The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1923-11-16
It OLDER BOYS AFFAIR FOLKS SEEK WATER hits AT THE PINE
JUDGE LORIN CRAY RE-
FERS TO MENACE
ForeefuI Address Delivered To Stu.
dents At Tesehers' College
on Armistice Day


On Armlstice Day
During the assembly to celebrate
Armistice Day, yesterday at the
Teachers college, the feature Of the
morning was an address by Judge
| Lorin Cray, the text Of which was:
! "a few years ago while On my way
| to speak to this college, received a
J letter from q good bachelor friend OF
mine at Nashville, Tennessee, and
wrote in reply that when receiv-
ed his letter, was on my way to
talk to 900 school ma'ams and won
der whether you would not be very
glad Of a chance to speak to one.
He replied that he surely would"
! 81 fesf now as I felt then that !
am much pleased to stand before
| you in this splendid building, as ]
stood then in the old one. When We
consider the great work that Is now
being done in schools like this, We
are led to wonder why In this
Country such schools reach back to
such a recent date. The first normal
school of which have any know
ledge was started in Prussia in 1875.
/ The first IN the United States was
than, 100 years after the first in
Prussia.
THE first normal school in Man
kato was promoted by an appropria-
ton by the state Of $4,000, and an
e.: equal amount by Mankato. and was
, opened in the basement of the Meth
odist church in May, 1858, and
which was in the fall of that year
moved to the second floor of Shau-
butts store at the corner Of Front
! and Main streets where the Ameri-
can Beauty Candy Kitchen now is.
All of you girls know the place, Of
course.
The $4,000 then appropriated was
to be used to erect building, pay
teachers salaries, etc. In 1870. a
building located where we now are
was formally opened. And now here
we are in this new building to talk
together few minutes, and to dis
cuss the problems that confront us
and that confront you particularly 1,
who are being especially schooled
to teach the young OF this Country.
the boys and girls, who in a few, a
very few, short years will be the
men and women Of this = Country,
charged with the cares, responsible
tiles and duties which will determine
in large part the destiny of this Ma
ton.
II do not want to be, and hope
that am not a pessimist, always
seeing the dark side Of life, but one
who cannot or will not see and read
the signs of the times and act &C
cordingly is worse than the worst
pessimist.
"In the not so very long period Of
my life I have never for q moment
hesitated to believe that we are liv-
ing under the best and safest gov
eminent that has ever existed on
the face Of this earth.
! "A government which guarantees
to all of US, old and young, rich and
poor, native and foreign born, life,
,berty, and the pursuit OF happiness,
words which have been used care
essly, fiippantly, and thoughtlesslv
but words Of intense and vital
1g these long years has been kept
good for all classes, all nativities,
and all peoples. -.
IAN high official of a foreign
country not,long since asked one Of
our great statesmen how long our
Government would last. The answer
was, at will last as long as the
ideals upon which it is founded last"
What can be more certain than
that? Cannot we take. inspiration
from our past history, and you and
/, especially you, as you go to your
task of guiding ard directing the
minds of the young make strong eff
. fort to perpetuate those ideals
through the fundamentally Of the
coming generation.
What, briefly, is our past history
to which refer.
'Tn less than $50 years our sys-
tenn of government has converted a
bowling wilderness into a center Of
world culture unsurpassed, and
made an hundred million penniless
immigrants the richest people on
"Why so successful. The basis o.
our government is Equality before
the law" and, Equality OF oppor-
tunity."
Whether equal or unequal in ia
lent, all the people have equal OPP
portunity i. to develop such talent as
they have. This is the greatest slim
illus that can be placed before any
man or any woman who Is blessed
~ some degree of energy and am
bition.
These are fundamental principles
Of our American Government, of our
bill of rights and of our Constitu-
ton.
zone who strikes at these funda,
mertals. strikes at America, and its
institutions, and Is alien to this
"Whiie this government is not
absolutely perfect, while our con-
stitution. the sacred basis Of 1t all,
may and perhaps ought to be at
times, amended, or added to, by
great minds and honest hearts,
here Is no place in this Country for
one who says 81 am for America.
but" or, 81 am for America. if"
such as these are sinister, and
are always stirring up discomfort
among the masses of the illiterate,
unschooled, the foreign born SLOW to
predisposed to be criminal.
"Cain looked with envy upon HIS
brother, Abel, and slew him. Since
then the slain Abels have been cry
ing To Almighty God for justice.
"Who are the Gains who have been
attempting to Stay the Abels since
that day? s..-E =.
"They are that crowd of seifseek-
ers, walking delegates, and disturb
ers. who, with much stress upon
their own great sense OF Justice. and
interest in suffering humanity,
preach that humanity Is divided in
to two classes, those who labor
with their hands. and all others.
Following them are the idle and