Builders of
Nebraska and Their Achievements
.KOM May 28, 1854. when Nebraska
became a territory, to May 28,
1904, covers Its history Jul a ter
ritory and state. Tha tract of
land of which Nebraska forma a
part passed by salo Iron Napoleon Bona
pario to the United States In 1803. Front
its territorial organisation to lta admission
at a sUtie of the union In 1867, Nebraaka
made rapid progress, notwithstanding It
had been placed on tbe early maps as a
part of 'The Greut Amerlom Desert,"
Which was detrimental to Immigration.
Being a bone of contention during the
slavery agitation In ante-bellum days and
the consideration of Senator Douglas' "Kansas-Nebraska
Bill," the tide of Immigra
tion was checked for a time, but was
speedily resumed and increased at the close
of the civil war. As population expanded
and commerce and agriculture increased,
th Missouri river ceased to be an adequate
means of carrying Its commerce and the
demand for railroads became Imperative,
and they are now running to every ao
ceaslble part of the state, furnishing ade
quate transportation. But I cannot enter
Into the history of Nebraska, brlug en
joined to confine ray remarks to the state
as I know lis representation In congress.
An ong the distinguished men I have per
son ily known who represented the state
in the United States senate and In ths
house of representatives and who added to
Its name and fame are General Charles F.
Manderson of Omaha. Algernon 8. Paddock
of Beatrice, John M. Thurston of Omaha,
William J. Bryan of Lincoln, William A.
McKelghan of Ked Cloud, Omer M. Kern
of Broken Sow, Eugene J. Huiner of
Aurora, David H. Mercer of Omaha, Oeorga
D. Meiklojobn of Fullerton. William I
Stark of Aurora, Rhoderick IX Souther land
of Nelson, Hlmar J. Burke tt of Lincoln,
William U Greene of Kearney, William
Neville of North Platte and John 8. Rob
inson of Madison.
To as intelligent a constituency as The
ilee possesses, it would be superfluous to
peak In detail of these gintlemen and
Use 'services they have rendered to tha
tate. Politically, I had nothing In com
mon with Senators Manderson, Paddock
and Thurston; nor with Representatives
llalner, Mercer, Melklejohn or Burkett, al
though our personal relations were always
pleasant, while the other gentlemen were
my political associates and friends.
Ths Nebraska delegation in both houses
during my services sustained kindly rela
tions and worked in harmony to serve the
Interests of the state. I take pleasure In
aylng that Nebraska was ably represented
la the senate by that brilliant statesman '
nnd scholarly gentleman. General Charles
J Manderson; by lion. John M. Thurston,
aa orator of signal power and my lovable
friend; that splendid gentleman and good
business man, . Senator Paddock. It was
well represented by Messrs. Hairier, Mer
cer, Meiklejohn and Burkett in the house,
' and, it .would be need lens to add, that
among my colleagues, Messrs. Bryan, Mo
Kelghan, Kern, Greene, Stark, Southerland,
Neville and Robinson, it was in my Judg
ment represented with superior ability and
statesmanship and by men of rare ora
torical gifts.
All these gentlemen, regardless of their
political faith, worked honestly and Intel
ligently for the upbuilding of the state,
the outgrowth of which Is found in the
construction of many public buildings, the
appropriation of many acres of land and
much money for schools and the improve
ment of the navigation of the Missouri
river and the Transmuwlssippl Interna-
' Uonal exposition of 1898.
Jt is difficult to speak of those w(h whom
we have been associated in terms of ade
ajuate praise without being regarded aa
attempting to flatter, but ail I have said
ef these gentlemen, and more too, is true,
and they are entitled to the gratitude of
the people of this slate for their eminent
cervices.
It Is not so difficult to speak of the
whose virtues and worth should be borne
In constant remembrance. But the monu
ment of those who contributed to the mak
ing of this commonwealth and have passed
from the scenes of life to those of eternity,
that their history Is written not only In
their deeds, but in the current literature
of the day, and time and spooc forbid me
to apeak of them further.
