EXCERPTS x 



At the World's Fair at Chicago, were two time-stained 

 and faded manuscripts that I looked upon with more curi- 

 osity than anything in that exposition. One was the bull 

 of Pope Alexander VI, in which he divided the new world 

 between Spain and Portugal ; the other was a small sheet 

 of paper in which Columbus made to Isabella an itemized 

 account of his expedition which footed the grand total of 

 $8,000. 



Why, Pat Murphy and John Smith of Palo Alto County 

 each sold cattle last year to amounts sufficient to have 

 paid the $7,500 expended on the Mayflower, or the $8,000 

 spent by Columbus in the discovery of America. 



And it is only forty years ago that an Indian massacre 

 occurred within forty miles of the place in which we are 

 holding this pleasant celebration. 



In Mahaska County, where I live, we still have hale 

 and hearty in our midst, Mrs. Phillips, who was the teach- 

 er of the first school ever taught in that county. 



The Mississippi Valley is the future center of power 

 and wealth. This vast basin, drained by a single stream 

 with its affluents, is the richest tract of soil upon the 

 planet. With coal, iron, lead, zinc, silver, gold, and many 

 other minerals, it contains a great range of climate and 

 soil and is the granary and cotton producer of the world. 



And, though we may complain of the winds and the 

 rain, the heat and the cold, Iowa is the most favored of 

 all the states. Look to the north of us and the best part 

 of Minnesota lies next to Iowa. On the east the best of 



1 From address delivered at Emmetsburg, Iowa, July 4, 1903. 



