that established Bellevue, and Peter A. Sarpy who came up from St. Louis, perhaps as early as 1823, as a representative of the American Fur Company, was the connecting link between the squatter period of the commonwealth and its settled and more civilized development. The loss of the same factors which gave Bellevue life, commercially destroyed it. Soon after the organization of the territory in 1854, the Oto and Missouri and the Omaha Indian tribes were removed to their reservations. The agency followed over to the Oto and Missouri reservation on the Blue river in 1856, and to the present Omaha reservation in 1857. The capture of the capital by Omaha in 1855 gave that place strength and courage to gain the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific railroad. Bellevue had hopes until the choice of the site for the bridge across the Missouri river was decided in favor of Omaha and against the vicinity of Bellevue in 1868. The growth of South Omaha immediately in its rear has left to Bellevue little more than the distinction of being the most beautifully situated hamlet within the state.

The poets have anticipated our every sentiment and fancy; so I now speak out of the mouths of two of the greatest of these prophets.

"While the ploughman, near at hand,
Whistles o'er the furrowed land,
And the milkmaid singeth blithe,
And the mower whets his scythe,
And every shepherd tells his tale

Under the hawthorne in the dale.

Straight mine eye hath caught new pleasures

Whilst the landskip round it measures:

Russet lawns and fallows grey

Where the nibbling flocks do stray;

Meadows trim with daisies pied;

Shallow brooks and meadows wide;
Towers and battlements it sees,

Bosomed high in tufted trees."

(Here the speaker waved toward the distant eastward range of wooded hills, described in Bradbury's journal).

"Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,

No (Thy) sports are fled nor are (and all) thy charms withdrawn;

Amidst thy bowers no (the) tyrant's hand is seen

Nor (And) desolation saddens all thy green.

This was the dread alternative: If Bellevue had not remained Bellevue it must have become Omaha-the evolutionized trading post; or, perhaps, more specifically, South Omaha, the modern mammoth charnel house. Look on this picture and then on that, O ye of little faith in the eternal truth of compensation, in the ultimate triumph of poetic justice though the grosser or material right be continually denied, and doubt no longer that behind a frowning providence God indeed hides a smiling face. I am sure that, encompassed by this prodigality of Nature's charms, traditional South Platte feud quite forgets its humor, so that we of that section anticipatively rejoice with the increasing thousands who, sensible of the enchantment which the greatest practicable distance from our commercial capital of necessity their business-hour camping-lends to real living, will establish homes at this veritable "belle vue" reserved by a merciful but misapprehended providence, a calm, a sure retreat from Omaha.

THE EVENING ADDRESSES

Following are the addresses delivered at the evening exercises in the Brandeis theater, Omaha, by Chancellor Avery, President MacLean and Mr. John L. Webster.

ADDRESS OF CHANCELLOR SAMUEL AVERY

However historians may differ in regard to the exact date of the first permanent settlement in our state, the anniversary exercises today may be regarded as commemorative of the one hundredth anniversary of a distinct landmark in the settlement of the West. The organization on June 23, 1810, of the expedition by the Astor Company, resulted, as the inscription on the momument so well states, in a spread of the knowledge regarding the region comprising our state among the people farther east. Therefore, without quibbling over the exact historical facts as to early settlements, we may by common consent consider this the birthday of the civilization which now exists in the state, and we may regard our present achievements as the result of a hundred years of development, slow for the first half century, exceedingly rapid in the latter.

Those who indulge in the pleasure of tracing out the remote history of states and institutions generally find that from the earliest beginning there is usually a period of very slow development; later when development has fairly started it often proceeds with almost meteoric swiftness. Thus Harvard University has made more visible advancement in the last twenty-two years than in the previous 250 years of its existence. So Nebraska history may be divided into the following sections: The period of exceed

ingly slow and obscure settlement from 1810 to the organization of the territory in 1854; the continued, more rapid settlement and the founding of the institutions of the commonwealth from this time to its admission as a state in 1867. Next, the period of rapid settlement and the occupation of the best agricultural lands, the building of railroads and the founding of cities, from the early 70's to the end of the 80's, when this development was checked by the general hard times of the country; and, finally, from the end of the 80's to the present time a period which represents the systematic, orderly growth of the state as a whole, the consolidation of business and industrial enterprises, the accumulation of wealth and, perhaps, of importance to the future, the development of a state pride and a state consciousness.

It would be inappropriate and unfair to the eloquent and learned gentlemen whom I shall have the pleasure of introducing, if I, as the presiding officer of this meeting, were to encroach to any great extent upon their time. But appreciating most highly the honor which has been conferred upon me by the committee in asking me to preside on this anniversary occasion, I cannot allow the opportunity to pass without presenting to you one of the thoughts which is almost always with me: what will the coming years mean to our state- what will be its future development? Will the state mean to us and those who come after us simply so much territory in the center of the Union? Will it mean to us simply a political organization, or will the word Nebraska convey to us the thought of certain ideals? In other words, are we continuing to develop a state consciousness, a state patriotism, and a state pride? Mr. Roosevelt has, I think, made it popular throughout the civilized world to preach a little on occasions like this; and so it is perhaps not unfitting that I follow, as best I may, his illustrious example. It seems to me that if we as citizens

are to work out the destiny of this glorious state in a manner best conducive to her interests, "Nebraska" must signify to us certain high ideals; and if we, as citizens, do not cause her to attain to these ideals, Nebraska, with her wealth of soil and sunshine, will miss her greatest opportunity. The first thing, it seems to me, that we should stand for in Nebraska is a spirit of good will, a spirit of helpfulness, and a spirit of cooperation throughout all parts of the state. I have seen in the Pacific Northwest communities of wide extent without, in my judgment, more than a fraction of the natural wealth and resources which we have, lifted into national prominence and into regal prosperity through the spirit of cooperation, mutual helpfulness, and confidence which the inhabitants maintain for one another. In that country, too, we have seen an example of a city standing unselfishly for ideals. When the state university of Oregon was assailed by the uninformed, the selfish, the narrow-minded and the bigoted and an attempt was made to nullify the legislative appropriation through a referendum called by these various forces, the university was saved to the state and to the country through the noble generosity of the queenly city of Portland. I believe that if occasion should ever occur in Nebraska, as I hope it never may, it would call forth a similar act of devotion on the part of the metropolis, that the same splendid altruistic spirit would be shown towards any or all of the established enterprises that are working for the advancement of the state.

Every right-minded citizen of the state of Nebraska should honor the memory of those early settlers who, with their farsighted view into the future, laid the foundations of this splendid commercial city. It is right and proper for us to idealize business; and we ought, for state patriotic reasons, to foster, so far as we can, the growth and development of this city, and of every city, and of every legitimate