Evening star., 1923-07-03


dress on The Oregon Trail" deliv-
cred today at Meacham. Ore. follows:
My Countrymen: AS l stand here
in. the shadow of the great hills my
mind reverts to. the placid banks of
the broad Potomac, There, as here.
to an American proud of his country
and revering her traditions there Is
much OF patriotic interest. and be-
tween these rugged mountains and
those fertile lowlands l find much in
common. Living history records many
indissoluble links. to one of which 1t
seems fitting that l should direct
your attention today.
OF the many rooms in the White
House which possess the peculiar
charm of associat ation with epochal
happenings. the one most fascinating
TO me Is that which formerly COM
prised the cabinet room and the Pres
idents study. Through its high win
dows ones gaze is drawn irresistibly
to the towering granite shaft whose
very grandeur, exceeded by no other
symbolizes the matchless character of
George Washington. The beautifully
carved mahogany bedposts are those
upon which fell the eyes of Andrew
bled slumber which even to this day
occasionally falls to the lot of an
overweary President. Sunk into the
marble mantelpiece is a bronze table
recording the circumstance that 1t
was in this room that Abraham Lin
coin signed the great emanc ipa tion
proclamation which struck the shac-
kles of slavery from millions of hui
man beings.
Another Episode Recalled.
Yet another episode of hardly less
importance in the building of our
those walls. Before my minds eye
as | stood in that historic chamber
few days ago appeared the vivid
picture. l beheld. seated at his desk,
Immediately attired, the embodi-
ment of dignity and courtliness, John
Tyler, tenth President of the United
States. Facing him, from a chair
constructed for a massive frame. his
cavernous eyes. was the lion -visaged
Daniel Webster, Secretary of State.
The door opened and there ap-
peared before the amazed statesmen
a strange and astonishing figure. 1t
was that of man of medium height
and sturdy build. deep chested. broad
shouldered. yet 1.-the in movement
and soft of step. He was clad in .
coarse fur coat, buckskin breeches,
fur leggings and boot moccasins,
looking much the worse for wear.
But it was the countenance of the
visitor, as he stood for an instant
in the doorway, that riveted the per-
ception of the two chiefs of state.
IT was that of religious enthusiast,
suggestion of fanaticism, bronzed
from exposure to pitiless elements
and scanned with deep lines of physi-
cal suffering. rare com6lnatlon OF
determination and gentleness-ob-
viously man of God, but no less
man among men.
Loves Heroic Verses.
Such was Marcus Whitman. the pio-
neer missionary hero of the vast, un-
settled. uneXplored Oregon country,
who had come out of the west TO
plead that the state should acquire
for civilization the empire that the
churches were gaining for Christian
ity.
Many of the exploits of Americas
resolute sons are recounted in prose
and verse. How often in our youth,
and even in later years. have we been
thrilled by the story of how "on
through the night rode Paul Revere,
through every MiddleseX village and
farm to call the minutemen to en-
battle at Lexington and fire 1.-The shot
heard round the world" How many
times we have shuddered at the i'm
pending fate of the Shenandoah val
ley with sheridan twenty miles
those stirring verses as a boy. l love
them still.
But, when I stood in that historic
room in the White House and my i'm
agination depicted the simple scene,
i could not but feel that the mag
nificence of Marcus Whitman's glori-
Gus deed has yet to find adequate rec
ognition in any form. Here was
man who, with a single companion. in
the dead of winter, struggled through
painless drifts and binding storms,
four thousand miles, with the sole aim
TO serve his country and his God.
Eighty years and eight months ago
he wa; pushing grimly and painfully
through this very pass on his way
from Walla Walla to Fort Hall,
thence, abandoning the established
northern route as impossible, off to
the south through unknown, untrod-
den lands. past the Great Salt Lake.
to Santa Fe, then hurriedly on to st.
Louis, and finally, after few days,
again on the homeStretch to his des-
tination. taking as many months as
IT now takes days to go from Walla
Walla to Washington.
Race Against Time.
1t was more than a desperate and
perilous trip that Marcus Whitman
undertook. 1t was a race against
time. Public opinion was rapidly
crystallizing into a judgment that
the oregon country was not worth
claiming, much less worth fighting
acquired against the insistence of
Great Britain, 1t would prove to be
a liability rather than an asset.
1t is with sheer amusement that
we now read the declarations Of the
leading men Of that period. So good
an American, so sturdy a frontiers
man, so willing a fighter, as Gen.
Jackson, shook his head ominously
in fear least the national domain
should get too far outspread, and
warned the country that it's safety
'Iay in a. compact government" Sem
ator McDuffie of South Carolina de-
clared he would not give q pinch
of snuff for the whole territory" and
expressed the wish that the Rocky
Mountains We're IAN impassable bar
rier." Senator Dayton of New Jersey
said that with very limited exceptions,
the whole country was as irreclaim-
able and barren a waste as the Sa-
hara desert" and that malaria had
carried away most of it's native pop
ulation. Even so far-seeing and
stanch an advocate of western in
terests as Thomas Benton protested
that the ridge Of the Rockies should
be made our western boundary, and
avowed that ION the highest peak
the statue of the tabled God, Termi-
nus. should be erected, never to be
thrown down."
Webster Was Lukewarm.
Webster, although not definitely
Rntagonistic, was uninterested and
1ul yaars hefora he ba nro-