I think I ought to be permitted to deflect
from my subject far enough to say that
among the living who have been powerful
factors in the upbuilding of this state, tho
names of Edward Rosewater, Dr. Miller,
Governor Furnas and John M. Thayer
Should not be overlooked.
But let me speak of Nebraska herself,
the peerless queen, crowned with the effeo
tloa of her sons and daughters. Fifty
years ago she was an almost trackless
waste, Inhabited by noraadlo raoea of
savage men and wild beasts, her eastern
border had Scattering and feeble settle
ments, but from that time to this she has
grown to be one of the brightest Jewels
In the diadem of the union. I have no
doubt that fifty years hence will see bar
stand well at the head of the sisterhood
Of states.
Through the Introduction of Arbor day,
which is indigenous to Nebraska, but
which, like a beautiful rose, has found
root in other soil, trees have been planted
on barren plains until now vast forests
grow on what was waste land, and herbage
and crops of all kinds are prodcued la
abundance.
Schools and churches Innumerable have
been erected and are maintained by an
Intelligent, thrifty and Christian people,
and the educational Institutions of the
tate stand well to the front at this time,
and being Inhabited by a sober, Intelligent.
Good Cause for Pardonable Pride
TANDINO at this fiftieth mile
stone of Nebraska progress we
may, I think, view ttbe work of
our hands with pardonable pride.
Fifty years in the life of an in
dividual Is a long time, but In the existence
of a state la brief indeed. Tbe great nat
ural advantages which ao materially as
sisted In the building np of the other
states, such aa navigable rivers, largo
bodies of timber and great mineral de
posits, were entirely wanting la Nebraska.
Aa a farther impediment, the early ex
plorers represented this state as a part
of the Great American Desert, and of
course worthless. It seems when God
made Nebraska He Just gave It two tal
ents, which those who might come into
possession might occupy. He mixed up for
It the very best kind of soil and gave It a
climate unequaled for its health-giving and
energizing qualities. Upon these two tal
ents tbe people in Nebraska have been
trading during tbe past fifty years, and
In their use have made them many taleota
more, the Increase being In homes and
schools, railroads and cities, churches and
colleges, and a citizenship of a million and
a quarter, representing the best educated,
most advanced and up-to-date of this, the
most advanced nation in the world.
It seems difficult, to realise the wealth
accumulation of this first half century.
The grand assessment roll of the state for
the year 1903 was one hundred eighty-eight
and one-half millions of dollars. That was
supposed to have been made upon the
basis of one-fifth of the actual valuation.
But we are all very well convinced, from
the amount of complaint now going up
over the assessment under the new revenue
law, that really that roll represents less
than one-tenth of the actual value of Ne
braska property. So we are safe In saying
that Nebraska holds more than one billion
eight hundred and elghty-oight millions of
dollars of actual property. The report
went abroad last year that our crops were
Years of
iETTER fifty years ef Europe than
B
a cycle of Cathay," sang Eng
land's choicest modern poet, ex-
I Vh'.! pressing an Idea truly Anglo
Vn i i i Saxon and held In common by
all progressive races, that activity Is
preferable to passivity, work is more de
sirable than play, that It is better to wear
out than to ruat out.
The half century that has elapsed since
May 30, 1851, when the signing of the
Kansas-Nebraska bill by the ,presldent of
the United States opened virgin fleldB for
conquest, by calling Into existence new
territories for exploration and settlement,
has been a period when the restless ac
tivities of those who took up the burden
of life In the transmlssourl country has
had full opportunity for display and ample
chance afforded for the efforts of tireless
energy and the accomplishments of virile
labor.
Those vho entered this land, then so
little known, were possessed of "hearts of
oak and spirits bold."
"Whether life could be sustained upon
these wind-swept plains was a serious
problem. The geographers had proclaimed
It a great desert Those who bad trav
ersed tbe broad expanse between the
muddy river and the lofty peaks of the
Rockies, having no thought to stay until
they came to where gold would reward
their soarch tor tho new El Dorado, spoke
of the stifling heat and scorching winds of
the dry summer, the freexlng cold and
fierce blasts of the terrible winter, of the
absence of trees to afford grateful shade
for protection from the summer's sun and
needful fuel for the winter's cold,' and de
clared It fit only for the sneaking coyote,
the shaggy buffalo and their lit com
panionthe wild Indian.
