EXTRACTS FROM jT
* T PRESS TRIBUTES.
Appended are extracts from a few
of the many hundred editorials which
have reached this office , indicative of
the esteem in which Mr. Morton was
held , over the whole country :
NEBRASKA.
OMAHA.
Bee. Never popular in a political
sense , and never seeking popularity by
the devices of a demagogue , J. Sterling
Morton was at all times a man of cul
ture and positive force , exerting his tal
ents and influence for the elevation of
the standard of public morals and the
cultivation of the civic virtues. He
despised hypocrisy and detested im
posture of every sort , and often told un
palatable trufhs when it would have
been more profitable to him to dissimu
late. He preached and talked the gospel
of work as the only safe ladder to suo-
cess and fame and continued through a
a lifetime to practice what he preached.
World-Herald. In his later years he
became bitter and harsh in judging his
former political allies and they were
equally severe with him. It must be
conceded , however , that as a party out-
east he stood by his convictions with
a sincerity and vigor as marked as
when he led the democratic party of
Nebraska , year after year , to certain
defeat.
News. With boundless and dauntless
courage as two of his most noticeable
characteristics , Mr. Morton was magni
ficently equipped to bear a manly part
in the development of a territory just
struggling into statehood. Among his
other abilities he was the possessor of a
command of language that was most
gratifying to his friends but wonderful
ly disconcerting to those whom he op
posed.
Excelsior. Sterling Morton was a
great Nebraskon , one of the most noted
the state has ever produced , and noted
in a way that did honor to the com
monwealth. What he stood for was
what we would most expect the east to
seek and what 'he abhorred was what
wo have been trying to cast without our
borders.
Examiner. From the sphere of
earthly endeavor J. Sterling Morton is
removed , but so well wore his efforts
executed that his memory shall be in
destructible. Upon the vast reticula
tions o' . industry , ramifying through
this western territory in the develop
ment of its natural resources , the im
pression of his gianthood is indelibly
stamped. In living monuments of
waving boughs and singing leaves his
praises will bo sung and never his
requiem.
*
-
Illustrated Bee. Many eulogies have
been spoken over this dead Nebraskan ,
but none so eloquent as that rustle of
the leaves in summer winds that stir the
boughs of beautiful trees , where woods
there wore none before the sage of Arbor
Lodge adopted his motto , "Plant Trees. "
LINCOLN.
State Journal. A volume could be
written on the culture , the ability , the
strength and the achievements of this
remarkable man. It is but weak and
trite to say that his death will cause
sorrow to the entire state. He was a
foremost citizen not only of Nebraska ,
but of the entire West. The passing
of such a man is a national loss.
News. There never was a man of
kinder heart when once his acquaint
ance was made. He was a many-sided
man ; he was a poet and humorist ,
among other thingsand his eye was ever
keen to behold the romantic or the beauti
ful. We never knew o man so absolute
ly honest and fearless in his utterance.
Post. All in all Nebraska never had
an abler nor a better citizen than Mr.
Morton , and without reference to party
or faction there is a statewide expres
sion of sorrow at his death.
State Record. From the day in 1854
when he crossed the Missouri river , up
to the day he crossed the other river , he
was one of the foremost men in both
public and private life. In the years ,
meteoric men came in sight and disap
peared , but Morton held his place , as he
holds it yet. In his life he formed
friendships of rugged men and inspired
sentiments not surpassed in beauty and
tenderness in the literature of the
world.
NEBRASKA OITY.
Daily Tribune. The enloey , the
epitaph of J. Sterling Morton , will
be written by men who have seen
him at work through fifty years of
conscientious effort ; who have stood
by his side while a great state was
being created on the bare prairie
along lines planned by him and men
like him. The writer of this , a lov
ing and admiring pupil proud now
to be able to call himself a pupil of
Mr. Morton's for the last dozen
years , has no thought today but to
express some sense of the loss that he
and his fellow-townsmen feel , when
they realize that never again shall
they see that erect , manly old figure ,
feel the grasp of that strong hand ,
look into the kindly fire of those
keen eyes nor listen to the wisdom of
that ripened brain.
News. The state of Nebraska , and
particularly Nebraska Oity , has suffered
an irreparable loss in the death of one
of its very most distinguished citizens ,
Hon. J. Sterling Morton. He has al
ways taken a great deal of interest in
public affairs and was always willing
to encourage and assist any enterprise
that would prove beneficial to the city.
Press. Coming to Nebraska when it
was a wilderness , locating on un
broken prairie land contiguous to Ne
braska Oity , the ambition of Mr. Mor
ton has been less the acquisition of
wealth or the praises of fame , than the
establishment of a home in the truest
and best signification of the term. * * *
Of all the good Mr. Morton has done
for Nebraska Oity perhaps the greatest
consists in the number of young men he
has assisted to secure good positions.
Having been eminently successful in
rearing a family of boys , Mr. Morton
was doubtless better qualified to give
advice to a young man than any other
man in the state.
Staats-Zeitung. No wonder that the
grief for him who is departed is uni
versal. But his name will live on in
the annals of the nation and the state
and in the hearts of our citizens , and
his works follow him. Soft may he
rest !
ALLIANCE.
Pioneer Grip. In ages to come those
trees planted on the day designated by
law as a public holiday will stand as
living monuments to a great name ,
their branches daily bowing to the
kindly spirit of him whose kindly na
ture made it possible for them to live to
bless the earth and mankind.
ARAPAHOE.
Public Mirror. The trees planted by
thousands of youthful hands will typify
his inspiration to make Nebraska beau
tiful.
ASHLAND.
Gazette. He came inspired with
lofty ideals for the development of the
state of his adoption , and he lived to
see them realized in a measure far ex
ceeding his anticipations.
AUBURN.
Granger. No man has done more to
promote the interests of the people of
the state at any time than he.
BEATRICE.
Express. His life was strenuous and
purposeful ; there were no slothful days
in his history ; whatsoever he did , he
did it with all his might , and his efforts
were always inspired by honorable ,
patriotic motives.
Times. He was a unique figure in
the development of the new West-
unique , because a leader of leaders.
BLOOMINGTON.
Advocate. Arbor Day will always
live and be cherished by the people of
Nebraska as a monument of his untir
ing work.
BURR.
Pilot. He was the City's foremost
citizen and father of Arbor Day.