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more nearly, and gives me great gratification. The civ- 

 ilization of tlie world turns to the element of productive 

 labor, and of course the protection and encouragement 

 and fostering of that element of the prosperity and 

 strength of the nation hereafter, is an important matter. 

 In a neighboring town through which I passed, I saw to- 

 day a manufactory devoted to articles known and used 

 everywhere, the material of which during the memory of 

 man had been waste and utterly useless. The greatest 

 triumph that ever is achieved in the civilization of the 

 world, in anything appertaining to material affairs, is to 

 create a new and national wealth out of that which had 

 no value, by means which before had been unknown. — 

 That man who can do it is a creator, and belongs to the 

 creative properties. The Katan factory is an institution 

 of this kind ; and there is scarcely a household in the 

 whole country, or ultimately in the world, where its pro- 

 ducts will not find a place, and confer benefit and impart 

 luxury; and yet this has sprung from the mind and 

 genius of a single citizen of this county. If it were 

 alone it would be of no account ; but I see in this dis- 

 trict for which I speak — I see in this district of which 

 you are citizens — the origin of all the successful manu- 

 facture or industrial prosperity of this country. In the 

 town in which I live, the man resided who created the 

 cotton manufacture and made the machinery — who in- 

 vented the process — who collected together under one 

 roof the several processes which had been known before, 

 and added to them others which will make this branch 

 of human industy one of the most successful, one of the 

 most powerful of the world. In my judgment, Francis 

 C. Lowell, for whom the city of Lowell was named, was 

 the greatest American this country has produced. I 



