NOT THE HISTORIAN.
I am not, however, the historian of this occasion. Very properly the committee assigned to my honored predecessor, the first Governor of the State—who has been with and of it during all the lights and shadows of thirty-one revolving years—the duty of presenting an historical sketch of the difficulties and dangers through which Kansas was “added to the stars,” and became one of the brightest in the constellation of the Union. To me was allotted another task—that of presenting, as briefly and as clearly as I am able, the material development of Kansas, and her present condition and position. It is at once a delightful and a difficult task. The growth of Kansas is a theme which has always enlisted my interest and excited my pride. But I cannot hope to present any adequate picture of the Kansas you know so well—the Kansas of your love and of your faith; the imperial young State, at once the enigma and the wonder of American commonwealths.