The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1920-07-09
MINISTER FINDS
CAUSE FOR Joy IN
FARMER LEAGUE
s'GENylsE AMERICAN SPIRIT. 60
SAYS REVEREND N. G.
JOHNSON
RETURNED FROM Y.
M. C. A. WAR WORK
wortAy succeasors of "Embstlei
Fasrners" Of 1875, Who "FireA
.. THE Shot H,xzu Round
tue World"

THE Shot HeAzd Round
the World"
1t gives me pleasure to-. take off
my hat to the "embattled farmers
of North Dakota and to hid them
Godspeed i'll their great fight against
the robber barons of America.
They are worthy successors of
those f'embattled farmers of Mas
sachusetts who in 1875 fired the
shot heard rouad the world"
A few years ago I stood with bar
ed head on the bank of the Concord
at the scene Of s'the rude bridge that
arched the flood" of which Elmer
son sang in his Concord Hymn, and
thanked Cod for the heroic farmers
of revolutionary days who knew
when they had enough and to spar
of5enploitation, and who put to rout
the Red Coats sent to lay violent
hands on their leaders, aud by do
ing so wrote a magnificent chapter
not only in. America but in human
independence.
Bless their hearts and horny
hands, it seemed to me as stood
there. on the historic road along
which Paul Revere aaased like ar
angel of Independence summoniae
the manhood of America to make
its mark and stand upon it, I could
hear somk such fine rebel chorus as
tl.ss I'm ing from their rusty throats
Rough, tough, we the stun
we've had enough; we call your
bluff"
America Regenerated
They may not have been much te
look at, they we're not all dolled-up
according to the fashion of the day
in military circles, but, believe me,
those farmers between CIharlestowl.
and Lexington started something
April 19, 1775 And the thing they
started never stopped till the over
seas exploiters cried, "Hold.
Enoughi"
Some day should like to stand
upon the bank of the majestic Mis-
souri, where it flows past Bismarck
and thank God for the farmers of
North Dakota whose sleeping spirits
we're rudely awakened in 1915. and
who fired q shot also heard round
the world. Three thousand miles
away heard it distinctly and shout
ed for joy. 1t was like heavenly mu-
sic to my ears
My prophetic soul reveled in i.
The American spirit seemed to
sweep through me crying, Arouse
ye Awake ye who love me! Amer
ica is not dead The locters doped
lzer, but did rot kill her! America
is coming to herself again A new
day is dawniDg for her! Be up and
doing!"
And wnat heard un-umberei
thousands hear. Many who hear it
rejoiced as I did. But some who
heard it trembled. And well they
might; for to them it sounded like
a Big Ben alarm clock to burglar
about to slip his hand under the pill
Tow of sleeping giant.
There was just as much satisfac-
tion for che firing of this shot by
the farmers Of North Dakota in
1915 as there was for the firing of
that famous shot by the farmers of
Massachusetts In 1775. Indeed,
there was, more justification. Ex-
ploitati0n Of the unprivleged ny the
privileged was in it's infancy ia those
days.
George LEE Piker
George III was a wee hit of ty-
rant compared with the robber bar
ons who infest America today. Only
those Who are democratically deaf
and blind, or natural born poems of
plutocracy. fail to see this.
History will make honorable
mention Of the dnception OF the Non
partisan league in 1916. American
poets will sing of: it, Those Who at
the, moment exasperatm BY Town
le.'s Wslsonlike weakness Of waat-