A Tribute

A Tribute By John A. Watts Men and institutions arc what they are largely because of inheritance. Out of the past come experiences that enable men to build more wisely than did preceding generations. The field of possibilities has widened as the horizon of men's vision has been extended. The realization of these possibilities has depended largely upon the application of man's national endowments, brain and brawn, to the problems at hand. Man for perpetuity must build with a purpose, and that building must have more than self and the present in view. Neigh- bors and future generations must be kept in mind. Life that comes out of the past, that is seized upon and lived by men, with no thought for the future, is not likely to endure, is not likely to enrich the lives of its adherents. On the other had a people who fasten on to the best that has been and live nobly the present, still remembering future generations, are bound to pass on to their posterity a legacy that is rich indeed. Such a people we acclaim today. Out of the silence came a voice, that voice was life, and that life promised freedom and progressiveness. Greater op- portunities for expression of the better self. It was the sort of life to which Jesus referred when he said, "I came that men might have life, and have it more abun- dantly." The life here spoken of lifts men up and beyond themselves. Men are challenged. The people we honor today accepted this challenge and set at work all their powers to realize a fulness of this new experience. People of like qualities were drawn from many parts of the earth and made one by a common feeling. Each felt that the other was his neighbor and brother. God had spoken; and when men believe that their actions have the endorse- ment of the heavens there is no limit to endurance and aspirations. With these feelings, nay, convictions, firmly fixed, the pioneers set out to establish themselves, and pave the way for oncoming genera- tions. They were men and women of the caliber required for the establishment of civilization on a rough and rigorous frontier. Only a people made of the sterner stuff could have endured. These people possessed the fettle of fine feeling and the steel of endurance. "Self," when it runs counter to, or at variance with the welfare of the group, must be put on the altar of sacrifice. The pioneers, to establish the truth and freedom they felt were theirs, did sacrifice. They were hungry, they were cold, they divided their all, giving to the point where giving hurts. The world was against them; if they were to live it must be by and through the only avenues open to them, sacrifice and labor. That they did sacrifice, that they did labor, is self-evident. They were frugal, they were industrious and honest. They met death, not without a shudder perhaps, but they met it. By their frugality the pioneers wrung from their surroundings a living where men said they could not live. Not only did they live but they laid the foundations for the building of a mighty common- wealth; one that is the pride of every native son, and the admiration of a critical world. Frugality was not enough, they must needs labor. How well, how long, and how arduously they labored can be seen in the attainments of today. That they were honest cannot be gainsaid; for only an honest people build, so perma- nently, so enduringly, as did the fathers of our state. Commonwealths endure and fulfill their purpose, in fact are builded not by the efforts of the few, but by the contributions of the many. All must share in the bur- dens requisite to the accomplishment of any great purpose. The pioneers realized that their strength lay. not alone in indi- vidual effort, but in the efforts of all, that by cooperative labors they could best realize their ideals. By industry, frugality, honesty, self

A TRIBUTE 775 forgctfulncss and cooperative effort, the pioneers, not only of forty-seven, but those of succeeding years, have passed on to the present generation, and generations yet to come a gift rich beyond measure, a gift wrung from adversity by toil in deepest distresses and made sacred by the life blood of those who died in the struggle. Our fathers have passed on to us the challenge. How have we received it? In our hands is the gift. How are we using it? Do we, in the mad rush for wealth, stop and count the cost? In our eagei search for pleasure do we realize the sacri- fice? In our endeavors for wisdom and learning, do we in humility of soul forget the God of our fathers? Are we carrying on as they would have us carry on? Are we now building, as the pioneers builded, for the future? Will future generations rise up and call us blessed? Are we loyal to one anoiher and to our country as were thosie who paved the way before us? Do we look to the constitution of our state, and of our nation with the same reverence the founders of our state did? If we do the locks might well be taken from our doors, our neighbor may rest easy in the security of his possessions. If we have proper respect for law and order, arrest and fines will pass away; the term "boot- Kanosh, Utah. legger" will not be needed in our vo- cabulary. It is well to rejoice in the good that is bequeathed us, and hold in reverence those who have passed on. but it is, or should be, a part of our commemoration to make happy those of hoary hair who are still with us. They have given and we live. What is the challenge hurled in our faces? We are sacredly bound to remember the past, to live nobly the present, and look sacredly to the future. Past and future are important but the present demands the best there is in us; the present chal- lenges our gifts to the future; what shall our gifts be? Life is not so much con- cerned with what we remember, but rather with what we are. The future is but a tomorrow; and tomorrow soon becomes the yesterday of today. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow completes the circle. Life in that circle endures; and is fit to pass on only when men find that life to which Jesus referred and for which our fathers gave their all. Have we found it? If so, let us live it today and the morrow will be safe; our civilization, that life for which the pioneers labored, sacrificed and died, will endure. The Tides of Life 'Tis so easy to glide with each drifting tide. To go where the crowds are found, And it seems quite the thing to be in the ring With those who are pleasure bound. But ah, where is the gleam of each youthful dream, When you gazed at the star-lit sky, Murmuring pledges to toil, burning midnight oil, To gain some ambition high. You must grapple with fate, for time will not wait. And youth time is soon on the wane. Choose the straight, narrow way, then work while you may, And treasures untold you will gain. Raymond. Alta. Canada Helen Kimball Orgill