a of
stupendous agricultural development, and of marvellous activity on
all lines and through all channels of trade; the wonderful growth of
Chicago, springing with giant bound, within the span of a single
life, from a mere hamlet to be the second city upon the continent;
the unparalleled railroad construction, giving Illinois a
greater mileage than any one of her sister States; the immense
development of its untold mineral resources, and the advance by
leaps and bounds along all lines of manufacturing; the impetus
given to the higher conception and purpose of human life by the
creation of a splendid system of public schools and universities; the
establishment of institutions and asylums for the considerate care
and relief of the unfortunate and afflicted of our kind; the building
of homes 'for him who hath borne the battle and for his orphan';
the masterful debates between Lincoln and Douglas, the prelude
to events destined to give pause to the world, and to change the
trend of history. And, to crown all, how, when the nation's life was
in peril, Illinois, true to her covenant under the great Ordinance
that had given her being, gave one illustrious son to the chief
magistracy of his country, another to the captaincy of its armies,
and sent her soldier heroes by myriads along every pathway of danger
and of glory.

"As one standing, alas, 'upon the western slope,' let me adjure
the young men of this magnificent county--my home for more than
half a century--to study thoroughly the history of our own State, and
of the grand republic of which it is a part. Illinois, in all that
constitutes true grandeur in a people, knows no superior among the
great sisterhood of States. Her pathway from the beginning has
been luminous with noble achievement. It is high privilege and high
honor to be a citizen of this grand republic. It is in very truth
a government of the people, in an important sense a government
standing separate and apart; its foundations the morality, the
intelligence, the patriotism of the people. Never forget that
citizenship in such a government carries with it tremendous
responsibility, a responsibility that we cannot evade. Study
thoroughly how our liberties were achieved, and the benefits of
stable government secured by the great compact which for more than
a century, in peace and during the storm and stress of war, has held
States and people in indissoluble union; and how, during the great
civil confli