Lit the skies DER Lawrence fair.
AS the murderous guerilla band
Marched across the border land;
The gods on Mt Dread blushed with shame
At the horror wrought in Quantrells name,
And the few survivors stood aghast
At the awful vision that had passed.
Bending over their martyred dead,
Standing with uncovered head.
They firmly resolved to do and dare,
Death in freedoms cause to share.
Soon the awful specter vanished,
And the Kansas spirit, garnished
With the panoply of right,
Spoke again in terms of might
Phoenix like, from out the ashes,
Lawrence rose from blows and gashes,
Soon to be a sparkling gem
In the Kansas diadem.
From out the gloom, despair and night
Kansas emerged in the morning light,
And the noise of battle ceased to annoy.
Aspiring to higher thought and better deeds
Kansas early thought of her children's needs
And made ample provision for education
or the rapidly rising generation.
Our school houses are a source of pride,
Scattered over the prairies wide
Thousands of teachers. true to the name,
Are leading our youth to higher plane.
Another thing is worthy of note:
Kansas discerned that the right to vote
Belonged to woman as well as to man.
And led to the universal suffrage plan.
Relieving whisky the curse of the nation.
Kansas early declared for prohibition
The result was apparent in empty jails,
And better supply for dinner pals.
When Kansas at last shall her heroes en-
shrine,
And with beautiful garlands their names
shall entwine,
Standing alone, Carrie Nation will serve
AS the finest exhibit of feminine nerve.
Not strictly in accord with laws of the land
A mission to perform, with Ratchet in hand
She went to her task with commendable will
The heroine is dead, but her work lives still.
When the legions Of the world, in battle ar
rayed.
Have forsaken the use Of the plow and the
And millions in want are crying for bread
Then to Kansas they look-"the world must
be fed.
When Industrial strife denies sovereignty
OF state,
And the unions cease work, their Ills to
abate,
A suffering public, facing cold and distress
Asserts its rights to prevent further duress.
At this juncture Governor Allen entered the
breach
Hoping thereby, some lessons to teach.
Chief of which was. l am proud to relate.
That no man, or set of men, Is bigger than
the state.
The lawyer. the teacher. the preacher. the
clerk
Answered the call for people to work;
And into the mines, the mud and the cold
These patriots went, unmindful of gold.
One hundred per cent Americans these,
To suffer in person that folks might not
freeze;
Those not endorsing these actions TO date
Have Kansas permission to remove from
the state.
In the onward march Kansas sets the pace,
And was never known to lag in the race
If the nation should lack presidential tim
Der,
Kansas can furnish it: PLEASE take our
number" F. NJ. D.
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