The tomahawk - and the scalping knife
were better fitted to the environment than
the shovel and the hoe.
Truly the outlook was most discouraging,
the prospect moat uninviting.
But the spirit of the adventurer and the
nerve of the conqueror are ever present.
They actuated LaSulle and Marquette in
tho palmy days of New France as they
prompted Lewis and Clarke In the time of
Jefferson.
The fascination of exploration Is only
equaled by the satisfaction of subjugation
aiid tha glorious results of the last fifty
progressive, Ood-fearing people, Nebraska
has made marvelous progress during the
years of her existence, and her sons and
daughters love her with an affection be
yond tbe power of diVn-iptton,
In her agricultural and grazing pursuits
he has few equals and no superiors, and
while bar storms seem at times lnhosplta
Ma, her braeses are laden Jwith health
giving qnalitiea
In tbe professions she Is represented by
eminent Jurists, great physicians and sur
geons and equally great editors, all of
abort; and yet there were produced one
hundred and seventy million bushels of
corn, and forty-four million bushels of
wheat. Nebraska's agricultural production
of all kinds last year goes well towards
tbe one hundred million dollar mark. All
this vast production In agriculture has
been bunt up from a strip of the great
desert In the brief space of fifty years.
And while this growth in production was
being made, thousands of rich farms and
beautiful homes, surrounded with groves
and orchards, and showing and possessing
taate and refinement of their owners,
sprung up aa by magic upon tbe treeless
plains. Cities 'and towns have kept pace
with agricultural development, using every
appliance of the most advanced civilisation,
far beyond the older states.
A prophet fifty years ago that would
have dared to picture Nebraska as it is
today would have been considered a vision
ary dreamer. Kven those who nave wit
nessed this rapid development caa scarcely
believe their own senses.
The splendid advance made by Nebraska
la talc flint half century is due largely to
the character of Its people. Many of tbe
pioneers were veterans of '61-'E5, who were
given the privilege of accepting the task
of creating a new state under the guise of
the donation of ICO acres ef what was gen
erally thought to be desert laud. To this
work they brought the same heroic bravery
and untiling energy which characterized
their work of saving the union. About this
time many young men from the east, who
wished larger opportunities than could be
afforded them there, came to try their for
tunes in the new west. They all brought
with them hope and brains. They began
tho building of the new state at the point
the older atates bad already attained, so
'the first public work to receive attention
was the school. Neither lumber nor timber
for making it was to be had. but building
material in unlimited quantities abounded
in the native sod, and this became the first
Adventure and
years in Kansas and Nebraska xneed no
detailed recital.
Since the great day when the Declaration
of Independtnce was read from the front
step of the old state house In Philadelphia,
while the bell "proclaimed liberty through
out the land and to all the people thereof,"
no event In American history was fraught
with greater Importance than the passage
of the bill signed by the chief executive on
May 30, 1854. Its repeal of the Missouri
compromise measure that for over thirty
years had held the sections apart, was the
beginning of that oft predicted "Irrepress
ible conflict" that, starting on the prairies
of Kansas, led by tragic succession to the
hanging of John Brown in Virginia, the
firing upon the flag In South Carolina, the
arming of the indignant north, the four
years of bloody war with the sacrifices
upon over 2,000 battle fields, tho emancipa
tion of millions of slaves and Anally the
culmination at Appomattox and the birth
of a puissant nation, mighty because by
war's dread arbitrament it was decided that
this union of states is indestructible.
The day whose semi-centennial we arc
tory of Nebraska as Written by Nature and Man
(Continued from Page Seven.) ,
sanitary Inspection, but most of all In the
vastly Increased outlay for educational
(both primary and higher), forming from
ne-thlrd to one-half of the total publlo
expense, has created a floating state debt
of 12,000,000 and brought the people face to
face with Its latest problem more reve
nue or fewer functions.
