3/4 Presidential Addresses 



ers of the civilization of Mesopotamia and Egypt 

 from those who enjoy the civilization of to-day. 

 They have gone further than that. They have seen 

 this country change from a wilderness into one of 

 the most highly civilized regions of the world's sur 

 face. They have seen cities, farms, ranches, rail 

 roads grow up and transform the very face of nat 

 ure. The changes have been so stupendous that in 

 our eyes they have become commonplace. We fail 

 to realize their immense, their tremendous impor 

 tance. We fail entirely to realize what they mean. 

 Only the older among you can remember the 

 early pioneer days, and yet to-day I have spoken 

 to man after man yet in his prime who, when he 

 first came to this country warred against wild 

 man and wild nature in the way in which that war 

 fare was waged in the prehistoric days of the old 

 world. We have spanned in a single lifetime 

 in less than the lifetime of any man who reaches 

 the age limit prescribed by the psalmist the whole 

 space from savagery through barbarism, through 

 semi-civilization, to the civilization that stands two 

 thousand years ahead of that of Rome and Greece 

 in the days of their prime. 



The old pioneer days have gone, but if we are 

 to prove ourselves worthy sons of our sires we 

 can not afford to let the old pioneer virtues lapse. 

 There is just the same need now that there was in 

 '49 for the qualities that mark a mighty and mas 

 terful people. East and west we now face sub 

 stantially the same problems. No people can ad- 



