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In him the state had for executive one of those strong and vigorous. characters who, by their native sense, business tact and ability, and promptitude in the performance of duty, do honor to the commonwealth with which they unite their fortunes. Many such have made their homes in Michigan, but none more worthy of honorable mention than John J. Bagley. He began life without means, and with but slight educational advantages, but he was full of energy and was prosperous in business from the first; his stores of useful information. kept pace with his other acquisitions, so that when he was called to the office of governor his fitness for the place was universally recog nized, and his administration was able, popular and wise. He was a man of large heart and of strong domestic and social ties; he was proud of his state and city, and he felt every inch the governor when he had occasion to be their representative abroad, and to speak, as he delighted to do, in their praise.

The gentlemen who have held the office of governor since the time of Governor Bagley are fortunately all still living, and may be daily met in social and business circles, where their ability and worth make them prominent and respected. Charles M. Croswell held the office from 1877 to 1881; David H. Jerome from 1881 to 1883; Josiah W. Begole from 1883 to 1885, and the latter then gave place to Russell A. Alger. Each of these gentlemen, as a private citizen, was known and respected for the energy, prudence and success with which he managed his own. business interests, and the people expected from each an administration of public affairs which would be prudent, conscientious and watchful, and in no instance were the expectations disappointed. Governors Croswell and Begole were natives of New York, and Governor Alger of Ohio. To Governor Jerome belongs the proud distinction of being the first governor of Michigan who was born within its limits, the true representative of those who were reared among its stumps and taught in its district schools. Good rearing and good teaching that must have been that gave a product so sturdy, vigorous and self-reliant, so well calculated by energy and persistence to hew an open road to public respect and fortune.

The succession in the Federal senate was kept up by the election of Thomas W. Ferry to succeed Jacob M. Howard in 1871, and Isaac P. Christiancy to succeed Zachariah Chandler in 1875. Judge Christiancy did not serve out his term, but resigned to accept the appointment of minister to Peru, and Henry P. Baldwin succeeded him for a time. under executive appointment, until the election by the legislature of Omar D. Conger, who is still in office. Senator Ferry was once reëlected,

and was succeeded by Thomas W. Palmer in 1883. All these gentlemen are still living and still making history.

Of the men who served the state faithfully in the lower house of congress, and whose records have been sealed by death, a few have already been mentioned. It would be a pleasing task to name all the others in succession; but the list is long, and at best we could only pass through it and place a laurel here and there upon a worthy brow. And among the worthy was William A. Howard, a man of strong and positive qualities, who represented the first district from 1855 to 1861. He took high rank in congress and had a place on most important committees. One of them was the special committee created for the investigation of the inroads into Kansas by armed bands from the border states. The country was then excited beyond all former precedent by what seemed to be the approaching culmination of the struggle over slavery, and already from state to state leaped the live thunder of the coming tempest. The committee in an elaborate report put plainly before the people a mass of startling facts, constituting one of the most important historical documents of the period. Mr. Howard was also one of the committee of thirty-three appointed to consider and report upon the subject of further National compromises, but his principles forbade him to take even the shortest step backward, and he performed effective service in defeating the purpose for which the committee was created. Men doubted at the time whether this was best, but few doubt now.

Another worthy name is that of Fernando C. Beaman, who entered congress in 1861, and had the rare fortune, unequaled in the state, except in the cases of J. A. Hubbell and Omar D. Conger, of serving for five consecutive terms. He was a modest man and became less prominent in congress than many others who were neither so able nor so useful. Fidelity to duty was to him the mainspring of public action, and when he was offered the appointment of senator on the resignation of Senator Christiancy, he declined because his health was then failing and he could not in conscience accept an office to whose responsibilities he felt himself physically inadequate. Charles Upson, also, who served for three terms, beginning in 1863, was a man of ability and sterling worth, and the career of a frank, manly, upright, honorable and useful citizen was closed when he passed away, having served the state in many important offices.

It is pleasing, also, as we pass along, to note some Federal appointments made in evident recognition of the truth that the office should seek the man and not the man the office. Such was the appointment

of President Angell of the university to conduct an important and delicate negotiation with China-a deserved compliment to the profession of which he is so distinguished a member, and which in China is particularly respected and esteemed. It was a graceful return which the Flowery Kingdom made to the state when it bestowed upon the university its excellent display of Chinese productions, which at New Orleans had excited so greatly the interest of all visitors. And eminently worthy also was the selection of George V. N. Lothrop, the distinguished leader of the bar of the state, for the important post of minister to Russia. When the National Executive so emphatically makes fitness the test in his selections, the people are not likely to overlook or even in thought to underrate the fundamental maxim that public office is a public trust.