Fifty years ago there were less than a
thousand whlto peoplo In Nebraska terri
tory, today more than a million. The
total wealth then was probably not $100,
000, now between one and two billions.
Then there was not a single cultivated
farm today there are 125,000, with crops
worth $163,000,000. Then not a factory or
mile of railroad. Today 5,414 manufactur
ing establishments, with a product worth
$144,000,000 each year, and S.7Q0 miles of
railroad. Fifty years ago this summer
a single newspaper, ,. the Palladium, at
Bellevue. Today 600 newspapers and ma
gastnes. Fifty years ago not a school in
active operation. Today 10,000 common
schools and higher ones by the hundred.
Fifty years ago an ur.fenced buffalo pas
ture, with no rank in civilized societ
whom have contributed In a large xneasura
to her development.
I do not possess the language to enable
me to speak In fitting terms of my love
of Nebraska, a state that has ao signally
honored me and on whose soli t have lived
for many years and In whose bosom Z hope
finally to rest.
material for the school hoime as It had heest
In moot Instances of the residences. Many
churches were erected from the same ma
terial. From the very beginning, then,
though crudely housed it may be, Ne
braska has had those things which marked
the best civilisation of the older states.
Today the neat white school house In mora
than fcOOO school districts, WO city and vil
lage high schools, many seminaries and
colleges and our grand state university arc
the evolution upward from the little sod
school house on the prairie.
One most Important factor m Nebraska's
development must not be overlooked. Of
all to whom credit Is due, there are none
entitled to more honor than the pioneer '
women of our state. The great majority
of these came from cultured homes, accus
tomed to the association of the most re
fined surroundings; they bravely assumed
the task of creating like conditions In a
region .having none of them. Who may
know the long days of loneliness, the hun
ger and longing for even a sight of the
cool, shady groves to rest the tired eyes
from tbe monotony of the endless plane?
"Men muat work, but women must wait,"
and the waiting Is often much harder to en
dure than the working. We lift our hats and
pay homage to the pioneer women who by
their heroic helpfulness and patience made
possible the beautiful Nebraska of today.
Kvery Nebraskan should be proud of hla
tate and its splendid progress. Any young
man owning a quarter section of this rich
sail and laving one of Nebraska's fair
daughters for a wife Is a king over a realm
that will yield htm perpetual revenue and
happiness. It is the common lot of hu
manity to want, but such a one will never
need.
Conquest
soon to celebrate brought forth Lincoln,
and Grant from obscurity and placed a the
emancipator and the conqueror In the
most prominent niches of the temple of
fame.
The battle for the preservation, won by
the wisdom of tho one and the genius of the
other over the disbanded hosts of free
dom, seeking homes In a new land, turned
naturally to the transmlssourl country,
opening great opportunities by the build
ing of the Union Pacific railroad, con
structed through government aid as a war
necessity.
The gallant hosts spread from the river
to the mountain slope and entering every
branch of industry carved out, with In
vincible hands and creative brains, the two
magnificent commonwealths that exult la
the event of the SOth flay of May.
tJod uncovered the land,
That he hid long time in the west.
Aa the sculptor uncovers hla statue.
When he has wrought his best."
Today-in tr.e union of forty-five Bister
states, which forms the strongest nation
In the world-her rank is tenth In total
value of farm products, eighth In produc
tion of wheat, fourth In production of
corn, fourth In number of cattle and swine,
third in manufacture of meat products,
and first of all in education qualification,
of her people. In fifty years Nebraska
has given the world its central battle
ground for the settlement of the most
pressing world problems, from slavery to
monopoly; she has given national leader
ship to both sides in these struggles; she
has given the nation twice a leading candi
date for president, she has given the world
an Arbor day. Highest of all, her broad
prairies and lofty table lands, have given
birth to a race of clear vluioned. Inde
pendent minded, progressive men and
wemen. Unfettered by. the dogmatism of
the past in politics. In religion, in econo
mics, in human sympathy and aspiration,
may Nebraska nover fail in her leadership.
Nor heed the sceptic's puny hands.
While near her school the church spire
stands;
Nor fear the blinded bigot's rule,
While near her church spire stand tha
school.