But while thus mentioning a few of the many worthy men who have filled with credit important offices, we are reminded continually that many of the most notable and useful of the citizens of the state have seldom or never held public office. They have been active and served the public well in their several callings, and set worthy examples; but for various reasons, not personally discreditable, have lived and died private citizens. They may not be the less entitled to public honor for that reason. The test of worth is not in holding public office, but in showing, by an intelligent performance of duty everywhere, a fitness to hold it. A state's choicest possessions are its men of broad and vigorous minds, pure character and noble aspirations, whether they serve the public in high station or low; as cultivators of the soil, in the professions or in handicraft employments. Such men inspire and elevate all who come within the sphere of their influence; they give the state respect and standing abroad; they strengthen it in the esteem and regard of the whole body of its people, and they create among its youth emulation in excellence which is better for them and for the state than any reaching after mere personal distinction of wealth or office. Nor does the public-spirited citizen fail to find that in private life he is charged with public duties which in their performance may be made of the highest utility, and while he performs them faithfully, he knows he stands not merely at the post of duty but at the post of honor. The trappings of office are mere tinsel, but commanding worth, as Emerson has so justly said, "must sit crowned in all companies."

Thus in brief space have we attempted to summarize the leading events in state history. As thus presented, the history seems taine and commonplace as compared with what, during the same period,

has been taking place in other countries. No battle has been fought on our soil, no violent revolution has occurred in government, the steady pulse of industry has not been disturbed by the near approach of any alarming danger. There have been local calamities and disorders, but not once in all the period of state existence has anything occurred so strange and remarkable as to rivet to it the anxious eyes of the world. But yet-and largely because of this very fact-how mighty have been the changes! The state which, fifty years ago, was knocking at the door of the Union for the favor of admission, now numbers a population equal to that of all the American colonies at the time they first set British power at defiance in refusing to yield obedience to the Stamp act. In fifty years the state has added to its population as much as the continent did in the first one hundred and fifty years of its colonization, and its growth in material wealth has been still more wonderful. This single fact is far more striking and significant, and far more worthy the attention of statesmen and historians, than could possibly be the greatest of battles and the most brilliant of victories upon which nothing was depending but the gratification of individual or National ambition. Nor will the character of the population acquired suffer in comparison with that of any other country on the globe. The population is mixed as to nationality, with the Puritan blood predominating, but it is sufficiently homogeneous for all important purposes of the social state and of governBritish America is largely and usefully represented; the Germans are planted on all sides, making intelligence and industry pro-. ductive; all parts of the British islands have furnished contingents, as has Holland also, and other European countries; but disturbing elements are few, and order, industry and thrift are everywhere. The educational system which the state so early established and so wisely nourished receives cordial support from adopted citizens, and it grows and prospers steadily and strongly, having, like the gentle showers of heaven, blessings for all. Rarely, in either public or social concerns, does nationality of birth determine the action of the individual. To the sober, industrious citizen of foreign birth, whether born in British islands or in Scandinavia, or beyond the Rhine, or in that small country of great renown, "where the broad ocean leans against the land," the home of nativity may always remain the home of sentiment, but the country of adoption will not, for that reason, be the less cherished; and common interest, common pursuits, common enjoyments and common aims and purposes must rapidly obliterate distinctions, leaving all proud that of right they

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are entitled in this beautiful and thrifty state to share the priceless benefits of its institutions.

And its people may well take pride in the state, whether they contemplate it simply in its grand results or examine it in comparison with other states. In the main its record is a clean one, bearing upon it few marks that one should care to erase. After passing over the brief spendthrift days of its youth, we have only the unexciting story of how energy, enterprise, prudence and thrift may quietly, and without the notice of the world, build up a mighty state, with all the elements of strength and every promise of enduring prosperity. And were we to go back of the record to show who those were who were most active, efficient and able in state building, it would appear that, for the most part they were men who began empty-handed but strong-hearted, and by mental and physical energy and force of character made for themselves a name while helping the state to greatness. Michigan was the twenty-sixth state to take its place in the American Union, but it has been advancing steadily and with strong and even pace to the front, and to-day only eight are leading it in wealth and population. And while Michigan has been overtaking and passing so many of the older states, not one, new or old, has ever taken and securely held a position in advance of Michigan. Of the original thirteen only New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have now more people, and in a little time the proud old Bay state must content herself with a lower place. What more can be said in praise of the state than that it has more than kept pace with the astonishing growth of the country, and more than kept good the wonderful promise of its earliest years. Justly and with the emphasis of proud satisfaction may its citizens exclaim as they welcome the stranger to their borders: Si æquris amœnam peninulam circumspice-Its beauties, its riches, its attractions are everywhere! But not in its growth, in its beauty, in its wealth, in its numbers does the state chiefly pride itself, as its religious and charitable institutions and its complete system of public education and what the people have done and are doing through these and by these must sufficiently attest. First and foremost the aim of the state has always been to prepare its youth to act well their part in the great drama of life, and in the incidental trials and rivalries. If that aim is accomplished the state may well be content, for material success will abundantly follow.

However rich and diversified are the bounties of nature,

"Man is the nobler growth our realms supply:"

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